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.
How could Bibi lose by offering 'ultimate deal' with Iran?
Israel Pulse columnist Akiva Eldar calls for direct Iran-Israel talks; Ali Akbar Velayati opposes Sadr-Communist bloc; Has Islamic State returned to Hawija?
![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits in the audience ahead of a planned address at the Muni World 2018 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RC1B832C7E70](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/03/RTX4WSR1.jpg/RTX4WSR1.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=J1qNw1DM)
Satterfield’s shuttle diplomacy may offer diplomatic opening for Syria
Is there more to the talks about Block 9? Success of UN Security Council cease-fire depends on definition of "terrorist."
![Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil meets with Acting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State David Satterfield and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard in Beirut, Lebanon February 21, 2018. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC1C36783760](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/02/RTX4Y6EZ.jpg/RTX4Y6EZ.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=4mcZFHI-)
Turkey’s assault adds to 'climate of repression and decline' in northern Syria
Iran tries to broker deal between Ankara and Damascus to contain fighting over Syrian Kurds.
![Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter stands near stacked sandbags in Eastern Afrin, Syria, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1A6D3C0CA0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/02/RTX4WGS3.jpg/RTX4WGS3.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=YxlqQ2PH)
Despite defeat of IS, Syria war risks major power conflict
The United States and Russia should abandon "proxy wars" and back a new UN Security Council resolution for a regional peace conference.
![A man walks on rubble at a damaged site after an airstrike in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh - RC18866F2CF0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/02/RTX4TVGA.jpg/RTX4TVGA.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=h8hUyJFd)
Sochi conference casualty of Turkey’s military offensive in Syria
Syrian opposition meeting reveals extent — and limits — of Russian-Turkish collaboration.
![RTS1LT7I.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/02/RTS1LT7I.jpg/RTS1LT7I.jpg?h=b2c59e98&itok=VS0mgtz9)
Is US bailing on Syrian Kurds?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ignores appeals for restraint in northern Syria, appears to have gotten Washington to end support for the YPG.
![A fighter from Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sits on a curb as he holds his weapon in Raqqa, Syria September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC17FB8BC0B0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/01/RTS1DOUH.jpg/RTS1DOUH.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=cm80lVLt)
Turkey upends US Syria strategy with attack on YPG
Ankara seeks green light from Moscow, not Washington, in attack on US partner; UN warns of consequences of continued fighting in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib; local council in Aleppo confiscates land of Islamic State families.
![Turkish artillerys shell the People's Protection Units (YPG) positions near the Syrian border on January 21, 2018 near Hassa, in the Turkish province of Hatay, as Turk's ground troops entered Syria today to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as rocket fire hit a border town in apparent retaliation.
Turkey on January 20 launched operation "Olive Branch" seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the YPG which Ankara considers a terror group.
/ AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credi](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/01/GettyImages-908222532.jpg/GettyImages-908222532.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=tGwTiyKv)
Is Turkey aligned with al-Qaeda affiliate in Idlib?
Russian-Turkish relations worsen as Syrian forces advance in Idlib; Al-Monitor leads media coverage of Iran’s financial crisis — by six months; the American University of Beirut dedicates "transformative" Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center.
![Turkish army tanks and military personal are stationed in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - S1BETXLBLSAE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/01/RTX2MYWR.jpg/RTX2MYWR.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=79fu_6a5)
Rouhani on defense after attack on hard-line 'fraudulent institutions'
Reformists sidelined in Iran's street protests; reactions in Iraq and Turkey; Iran rebuilds ties with Hamas via Hezbollah.
![Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (bottom) delivers a speech to parliament before presenting the proposed annual budget in Tehran on December 7, 2014. Iran's parliament has adopted a law on December 4, to tax religious foundations and military-linked companies, a first for the Islamic republic that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues, media reported. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/01/GettyImages-460085230.jpg/GettyImages-460085230.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=5I7teTzF)
Russia 'consulted, heard and feared' in the Middle East
Moscow weighs benefits and risks of leverage and leadership in the Syria crisis and the Middle East peace process.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 5, 2017. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1C4DF4B090](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/12-1/RTS1F87Q.jpg/RTS1F87Q.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=eHaR2OTZ)
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)