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.
UN, Russia take lead in Syria diplomacy
Russia-Egypt ties enter "new phase"; UN and Russian initiatives offer only hope so far for Syria political settlement; Erdogan promotes the "Internal Security Law."
![United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (L) and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attend a meeting in Moscow, October 21, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4AYVB](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/02/RTR4AYVB.jpg/RTR4AYVB.jpg?h=e92c5d5c&itok=6DriXNpE)
Obama: 'Iran’s program has not advanced'
US allies puzzled by March deadline for consideration of Senate sanctions bill; Iran’s gesture to Saudi Arabia; Iran’s man in Beirut; Erdogan’s anti-Western pivot; Aleppo’s fuel shortage; Israel reconciling to Hamas?
![RTR4OIW9.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/02/RTR4OIW9.jpg/RTR4OIW9.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=wJRRmMDz)
Hezbollah, Israel claim victory, reset deterrence
Nasrallah steps back from confrontation with Israel after attack; Iran sanctions in perspective; Netanyahu plan may backfire; Kurdish victory in Kobani a setback for Turkey; Are Iraqi Kurdish land grabs sowing future conflict?
![Israeli soldiers stand on concrete blocks near the border with Lebanon January 29, 2015. Israel and Hezbollah signalled on Thursday their rare flare-up in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border was over, after the Lebanese guerrillas killed two Israeli troops in retaliation for a deadly air strike in Syria last week. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4NHGX](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/01/RTR4NHGX.jpg/RTR4NHGX.jpg?h=e92c5d5c&itok=VorN6oD8)
Could Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Syria spark Iran nuclear talks?
The latest Israel-Hezbollah confrontation might be a catalyst for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran; Iran can ease Saudi Arabia’s security predicament; Netanyahu sees electoral gain in snubbing Obama.
![RTR4MC1J.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/01/RTR4MC1J.jpg/RTR4MC1J.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=pL0_yLyt)
Did Nasrallah blur red line on Assad?
Hezbollah’s leader says a political solution could include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure “after the end of his term”; Kerry supports Russia, UN diplomacy on Syria; Who does Israel back in Syria?; Did Turkey arm Jabhat al-Nusra?; Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen.
![Nasrallah-Jan-15-Mayadeen-YouTube-grab.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/01/Nasrallah-Jan-15-Mayadeen-YouTube-grab.jpg/Nasrallah-Jan-15-Mayadeen-YouTube-grab.jpg?h=6e64931d&itok=4qBoRLIB)
Dempsey says Iran’s role in Iraq might be 'positive'
Americans consider Islamic State, not Iran, as top threat to US in Mideast; terrorists in Syria planning “mass casualty attacks” in West; Salafists in Gaza look to Islamic State.
![RTR4E1DZ.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/01/RTR4E1DZ.jpg/RTR4E1DZ.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=ud978CF6)
EU decision boosts Russian, UN diplomacy on Syria
Russia, the United Nations and Iran lead diplomatic initiative in Syria; Iran and Turkey discuss counterterrorism; al-Qaeda-linked group advances in Syria; Aleppo’s radicalization; Hamas seeks to rebuild ties with Iran.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini at the Kremlin in Moscow July 9, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3XUXK](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/12/RTR3XUXK.jpg/RTR3XUXK.jpg?h=e92c5d5c&itok=BkpAPddd)
Israeli attack intensifies Syrian anger, despair
Syrians on social media mock “right to respond”; US says Syrian rebels will not overthrow Assad; Syrian patriarch pleads for peace; Russia steps up diplomacy; Jumblatt sees no future for Assad; Turkey’s shadow government; Qatar and Turkey draw congressional ire over support for Hamas.
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Kerry calls Iran airstrikes on Islamic State 'positive'
Iran takes action against the Islamic State in Iraq; Obama administration cautious on Turkish buffer zone proposal; Turkey’s border under scrutiny; Russia’s diplomatic surge; Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman says "courageous" peace plan offers "painful concessions."
![U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a statement after a round table meeting of the global coalition to counter the Islamic State militant group at NATO headquarters in Brussels December 3, 2014. The U.S.-led coalition has inflicted serious damage on Islamic State, carrying out around 1,000 air strikes so far in Iraq and Syria, but the fight against the militants could last years, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Eric Vidal (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/12/RTR4GL1R.jpg/RTR4GL1R.jpg?h=e92c5d5c&itok=jzAyRfAV)
Erdogan slams US on Syria again, days after Biden visit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls US "impertinent" on Syria, says West likes seeing Muslim children die; Israel considers extension of Iran nuclear talks as better than a bad deal.
![U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) meets with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan at Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul November 22, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4F5NS](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/11/RTR4F5NS.jpg/RTR4F5NS.jpg?h=e92c5d5c&itok=khDnE5S4)
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)