المشرق العربي

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Randa Slim, Paul Salem, and Gonul Tol provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Secretary Tillerson’s visit to Riyadh and Doha as well as his visit to India and Pakistan, Abadi’s regional tour to promote positive relations with neighbors, Sisi’s visit to Paris to boost Egypt-France relations , and German Chancellor Merkel’s threat to cut European Union funding to Turkey due to its crackdown on democratic institutions.

Who will win the spoils from ISIS’ demise in Syria? The Syrian civil war is entering a new phase with the liberation of Raqqa, as well as the Turkish intervention in the north. MEI experts Paul Salem, Charles Lister, Ibrahim al-Assil and Gonul Tol discuss the latest developments in Syria.

Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, today met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to further enhance military cooperation and defense ties between the two countries, the Iranian media reported. Bagheri also presented Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s written message to Assad and pointed out that Iran’s leader always pray for the Syrian president’s safety and victory.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed U.S. ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, for a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The spat erupted when Turkey arrested a Turkish employee of the U.S. consulate on suspicion of links to the group blamed for last year’s failed coup. In response, the United States stopped issuing visitor visas from its missions in Turkey, prompting Turkish missions to hit back with tit-for-tat steps of their own.

A senior Iranian military delegation arrived in Damascus today to assess the current state of the Syrian war and discuss ways to boost defense ties between the two countries, the Iranian media reported. Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff for Iran’s Armed Forces, is leading the Iranian delegation.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Alex Vatanka, Randa Slim, Gonul Tol, Marvin G.

Iranian officials and state-run media outlets continue to label the recent Iraqi Kurdish leaders’ push for independence as an “Israeli project” aimed at countering Iran’s influence in the region. Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani, a senior Iranian cleric, said this week that Tehran would not “allow a new Israel to take shape in the region.” An article in Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), echoed a similar view.

Read the full op-ed on the Washington Post.

The Syrian civil war is now well into its sixth year. Over the years, the conflict has passed through a series of distinct phases. Now it is entering a new one. More than any before it, however, the current situation is giving rise to a host of false conclusions.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gonul Tol, Ibrahim al-Assil, Amal Kandeel, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the diplomatic row between Turkey and the United States, the arrival of Turkish troops in Idlib, Morocco’s establishment of a national water security strategy amid climate concerns, and the resumption of talks on the Libya Political Agreement in Tunis.

On September 25 Iraq’s Kurdish region pressed ahead with a controversial independence referendum. It had a high voter turnout of 73%, 93% of whom voted in favor of independence. The referendum is technically non-binding but it has sparked a political crisis with threats of action against the Kurdish region from its neighbors, Turkey and Iran, as well as Iraq’s central government. The United States also opposed the vote. MEI experts Randa Slim, Gonul Tol, and Ahmad Majidyar join host Paul Salem to discuss the implications of the vote and what happens next.

A senior Iranian parliamentary delegation visited Damascus and held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier today, the Iranian media reported. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, described Syria as a key pillar of the so-called “resistance front” against the United States and congratulated the Syrian president for the latest territorial gains by the Syrian Army and its foreign allies.

Afghan Shiite militias fighting in Syria have made significant gains in military operations against the Islamic State in Deir Ezzor Province, the Iranian media reports.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Alex Vatanka, Randa Slim, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Yousef Munayyer, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Iran, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s efforts to push for dialogue after the Kurdish independence referendum, the pending indictment of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan, signs of progress in the reconcilliation attempt between Hamas and Fatah, and the Saudi king’s visit to Moscow.