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Al-Monitor Senior Correspondent Amberin Zaman interviews newsmakers, journalists, and thought leaders from the US and Middle East about the latest news and trends in the region. Amberin travels the region for Al-Monitor, specializing in news and analysis in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and the Caucasus and writes the weekly Turkey Briefing newsletter. Prior to Al-Monitor, she covered Turkey, the Kurds, and conflicts in the region for The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Los Angeles Times an ...
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Ben Caspit, an Israel correspondent for Al-Monitor, brings you weekly interviews with newsmakers and officials to discuss the latest news in Israel. Ben is no stranger to broadcast, hosting a daily radio show from Tel Aviv and frequently appearing on television and radio programs. Caspit is one of Israel’s most in-demand journalists and his columns – deeply sourced and vividly written -- are must reads for his take on the latest political developments. His most recent book is The Netanyahu Y ...
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Iran established deterrence against Israel proving through its actions it could do more harm, says academic Hassan Ahmadian
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24:44
Iran's weekend attack on Israel in response to an Israeli attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria has put an already explosive region on edge. Israel has vowed to retaliate and Iran says should it do so its own response will be massive. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-n…
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What path lies ahead for Turkey after Erdogan's stunning local election defeat? Commentator Kadri Gursel explains
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Following The secular opposition's historic win in the March 31 elections, many say that Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is now confirmed as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief rival in the next elections that are due to be held in four years. However, the reality is far more complex. Much will hinge on whether Erdogan succeeds in dividing…
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How the West began losing the Mideast to Iran, Russia & China since start of Syria conflict, French academic Fabrice Balanche explains
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This month marks the 13th anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict. French academic Fabrice Balanche says that across the Middle East the West is steadily losing ground to Russia, China and Iran as a result of its failed policy in Syria. The Kurds are among the biggest losers, he adds. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cali…
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Will Turkey's Erdogan seize back Istanbul and fully secure his regime in March 31 elections?
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Turkey's opposition is in disarray since its humiliating defeat in last year's presidential and parliamentary elections. However, the opposition has what some say is a final chance to challenge his power in local elections that will be held on March 31. Turkey analyst Selim Koru says with the opposition now bloc fractured, Istanbul's secular mayor …
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Why are Britain’s Jews facing the largest wave of anti-semitic violence in modern times?
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There has been an alarming spike in anti-Semitic attacks in the UK since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing nearly 1,200 Israeli citizens. Hate crimes monitor Dave Rich and historian Andrew Apostolou unpack the dynamics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i…
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American doctor Seema Jilani faces backlash for her eyewitness accounts of horrors unfolding in Gaza
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As the conflict in Gaza rages on, Palestinian children are dying by the thousands while many others are horribly injured. Hospitals are under unremittingly attacked by Israel forces and doctors struggle to treat the wounded. Seema Jilani, a rare American doctor to make it into the Gaza Strip, has been telling the world about what she has seen and i…
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Sweden did not take Turkey's terrorism concerns seriously enough says former Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde
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Turkey blocked Sweden's NATO membership for nine months saying Stockholm needed to curb anti-Turkish groups it classifies as terrorists. Those demands were widely dismissed as a foil for Ankara's real aim, to get the United States Congress to authorize the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. Yet, some of Turkey's concerns were legitimate, says Swe…
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Does Turkey really support ISIS and, if so, why did ISIS just attack it again? Expert Aaron Zelin explains
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The Islamic State carried out an attack against a Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul on Jan. 28, killing one person. In its statement claiming responsibility for the attack the group referred to Turkey as "Wilayat al Turkiya" — or its "Turkish province" — sending a chilling message that it views the country among its prime targets. Any further such …
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Does Iran control Shiite militias that are attacking US forces in Iraq and Syria? Two leading experts weigh in
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The deaths of three US servicemen Sunday in an attack by an Iran-backed Shiite militia at a base wedged between Syria and Jordan has raised the specter of a direct confrontation between the United States and Iran like never before. But are things as black and white as they seem? Does Iran have full control over the Shiite militias that are part of …
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German federal prosecutors petitioned to launch war crimes case against Turkish-backed Sunni factions abusing Kurds in Syria
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Syrians for Truth and Justice and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights have filed a complaint with German federal prosecutors against Turkish-backed Sunni factions they accuse of war crimes against Kurds in Afrin. These include ethnic cleansing, rape and looting. German prosecutors have convicted individuals accused of torturing …
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Kuwaiti academic says Red Sea escalation with Yemen's Houthis won't end without US pressure on Israel to end Gaza war
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Tensions between the United States and Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to escalate in the Red Sea, disrupting maritime traffic in a key shipping lane. A barrage of US airstrikes against the Houthis shows little signs of slowing them down. The Shiite rebels insist they won't stop targeting merchant ships and US naval vessels unless Israel ends it…
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Israel does not want a war with Iran, says Haaretz English editor-in-chief
