The battle for the Syrian city of Al-Qusayr, which came under regime artillery fire May 19, is actually part of a larger battle for the highly coveted Homs governorate. As we noted in 2012, the battle has wide-reaching ramifications for the Syrian rebels since Al-Qusayr sits along a major transit point for rebel supplies and reinforcements coming in from Lebanon. But it is equally important to loyalist forces. If the Syrian regime loses control of the...
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The civil war in Syria, one of the few lasting legacies of the Arab Spring, has been under way for more than two years. There has been substantial outside intervention in the war. The Iranians in particular, and the Russians to a lesser extent, have supported the Alawites under Bashar al Assad. The Saudis and some of the Gulf States have supported the Sunni insurgents in various ways. The Americans, Europeans and Israelis, however, have for the most part avoided...
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FOX Business Network’s (FBN) Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino reports that the State Department and Treasury Department is telling the banks that the source of the cyber-attacks is “likely Iran” and that it is “part of a terrorist attack. It’s cyber-terrorism.” Gasparino discusses the increased hacking risk and notes that the banks are “under attack from hackers daily” and that the “feedback they are getting from the government” is that “they think it’s Iran. It’s...
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Canadian authorities arrested two suspects, Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto, linking them to extremist al-Qaida factions based in Iran yesterday. The two were arrested for allegedly planning an attack against a jointly run Canadian/American passenger rail service connecting Toronto and New York. While no accusations were leveled against the state of Iran, it took no time for the omnipresent rhetoric of the Iranian government and its ministers to begin in...
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Iran has been hit by a massive earthquake with jolts felt in India, Pakistan and in the Middle East region. According to a US Geological Survey the magnitude of the earthquake is measured at 7.88 on the Richter scale. This magnitude is strong enough to hit some large buildings. The epicenter for the earthquake is located 90 km southeast of the city of Khash. Khash had over 56,000 residents as of 2006 and is...
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Eurasianet Commentary There’s a coffee shop in an out-of-the-way part of Baku where the walls are covered with illustrations from an early 20th century satirical magazine called Molla Nasreddin. The magazine represents a bygone era, when Azerbaijan was a font of new cultural trends in the Muslim world, pioneering such issues as female emancipation, anti-clericalism, anti-colonialism and labor rights Although Azerbaijan was the birthplace of the magazine, arguably the country affected most by its...
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North Korea’s fatboy dictator is now upping his threats of war on a regular basis. Citi is out with a new report on North Korea’s past provocative actions and how it has impacted South Korean stocks, FX, and FDI. Indeed, some believe that North Korea’s goal is to harm the South Korean economy. North Korea is “winning in an asymmetrical psychological warfare,” Tom Coyner, a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and author...
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Israel is in the process of watching a peace treaty unravel. I don’t mean the one with Egypt, but the one with Syria. No, I’m not crazy. Since Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy in 1974, the Israelis have had a de facto peace agreement of sorts with the al Assad family. After all, there were clear red lines that both sides knew they shouldn’t cross, as well as reasonable predictability on both sides. Forget about the uplifting...
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U.S. President Barack Obama is making his first visit to Israel. The visit comes in the wake of his re-election and inauguration to a second term and the formation of a new Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Normally, summits between Israel and the United States are filled with foreign policy issues on both sides, and there will be many discussed at this meeting, including Iran, Syria and Egypt. But this summit takes place in an...
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Iran’s government has blocked access to Gmail and the Websites of its opposition through virtual private networks according to an Associate Press story. Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are illegal in the Middle Eastern nation, though they have been used by many to keep their internet usage away form the eyes of security officials. The country accelerated its campaign to block the tool after a series of protests in recent years demonstrated that its attempts...
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Pakistan and Iran are all set to inaugurate the multi-billion dollar IP gas pipeline today. The gas pipeline will be inaugurated by Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Pakistan-Iran border. Through the Gas pipeline, Pakistan will be able to cater its energy needs, which are increasing by days, at a time when country is also experiencing blackouts and energy shortages. The 1600 kilometre pipeline, which will cost...
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