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.
Turkey’s Kilicdaroglu scapegoats Syrian refugees in bid to defeat Erdogan
Opposition leader sides with hard-liners advocating expulsion in last-ditch effort to unseat Erdogan in election that should turn on economy.
![Turkey election](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1493559835_0.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=gKUe8aQQ)
Biden gives priority to Israel-Saudi normalization
All three parties want a deal, and 2024 is an election year; Syrian Kurdish leader expects little from Arab League normalization with Syria.
![Biden Saudi Arabia](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1241935516.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=XyYyTFr1)
Iraqi FM expects continuity in ties with Turkey, no matter who wins election
Fuad Hussein says TotalEnergies deal “would change character of Iraqi economy,” discusses relations with the United States, Iran, Syria and Arab states.
![Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein gives a joint press conference with his German counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Baghdad on March 7, 2023. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP) (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1247856839.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=lqn1_m30)
Assad will demand high price for return of refugees
Arab League at risk of getting caught between US and Syria over sanctions policy.
![A woman sits outside a tent at a camp for those displaced by conflict in the countryside near Syria's northern city of Raqa on December 19, 2022. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1245729723.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=_yuohRjL)
Earthquake, refugees, Assad may be keys to Turkey's election
Also, new era of Iran-Gulf cooperation could spill over into energy (PRO).
![Turkey election](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1252288403_0.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=i4q2mtXn)
Can diplomacy end the fighting in Sudan?
Even if the country is too big to fail, observers see challenges in restoring peace before the unrest spreads to neighboring countries.
![Sudan refugees](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1252044541.jpg?h=99ce605d&itok=uijMGpGL)
Arab initiative offers best chance for Syria in years
The Saudi-brokered meeting and Jordanian road map could boost the long stalled Syrian political process; Turkey is still key to settlement; Assad also has his cards to play.
![Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (left) meets with Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Jeddah on April 12, 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-04/mekdad_saudi%20copy.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Xk_YnS5b)
Is China playing long game against dollar in Middle East?
Chinese spokesperson says "the internationalization of the [yuan] is a natural process, and the goal is not to replace the dollar or other international currencies."
![HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1126716185.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=JSM6o7XF)
In Syria, Arab engagement with Assad may fall short
The Biden administration’s realism on Syria frustrates critics, as the country becomes the site of Israeli attacks and US-Iran clashes.
![UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed welcoming his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Abu Dhabi March 19, 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-03/assaduae.jpeg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Nbmsokvg)
Iran-Iraq agreement about more than borders
Tehran reinforces position in Iraq with border deal; Syria heats up despite Arab rapprochement; Iraq-Turkey manage differences on water, oil and PKK.
![In this handout photo released by Iraq's National Security press office, Iraq's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji (R) meets with the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani (C) in Baghdad on March 19, 2023. (Photo by IRAQI SECURITY MEDIA CENTRE / AFP) / XGTY / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY PRESS OFFICE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by -/IRAQI SECURITY MEDIA CENTRE/A](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-03/GettyImages-1248599031.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=tPy8dRfC)
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)