Analysis
Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on Al-Monitor’s world class reporting.
Assad and his creditors
How to get Iran out of Syria? Put sanctions on the table.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia May 17, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - UP1EE5H1HMGEQ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/02/RTS1RYAN.jpg/RTS1RYAN.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=yGujZr-k)
Erdogan: 'Nothing will stop us' if Syrian Kurds do not leave Manbij
Turkish president intensifies warnings as US exits Syria; Islamic Jihad bends Hamas to its will; Amberin Zaman reports on Tunisia’s returning jihadis.
![RTX6K3PS.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/02/RTX6K3PS.jpg/RTX6K3PS.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=lANvBndM)
GCC states boxed in by US sanctions on Syria
The United States creates dilemmas for GCC in Syria; Qatar steps up with $500 million Lebanon investment; Netanyahu seeks Arab photo-op in Poland.
![The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Leaders are seen ahead of their Summit meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 9, 2018. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1819A5F470](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/01/RTX6HTGY.jpg/RTX6HTGY.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=n4USozAa)
Putin guides Erdogan along the Road to Damascus
The Russian and Turkish presidents agree to rekindle 1998 Adana agreement.
![RTS2BXBI.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/01/RTS2BXBI.jpg/RTS2BXBI.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=fklU0t0V)
Erdogan seeks lifeline from Putin in Syria
The Turkish president will discuss Syria with his Russian counterpart in Moscow this coming week, as Qatar's Sheikh Tamim takes spotlight in Beirut.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan speak during a ceremony to mark the completion of the sea part of the TurkStream gas pipeline, in Istanbul, Turkey November 19, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC12DCA255B0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/01/RTS26NG2.jpg/RTS26NG2.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=RDOkgk-c)
Iran plays Hamas card ahead of Israeli elections
Hamas insists on Qatari money; Iran offers training for Palestinian factions; Russia wrestles with its limits in Syria; UAE leads GCC rapprochement with Damascus.
![RTS299IO.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/01/RTS299IO.jpg/RTS299IO.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=6qXbL0bD)
Can US Syria policy keep up with Trump?
The US president will need assistance from Vladimir Putin, Mohammed bin Salman and even Bashar al-Assad to close the deal with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Syria.
![RTS1O206.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/01/RTS1O206.jpg/RTS1O206.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=o5HAvC6R)
Putin’s next act: Syrian-Turkish rapprochement
The Russian president still needs the United States to keep the pace, and the peace, in Syria.
![RTX6K7B1.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/12/RTX6K7B1.jpg/RTX6K7B1.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=Yd_aSjr0)
Trump buries the hatchet with Erdogan over Syria
The US troop withdrawal could also lead to a return of the 'art of the deal' with Putin.
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks withh Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the opening ceremony of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 11, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS - RC19136AAEC0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/12/RTX6AQK3.jpg/RTX6AQK3.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=6wL-M8ca)
Hamas goes on offense in West Bank
Palestinian protests continue in Ramallah over Israeli incursions.
![RTX6INWB.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/12/RTX6INWB.jpg/RTX6INWB.jpg?h=7eeabb12&itok=rh1AdIxE)
Pagination
Netanyahu, regional leaders hedge on possible Trump win in November
The Israeli prime minister is under pressure to deliver on a cease-fire during his Washington visit next week; Biden can’t heal Democrat divisions over Israel and the Gaza war.
![JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1230516369.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=-Zxq4qmm)
Lebanon FM warns of 'devastating’ regional war if Israel escalates campaign against Hezbollah
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Lebanon's top diplomat, Abdallah Bou Habib, adds that security in the south ultimately depends on a strong Lebanese army and an agreement on the border – not war.
![BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 15: Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib speaks to the media following talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on December 15, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The two diplomats discussed mutual measures to prevent the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict from expanding to other regions, among other issues. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1857491748.jpg?h=9855f42d&itok=rgoJZYYE)
US, Iran guarantors of shaky deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is not ready to go to the mattresses over the killing of another senior commander on Wednesday, and Iran doesn't want a war while it favors the threat of confrontation as a deterrent.
![A portrait of Musa al-Sadr sits amid the rubble of a destroyed building in the heavily damaged, Hezbollah stronghold town of Aita al Chaab on June 29, 2024 in Aita al Chaab, Lebanon. Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading cross-border fire since the October 7 attacks, with the conflict escalating in May when the group launched a missile-carrying drone against Israel for the first time. The conflict intensified in June when Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli m](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-2159834748.jpg?h=4296c093&itok=iuOsSvRF)
G42-Microsoft partnership in Kenya 'just the beginning,' says UAE trade minister
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi discusses momentum in UAE trade with the US, the benefits of economic diversification and Africa’s priority in UAE trade policy.
![Indonesian President Joko Widodo (L) listens to a speech by United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi (R) during the inauguration of the newly built floating solar power plant on the water that can generate 192 mega watts of peak electricity in cooperation between the Indonesian government and Masdar from the UAE, at Cirata Reservoir, West Java, on November 9, 2023. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP) (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-06/GettyImages-1771551969.jpg?h=1dfc45c8&itok=YsgRPZu4)