MENA Monitor Articles
The Iranian-Russian alliance and Turkey taking care of its interests in the region
As part of the Astana Process Summit, a three-country meeting on Syria took place. The Turkish, Russian and Iranian sides held talks in the bilateral and trilateral formats and discussed key issues. Iran and Syria turned out to be the biggest winners of meetings at the level of heads of state. Due to the steps taken to end the civil war in Syria, military intervention in Syria was not allowed. Iran has entered into new business relations with Russia that will allow the development of their energy infrastructure. An unofficial alliance was formed between the two countries.
Joe Biden as a mediator in the Middle East
Over the past week, Joe Biden’s presence in the Middle East area may have contributed to the development of events in armed conflicts in Yemen and Syria. The sensitive issue for Muslims of Palestinian access to Jerusalem has been sidelined by the US Presidential Administration due to the support of the American public for the Israeli political system.
The stalemate in US-Turkey relations has been broken
Joe Biden supported the position of Turkey, which agreed to the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO before the negotiations at the Madrid summit, thanks to the signing of a tripartite memorandum. The decision was made that the most important pillar of NATO’s new defense doctrine was the fight against terrorism. This issue may be considered individually by the states of the North Atlantic Treaty as the forces of the alliance may not necessarily jointly undertake specific actions in the fight against Kurdish or any other terrorism. Turkey’s compromise allowed to face the situation that has been going on since May 2022.
Iran. Assassination of Revolutionary Guard Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari
According to the Tasnim news agency, two people on a motorcycle shot Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari outside his home on one of Tehran’s best-guarded streets, which also houses Parliament. The attack is reminiscent of other killings in which the perpetrators used motorcycles, especially including those targeted at Iranian nuclear scientists.
Impact of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict on the Security of the Middle East
The Middle East region is nowadays considered one of the least stable areas in the world. The main factor contributing to this state of affairs is the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conflict has not been resolved so far, despite the fact that in the 1990s a peace process was initiated. All mediation and negotiation attempts have stalled due to the complexity of the problem and the conditions that must be met by both sides for a lasting peace. Efforts to create a Palestinian state have continued, but successive conflicts between Palestine and Israel have hampered the peace process. Although both sides have repeatedly declared their willingness to resume peace talks, the criteria they set for each other result in the negotiations continuing to fail.
Iranian-Saudi Negotiations
The fifth round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran took place in late April this year. Previous talks have focused mainly on issues concerning pilgrimage to Mecca and have been led by lower-level officials. The latest talks involve the foreign ministries of both countries, which indicates the willingness of both sides to bring “their own efforts” (without U.S. involvement) to resolve the most difficult conflicts in the region that pose a threat to their economies.
Saudi Arabia. 9.6% GDP Growth in Q1 2022
The government of Saudi Arabia (the world’s largest oil exporter) says preliminary estimates indicate that the country’s economy grew by 9.6% in Q1 2022, and if those estimates are confirmed, it will be the highest growth rate since 2011, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Israel’s Apartheid Policy Towards Palestinians
Human Rights Watch concludes from its research that the Israeli government has demonstrated an intention to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). In OPTs, including East Jerusalem, this intention has been combined with systematic oppression of Palestinians and acts of violence committed against them. When these three elements occur together, they make up the crime of apartheid. According to the report, Israeli officials also committed the crime of persecution against humanity.
Tunisia. Deepening Socio-Political Crisis
Following a series of socio-political protests in 2011, Tunisia introduced a democratic system, which had been preceded by the departure of the then President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. At the time, few suspected that a decade later the opposite would occur and democracy would be threatened. The actions led by President Kais Saied pose a serious jeopardy to the democracy that Tunisians fought for ten years ago.
Syria. ILIS (ISIS) Attack on Ghweran Prison
More than 100 ISIL (ISIS) fighters launched an attack on Ghweran prison in Hasakah last week, detonating three car bombs. The rebels stormed the compound in an attempt to free thousands of their comrades who were detained after the group’s defeat in 2019.
United Arab Emirates. Escalating Conflict with the Houthi Rebels
The conflict in Yemen has been a disaster for millions of its citizens who have fled their homes, many of whom are on the brink of starvation. The United Arab Emirates joined the coalition against the Houthis in 2019. Yemeni non-governmental forces backed by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates have dealt the rebels some very painful blows recently. Three districts in the Shabwa governorate were recaptured. The clashes were only part of a surge in violence taking place in a devastated country where the war is fought on several fronts
Maghreb. Escalating Algerian-Moroccan Tensions
On August 24, 2021, Algeria has severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing it of continued hostile actions. A month earlier, the Algerian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Morocco and announced that it may take further steps in retaliation for unfavorable comments made by Morocco’s envoy to the United Nations, Omar Hilal, who dragged the Kabylia region into the decades-old dispute over Western Sahara.
Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
For more than a decade, the Republic of Yemen has been torn apart by multiple armed conflicts involving both domestic militant groups and foreign states. The clashes have weakened Yemen’s central government and divided the country into various local power centers.
A Pyrrhic Victory for Israel
In recent months, there have been protests by the Muslim population which have rapidly taken on a tense, aggressive and violent character. Arabs clashed with the law enforcement forces and there have been reports of individual incidents of violence against the Jewish population. On the other hand, a march was organized by Jewish nationalists in Jerusalem, who attacked counter-demonstrators. Over time, the clashes developed into a large-scale incident, with Arab youths confronting the police, resulting in dozens of officers and several hundred young people being injured.
Warsaw Institute
