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The US has only itself to blame for Iran’s growing influence in the country

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The war between the US and Iran has begun moving markedly onto the Iraqi stage, with the US government increasingly treating the Iranian regime as though it were Iraq’s de facto ruler.

This was underlined by the official warning issued by the White House this week holding the Iranian government accountable for any attacks that may be launched by pro-Tehran groups against US personnel or facilities in Iraq. 

Why the revived talk of a proposed Palestinian-Jordanian confederation? 

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is skilled at launching ‘trial balloons’. He uses them to take the pulse of the Palestinian public or to pave the way for some political project he is discussing with the Israeli occupation state or some neighbouring countries under US auspices. He is not in the habit of talking for its own sake, and there are many precedents in this regard — most memorably the way he used one of his aides to pave the way for the Oslo Accords before signing them on the White House lawn in September 1993.

The coming few days will be decisive for Syria and could determine the future of the entire Middle East

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Whether peacefully or by war, the tragic situation in Syria is approaching an end-station in Idlib. The Syrian army is poised to launch an offensive to recapture the city with the support of Iranian and Hezbollah forces on the ground and Russian warplanes in the air. The Russian has meanwhile deployed over 25 naval vessels including two submarines in anticipation of possible US military intervention to prevent the city – the last major stronghold of Hay’at Tahrir ash-Sham (the Nusra Front) and other Salafi groups – from being brought back under the sovereignty of the Syrian state after a seven-year absence.

Syria could face a renewed US-led assault after refusing to break with Iran

By Abdel Bari Atwan

There have been successive attempts by the US and Saudi Arabia recently to secretly offer the Syrian leadership a ‘tempting’ deal under which, essentially, it would break with the ‘resistance axis’ (specifically Iran and Hezbollah) in exchange for President Bashar al-Asad remaining in power .

At the same time, the US and its allies have been staging military build-ups that aim to signal that a military strike on Syria could be imminent, while also reviving threats to change the Syrian regime by force.

Does the reappearance of the IS leader signal the start of Stage 2?

By Abdel Bari Atwan

It may be pure coincidence that both the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group Abu-Bakral-Baghdadi and the head of Hay’at Tahrir ash-Sham (formerly the Nusra Front), Abu-Muhammad al-Joulani, resurfaced at the same time last week. The former issued an audio recording which was broadcast by the al-Furqan outlet, and the latter was shown inspecting one of his group’s command post in the northern Syrian Latakia province.

Will a new ‘chemical weapons’ pretext be used to stop the Syrian army from retaking Idlib?

By Abdel Bari Atwan

US National Security Advisor John Bolton is one of the most influential and hawkish members of the Trump Administration, and is anti-Arab and Islamophobic in the extreme. His just-concluded three-day visit to Israel was tantamount to a counsel of war. His discussions with his closest ally Binyamin Netanyahu focused on the Iranian presence in Syria, the imminent battle for Idlib (the armed opposition’s last redoubt in the country), and how to tighten economic sanctions on Iran in order to get the Iranian people to revolt against the regime.

Why is the US getting Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pay for its deployment in Syria?

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Donald Trump treats most of his Arab allies in the Gulf region as cash-dispensing machines.

His shamelessness in this regard reached new heights at the weekend when he tweeted that he had decided to stop providing an annual $230 million in aid to his allies in northeastern Syria – in territory they recaptured from the Islamic State (IS) group – and instructed Saudi Arabia and the UAE to immediately make up for most of this shortfall.

Qatar is repaying favours by helping Turkey out, but will the US forgive its defiance? 

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Qatar threw all its weight behind its Turkish ally on Wednesday when its emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin-Hamad Al Thani announced — after flying to Ankara and holding a three-hour meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — that it would invest $15 billion in the country to support the Turkish economy and prevent the collapse of its national currency (the lira).

This step comes at a time when Turkey is facing a ferocious economic war waged on it by US President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at ruining its economy and weakening the lira, which began with the doubling of tariffs on Turkish iron, steel and aluminium exported to the US.

Riyadh seems to think it needs no other friends so long as it has Donald Trump

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Saudi Arabia has ratcheted up its harsh punitive measures against Canada in response to the Canadian foreign minister’s tweet condemning the detention of Saudi rights activists and demanding their immediate release.

The Financial Timesreported that the Saudi central bank and state pension funds have instructed their overseas asset managers to dispose of all their Canadian equities, bonds and cash holdings, and to do so “no matter the cost”.

There are four main reasons for Trump’s attempt to ruin the Turkish economy

By Abdel Bari Atwan

US President Donald Trump has escalated his economic war on against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to a new and more aggressive level. On Friday he announced he was doubling tariffs on imported Turkish iron and steel and aluminium in a bid to throttle the Turkish economy and exacerbate its currency crisis.

He tweeted: I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!