The Middle East and North Africa Section of IR Insider publishes breaking news reports and analysis from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern and North African nations. Topics covered by the Middle East and North Africa Section may range from the Syrian Civil War to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and beyond. Our section editor is Afnan Abbassi.
The endless cycle of conflict in the Middle East demands a shift from moral debates to pragmatic solutions — a practical, incentive-driven framework may be the only path forward.
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories – has been documenting, researching and publishing data, testimonies, video evidence and reports on human rights violations in Israel-occupied territories since its founding in 1989. In August 2024, the organization released an 118-page report accusing the Israeli government of carrying out systematic abuse and torture of Palestinian detainees, particularly in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah recently announced the election of 71-year-old Naim Qassem — Hezbollah’s long-time deputy secretary general — as the group’s new chief leader last week.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah recently announced the election of 71-year-old Naim Qassem — Hezbollah’s long-time deputy secretary general — as the group’s new chief leader last week.
Discussions of a transition period for the anti-ISIS US-led coalition in Iraq have been underway. If given the green light, this anticipated transitional period would introduce reductions in the 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq between September 2025 and the winter of 2026.
US investigators are inspecting how a pair of highly classified intelligence documents leaked online. The two documents that surfaced on the messaging platform Telegram last Friday purportedly detail a US assessment of Israel's plans to strike Iran.
Israel has targeted United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon in recent attacks, injuring several and forcing entry into UN bases.
On the one-year anniversary of the attacks on October 7, 2023, the ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to shape political dynamics and international advocacy.
On Oct. 13, Turkish authorities detained 269 individuals suspected to be members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) across Diyarbakır province in Türkiye.
On Tuesday, October 1, Iran launched around 180 missiles into Israel. These strikes are a direct response to escalations between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah, one of Iran’s regional proxies. Iran stated that the missile attacks were a result of a string of recent killings by Israel, particularly Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran this July.
Speculation of attacks on Iranian oil supplies have caused global oil prices to spike. Fears of disrupted supply have led to sharp price fluctuations, raising concerns of a direct impact on supply and consumer prices.
Tensions have skyrocketed after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week. Hezbollah and its allies vow retaliation, raising fears of a wider conflict as sides exchange strikes, threatening regional stability.
ISaudi Arabia has led a new global initiative backed by both European and Middle Eastern countries in support of a two-state solution for the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Protests in Jordan against the Israeli war on Gaza have escalated in recent weeks, particularly around the Israeli embassy in the Middle Eastern country’s capital of Amman. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists have been arrested, despite the largely peaceful nature of the ongoing demonstrations.
Over the past two weeks, bulldozers have been tearing through Tulkarm and Jenin, two cities in the occupied West Bank. This has been silently ongoing, with media coverage being overshadowed by Israel’s clashes with Hezbollah and Hamas.
Iran is claimed to be negotiating with Russia to supply Yemen’s Houthi rebels with anti-ship missiles, enabling continued attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel, escalating tensions in the region.
Pagers exploded simultaneously throughout Lebanon last week on September 17th in a shocking and coordinated attack on the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Though Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the attacks, the country’s involvement has been confirmed by multiple intelligence officials within Israel, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who proclaimed that Israel is “at the beginning of a new era in this war.”
Protests in Jordan against the Israeli war on Gaza have escalated in recent weeks, particularly around the Israeli embassy in the Middle Eastern country’s capital of Amman. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists have been arrested, despite the largely peaceful nature of the ongoing demonstrations.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran promised revenge against Israel on Tuesday after an apparent Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy complex in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The attack killed 13 people, including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
On Nov. 12, the United States carried out two airstrikes in Syria, targeting a training facility near the city of Albu Kamal and a safe house near the city of Mayadeen. The US military said that the strikes were in retaliation for a series of over 50 rocket and drone attacks that left at least 56 US personnel with a “combination of traumatic brain injury and minor injuries.”
On Nov. 5, 2023, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Incirlik Air Base in the Adana province of southern Turkey to express disapproval of Israeli attacks harming Gazan civilians and US support for Israel.
The United Arab Emirates government has launched an investigation in response to a report by the Guardian on the suspicious death of Filipina migrant worker Vergie Tamfungan’s death.
As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, the spotlight has shifted towards Egypt, a country historically significant to the Gaza Strip. While Egypt has had a tumultuous relationship with both Israel and Hamas, it is a key player in addressing the ongoing conflict.
The European Parliament posthumously presented the Sakharov Human Rights Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini. Her death stirred Iran into a new attempt at protesting the current repressive theocracy that enforced hijab wearing, among other restrictions for women.
The International Court of Justice has addressed the 12-year legacy of torture and false imprisonment of the Syrian Assad Administration for the first time on Oct 11, 2023. The case, brought forward by Canada and the Netherlands, accused Assad of violating the UN’s Convention against Torture (CAT), which Syria has opted in to.
Under 100 US diplomatic personnel and dependents remained in Khartoum when conflict broke out in Sudan.
Two-thirds of Yemen, nearly 20 million people, need humanitarian assistance, and many face food insecurity.
As decades-old tensions erupted in Sudan over the weekend, several Egyptian officers became caught in the crossfire as Sudan’s rivaling military factions fight for military control, decimating local communities and sparking international outrage.
Saudi Arabia has pushed forward several diplomatic initiatives in recent weeks, signaling a wider effort to bring stability to the region and restore cooperation between various Arab states.
