Congressional Democrats visiting Israel get earful about 'bad' Iran deal Instead of adopting the assessment of several top security chiefs that the Iran deal is better than none, Zionist Camp leaders Tzipi Livni and Isaac Herzog have chosen to imitate the prime minister and deride the agreement in talks with Congressional Democrats visiting Israel. Palestine
Iran's troubled bond market Even if sanctions are lifted, Iran's debt market faces several obstacles to realizing its full potential. Iran
Kharazi sparks controversy within Reformist camp Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi, who has founded a new political Reformist group, has stirred controversy with comments that he someday might expose names of Reformists who in the past had contacts with Americans. Iran
Former US ambassador: There won't be peace in Syria without prosecution of Assad In Stephen Rapp's first interview since leaving office, the recently resigned US ambassador-at-large and chief of the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice says progress is being made on amassing documentation of the "hell" in Syria. Syria
Kuwait's Sunnis question fellow Shiites' loyalties Kuwait is experiencing heightened Sunni-Shiite tensions, but the country's position in the region may make it difficult to address them should the situation worsen. Gulf
Controversy over plan to reform Israeli public broadcasting Minister Ofir Akunis, who is responsible for reforming public broadcasting, tells Al-Monitor that contrary to accusations by the left, his reform plan is designed to rebuild an independent entity, reflecting more "balanced" views. Israel
Egypt's prosecutors take aim at pop stars In Egypt, where popular music videos are offending public morals, charges of indecency are being filed against a number of dancers. Egypt
Is Palestinian soccer head playing a political game? Palestinian Football Association Head Jibril Rajoub claimed that Israel prevented West Bank entry of Palestinian soccer players, but Israel argues that it was Rajoub who created an incident so he could score political points. Palestine
Turkish men not so worried about worry beads The traditional use of worry beads, or tesbih, thrives in modern times as a tool for personal therapy, a status symbol and a faithful companion. Turkey
Possible EU sanctions alarm Israeli banks Following the recommendation of a prominent think tank, Israeli investors fear that the European Union will decide to "mark" Israeli banks that operate in the West Bank, devastating the entire Israeli banking system. Palestine
Turkey treads carefully on new gas pipeline with Russia Ankara doesn’t want to put all of its energy eggs into the Russian basket. Turkey
Is Turkey's 'emergency rule' back? With increasing tensions in the region, declaring 37 areas "provisional security zones" off-limits to civilians is seen by some as a resurrection of Turkey's emergency rule. Turkey
Hamas concludes first-ever military training camp for girls Hamas’ women's movement is now organizing female-only training camps to strengthen young women's affiliation with Hamas' values and goals. Palestine
Islamic State tightens grip on Libya An Al-Monitor correspondent recently visited Libya and found his homeland sinking deeper into despair and dysfunction and possibly sliding toward disintegration. North Africa
Sahl al-Ghab emerges as main focus of Syrian rebels' fight against regime Syria’s Sahl al-Ghab region is of strategic importance to the Syrian opposition factions that have been trying to weaken the Assad regime whose largest pool of supporters is based there. Lebanon
Rafsanjani's son enters prison amid media circus Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani's son, entered Evin prison to serve a 10-year sentence for corruption. Iran
