Sometimes it takes someone on the outside, a graduate of the Israeli political or military scene, to say what the establishment can’t bring itself to say out loud. The question of the Jordanian regime’s stability has been taboo for years in the Israeli intelligence community. It’s not discussed in the open or in press briefings. When an Israeli leader blurts ...

The Iranian Customs Administration closed Soumar border crossing in Western Iran on Tuesday May 21, bringing export of Iranian goods to Iraq to a halt, Mehr news agency reported. A statement issued by the Iranian Customs Administration orders transportation companies “To stop sending export goods to the Soumar border until further notice.” The Iranian Customs Administration has issued the statement ...

EliseCare is a French NGO that was set up to help religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, who were abused by the Islamic State group. Today, several former employees are accusing Elise Boghossian, the founder of this NGO, of covering up cases of rape and sexual assault allegedly at the hands of the humanitarian organisation’s head of mission in Iraq. ...

Iraq’s parliament is considering legislation that would, if approved, call on the Iraqi government to formally demand compensation from Israel for a 1981 airstrike that destroyed the country’s French-built Osirak nuclear reactor. Submitted to the assembly’s presidency on Wednesday, the draft legislation seeks compensation from Israel for casualties and material damage incurred by the strike. Along with destroying the reactor, ...

As Iraq continues its lengthy recovery from a ruinous four-year showdown between the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) and an American-led coalition, Iraqi officials are determining which aspect of their country’s reconstruction to prioritize. Among the most pressing challenges remains confronting the twin phenomena of climate change and environmental degradation, problems that weighed on Iraq well before the rise of IS. Though overcoming environmental issues ...

The possibility of closing the Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz straits pose a threat no less serious than others coming from Tehran and Hezbollah Israel isn’t involved. That’s the official response to anyone who asks what the recent deterioration in relations between Iran and the United States means for Jerusalem. We’re not involved; we’re not addressing or responding to it. Ramifications? ...

The editor of a Swedish news website dismissed complaints about his publication’s claim that Tel Aviv is Israel’s capital, asserting incorrectly that this is the position of the United Nations. ABC Nyheter’s editor-in-chief Daniel Lilja made the claim in an email he sent this week to a reader who wrote to correct the news website’s assertion that Tel Aviv is ...

The Palestinian Authority has received armored vehicles from the United States after a long period during which it was not permitted to receive such vehicles, according to Ynet. Israel had denied requests to bring in the vehicles for years, due to the issue of tax money being used to pay the families of terrorists. The Palestinian security services received ten armored ...

In what can only be considered an historical speech before the world’s governing authorities, Israel’s ambassador to the UN gave a surprising defense for the right of the Jewish people to the whole Land of Israel-the Bible. The unparalleled presentation by Ambassador Danny Danon delivered to the UN General Assembly just after Passover a few weeks ago has gone viral ...

Northern Ireland’s economy was the slowest growing of any UK region in the first quarter of 2019, an initial estimate has suggested. Figures from the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) put year-on-year growth at 0.7%. That compares with an average UK growth rate of 1.5%. ESCoE is a consortium of research institutions that work with the Office for National ...