Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held one of his increasingly frequent phone calls with his Turkey counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia said the following of the phone call in an official statement, “Both sides expressed serious concern about the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and plans to move the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv. Such steps can thwart…
The world today, is on the brink of seeing a new conflict over Lebanon. While the chances for escalation are high, the essential pre-conditions for a new, large-scale war in the region, are still in the works. On November 22, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri temporarily suspended his resignation following an alleged request by the…
As the war in Syria dies down and the dust starts to settle, the enormity of Israel’s strategic mistake during the long years of conflict is becoming all the more apparent. The first person to point this out publicly was Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) chief of Military Intelligence from 2006…
The head of the Lebanese Army has asked the military to be at “full readiness” to face “the Israeli enemy” at the southern border. The announcement comes as Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, vow to tighten their grip on Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia. The army needs to be prepared to “confront the threats and violations of…
Riyadh’s attempt to assert control in Lebanon and open up a new front against Hezbollah and Iran has brought little return, but substantial reputational damage. But does Saudi Arabia even care about playing geopolitical chess, or does it just want to fling pieces at its adversaries? The road trip-slash-conspiracy thriller that began with Saad Hariri’s…
The strange case of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his surprise resignation, delivered in Saudi Arabia, has developed international overtones with rumors about his possible kidnapping by the Saudis and France extending an invitation for him to come to Paris before possibly returning to Lebanon. Because of concerns that his resignation may have been…
