Capitol Hill counts down days until Iran nuclear deadline A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 1. Iraq
Baghdad stumbles in response to Ramadi refugees 180,000 Iraqis now displaced by the Islamic State from Ramadi; Islamic State benefits from Saudi military intervention in Yemen; Jabhat al-Nusra’s attempted makeover. Saudi Arabia
Erdogan tries to rewrite history Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent decision to change the date commemorating the conquest of Istanbul from May 29 to May 30 seems to fall into a pattern of altering dates of public holidays to correspond with important political dates — in this case, the June 7 elections. Turkey
Unlicensed cosmetic surgery on rise in Iran As the popularity of cosmetic surgery increases in Iran, low-cost, unlicensed clinics have increased as well. Iran
Why Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to Islamic State After recent Islamic State attacks on Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's sectarian vulnerabilities have been further exposed. Saudi Arabia
The West Bank's drug problem Drug trafficking, dealing and consumption have quickly spread in the West Bank, where security is loose. Palestine
Why is AKP losing the Kurds? As Erdogan fatigue intensifies, the AKP’s political, economic and campaign failures have cost them loyal Kurdish support. Turkey
Egyptian antiquities chief: Historic legacy is under attack Mamdouh al-Damaty talks to Al-Monitor about the recent controversy surrounding King Tut's broken beard and reports of a pornographic film being shot in the Giza Pyramid. Egypt
Al-Qaeda theorist calls for infiltrating political systems Abdullah bin Mohammed, an al-Qaeda theorist, believes jihadists need to adopt a new strategy of attaining legitimacy by rebranding themselves and working from within political systems, an idea that might already have taken root in Syria. Iraq
Gaza’s high population strains water supply Gaza authorities are establishing water desalination plants to meet the demands of the increasing population. Palestine
Bank of Palestine ends international money transfers International transfers to charitable organizations in Palestine have been halted on charges of ties with Hamas, affecting the orphans who are reportedly the main beneficiaries. Palestine
Israel's Christian schools demand equality with Jewish schools Christian schools in Israel do not receive the same financial support as their Jewish counterparts, burdening parents with higher tuition costs. Palestine
What does peace mean for Gazans? The current situation in Palestine is similar to what it was before the Oslo Accord, which does not necessarily mean that a new peace agreement might be reached with Israel. Palestine
Persecution of Egypt's Shiites continues Egypt’s Shiites are being discriminated against through a number of means that are causing the religious minority to be further marginalized. Egypt
Netanyahu increasingly exposed to political extortion The precedents of Ministers Gilad Erdan and Zeev Elkin receiving the portfolios they were after encourage Likud central committee members, who seek to weaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on the party. Israel
Is US disengaging from Israeli-Palestinian conflict? With a weak Palestinian leader and a peace-rejectionist Israeli prime minister, the Obama administration is reluctant to impose itself on the two parties and might prefer a disengagement doctrine. Palestine
