Op-ed

The United States is on track to withdraw its remaining forces from Iraq by September 30, according to US and Iraqi officials who spoke with the Associated Press, marking the latest and potentially final stage of a military intervention that began with Washington’s 2003 invasion and occupation of …

 Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh The signing of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan on 7 August 2026 represents one of the most consequential developments in the reconfiguration of the Middle East’s security architecture in decades. The agreement establishes a collective-defence principle under which aggression …

Amir Soltanzadeh Iran says a shipping accord with Oman is in its final stages, but analysts warn sanctions, security concerns and rival US-Iran goals could limit its impact. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said this week that an agreement with Oman, which lies on the other side …

In the United States, the Republican Party is heading into the upcoming midterm elections in November with a considerable disadvantage: the widespread unpopularity of Donald Trump. From the disastrous decision to attack Iran to the abandonment of any form of ethical standards to an obsession with leaving his …

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Iranian separatist groups have begun digging trenches and tunnels along the border with Iran, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Sulaymaniyah. Fighters have been redeployed from the Duhok mountains and northeastern Syria to the Iranian border, our correspondent reported, with heavy engineering …

Eng. Salem Al-Batayneh I often find myself puzzled when I sit down to write an article. I wonder how certain scenes, events, and reckless slips of the tongue suddenly emerge in public discourse—expressions so careless and so intellectually shallow that they reveal how far rationality has sometimes been …

Dr. Ju Hyung Kim Ukraine is emerging as an important supplier of counter-unmanned aerial system, or C-UAS, expertise to the Middle East. After defending its cities, military bases, and energy infrastructure against Russian-operated, Iranian-designed drones for years, Ukraine has extensive experience in detecting and intercepting—at around 80 to …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh The latest U.S.–Iran war has done more than expose the volatility of the Middle East. It has exposed the exhaustion of the region’s post-Cold War security model. For decades, Middle Eastern states relied on an implicit strategic bargain: the United States would remain the principal …

George Washington warned us well. In his Farewell Address of 1796, he urged his fellow citizens to remain “constantly awake” against “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” which history and experience prove to be “one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” Two and a quarter centuries …