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The US has deliberately engineered the country’s economic collapse, but Hezbollah won’t yield to it demands

By Abdel Bari Atwan

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet sounded the alarm on Saturday that the economic situation in Lebanon was spiralling out of control and that many thousands of its people face destitution and starvation. The warning was stark. But it wasn’t surprising given the relentless US pressure the country faces, which has more than crossed every conceivable red line.

The new prime minister is playing with fire by targeting pro-Iranian groups to impress his US backers

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Late last week, troops from the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Services (CTS) raided a base in Baghdad belonging to the Kataib Hezbollah group, on the grounds that rockets may have been produced there that were used to target the US embassy, and detained dozens of its members. This move was unprecedented and could herald yet another bout of turmoil and trouble in a country teetering on the brink of chaos.

Egyptian military poised to intervene directly if Turkish-backed forces recapture Sirte

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls most of the west of the country, was right to accuse Egyptian President Abdelfattah as-Sisi of ‘beating the drums of war’ in the statement he made on Saturday while touring an army base in western Egypt. In a carefully-scripted announcement, Sisi declared that the Libyan city of Sirte and the nearby al-Jufra airbase, which the GNA is intent on recapturing, are a ‘red line’ for Egypt.

Hezbollah and its allies won’t wait for their countries to be crippled before retaliating for the ‘Caesar Act’

By Abdel Bari Atwan

As the so-called ‘Caesar Act’ came into force on Wednesday, the US announced the imposition of individual sanctions on 39 prominent Syrians – including President Bashar al-Asad and his wife Asma al-Akhras – while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo served notice that additional, more punishing, sanctions are to follow.

It is futile to point out that this Act is illegal, or set out all the evidence that those who will be punished most by it are the ordinary people of Syria, the great majority of whom are already living below the poverty line.

Asad mulls reforms to tackle an economic crisis worsened by new US sanctions, but can he deliver this time?

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Syrian President Bashar al-Asad was expected to deliver a speech this week to discuss the deteriorating economic situation that is causing immense hardship to millions of Syrians and has sparked a number of anti-government protests. Reports suggested he would seek to dispel various rumours that have been circulating and exacerbating the economic crisis, and link it to the ‘pychological warfare’ being waged against the country as it braces for the full impact of the so-called ‘Caesar Act’.

With Algeria engaging in the search for a political solution in Libya, Haftar could be on his way out

By Abdel Bari Atwan

A desperate race is on between the rival political and military alliances in Libya, with each side trying to improve its position on the ground maximize its gains to strengthen its hand in any future negotiations. The current battle for the central city of Sirte between the Turkish-backed forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) — supported by Egypt, the UAE and France — will be crucial in determining the outcome.

Trump is trying to get Saudi Arabia and the UAE to make up with Qatar, but only to rally them all against Iran

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The feud within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been brought back to pubic attention by US President Donald Trump’s latest bid to ease it. He has reportedly been trying to persuade Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to re-open their airspace to Qatari airliners because its closure forces them to detour over Iran and earns the country a substantial income in over-flight fees.

Moscow seems to have concluded that Haftar can’t win, and opted to cut its losses

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The success of forces aligned with Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in taking full control of Tripoli, ending Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s year-long siege of the capital, and going on to capture the town of Tarhouna, is a major triumph for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was his decision to give his full military backing to the GNA that turned the tables both in the air and on the ground: crucially the squadrons of Bayrakdar drones he deployed, and the thousands of battle-hardened Islamist fighters he sent from Syria.

Syria and Iran can cope with another round of US sanctions. The Lebanese are the most vulnerable targets of the ‘Caeser Act’.

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The Trump administration is promising Syria and its allies in Iran and Lebanon a fresh package of ‘suffocating’ sanctions in two weeks’ time with the coming into force of the so-called ‘Caesar Act’, whose provisions were passed by both houses of Congress last December.

The aim of this legislation is not only to suffocate Syria but also to inflict as much economic pain as possible on its backers, especially in Lebanon, Iran, and Russia.