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The assassination of Hamas' number two man in Beirut on Tuesday has deepened concerns that the conflict in Gaza will engulf neighboring Lebanon. However, Esther Solomon, the editor-in-chief of Haaretz English, dismisses the idea that Israel wants to provoke a war with Iran that would drag in the United States. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co…
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Turkey won't be at the table when Gaza conflict ends, says Turkey analyst Alan Makovsky
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has openly sided with Hamas in its ongoing conflict with Israel in Gaza, making him a hero on the Arab street. However, his vocal support for the group that is designated as terrorists by the United States will likely further strain relations between Ankara and Washington. It will also make it harder for Turke…
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Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel warns Gaza conflict may expand because Iran lacks full control of its militia proxies
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As Israel’s war to unseat Hamas in the Gaza Strip grinds into its second month, the former top US military commander in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel (ret.), says the hardest fighting is yet to come. While the IDF appears to be implementing some of Washington’s advice by allowing for the flow of humanitarian aid and civilian evacuation corrido…
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Iran continues strategic miscalculations even after Hamas' attack on Israel, says analyst Hamidreza Azizi
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Iran is doing its best to avoid getting dragged into the conflict in Gaza. Its strategy of deterrence through its proxies appears to have backfired and the United States is more present than ever in the region, says Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/priva…
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The Israel-Hamas War: Live Q&A with Ali Hashem, Joyce Karam, and Daoud Kuttab
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In another special edition of the podcast, we have the audio from the fourth edition of our live Q&A webinar series on the Israel-Hamas war, where Al-Monitor's Columnist Ali Hashem, Senior News Editor Joyce Karam, and Palestine Columnist Daoud Kuttab discussed the conflict's latest developments, including Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasralla…
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As Turkey celebrates 100th anniversary as a republic, Erdogan's one-man pro-Islamist regime is firmly entrenched, says Turkish scholar Selim Koru
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On Oct. 29 Turkey will mark its 100th year as a republic, with an overtly Islamist leader in power for the past 20 years. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to unravel the legacy of the secularizing founder of modern Turkey Kemal Ataturk. He may have succeeded in several ways, but Turkish scholar Selim Koru argues that under Erdogan Islam ha…
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The Israel-Hamas War: Live Q&A webinar with Ben Caspit & Nadia Bilbassy-Charters
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In this special edition of the podcast, we have the audio from the second part of our live Q&A webinar series on the Israel-Hamas war, where Al-Monitor Israel Columnist Ben Caspit, reporting from Tel Aviv, and Al Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Nadia Bilbassy-Charters discussed the latest developments in the war, including President Biden’s visit t…
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Palestinian American historian Rashid Khalidi says Israel, US will face new wave of hostility in Middle East as Gaza war escalates
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Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, argues that Israel’s persistent repression of the Palestinians and denial of their right to statehood are the underlying cause of Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state. Successive US governments, including the Biden Administration, with their unfetter…
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Israel's envoy to Bahrain says Iran behind Hamas attack, target is Abraham Accords
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Israel's Ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Na'eh says that Iran was the driving force behind Hamas' October 7 attack on his country and that the Abraham Accords were the main target. The envoy insists that the accords are aimed at developing economic prosperity and trust in the Middle East and nobody will invest in Gaza until it is rid of Hamas. See Priv…
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Sister of kidnapped Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov says US and Iraq can secure her release from Shiite militants
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Emma Tsurkov, a scholar at Stanford University, says all she knows about her sister Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped by the Iraqi Shiite militant group Kataib Hezbollah in March, is that she is still alive and in Baghdad. The conflict in Gaza triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel will have further complicated her plight, though. See Privacy Poli…
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Will Armenia’s land border with Iran be Azerbaijan’s next target after Nagorno-Karabakh, asks analyst Benjamin Poghosyan
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Yerevan-based analyst Benjamin Poghosyan says that Azerbaijan's actions in Nagorno-Karabakh presage further land grabs and broader conflict. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Iraqi Kurdish scholar Mohammed Salih says violence targeting Kurds in Kirkuk revives ghosts of Saddam regime
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At least four Kurdish demonstrators were shot dead last weekend in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, raising the specter of Arab-Kurdish conflict. The bloodshed was triggered by an Iraqi federal court rejecting Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's decision to let a Kurdish group reclaim its headquarters that are currently occupied by Iraqi securi…
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Saudi Arabia responsible for mass killings of Ethiopian migrants on Yemeni border, says Human Rights Watch researcher Nadia Hardman
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Hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers have been shot by Saudi border guards as they tried to cross in from Yemen, according to a chilling new report from Human Rights Watch. The allegations were substantiated by international media outlets, including the Reuters news agency. Saudi Arabia denies the claims and Western governments have sa…
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After 39 years of armed conflict with Turkey, outlawed PKK militants may be weakened but not defeated, says author Frederike Geerdink
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Aug. 15 marks the 39th anniversary of the launch of the armed campaign by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party against the Turkish state. The group has evolved over the years, shedding its demands for Kurdish independence. Yet however much it rejects the nationalist label, many Kurds continue to join the group in the hope of forcing Turkey to grant…
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