Few know the true story behind Syria's support for Kurdish militants fighting Turkey. Turkish academic Behlul Ozkan explains how and why Turkey's pro-military rulers backed an Islamist uprising in the early 1980s against the regime of Hafez al-Assad, leading Damascus to open its doors to the PKK. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While little is known about Vice President Kamala Harris' views on the Middle East and on the world in general, there is far more information available about the approach of her top foreign policy adviser, Phil Gordon, who will likely land a prime position in a future Harris administration if she wins in November. Omer Taspinar, a professor of national security studies at the National War College, has worked with Gordon, co-authoring a book on Turkey with him. He shares his insights on the likely shape of Middle East policy should Harris be elected in November. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Russia's national security chief, Sergei Shoigu, traveled to Tehran this week where he met with Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeskhian. Coming on the heels of the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil, Shoigu's visit prompted a flurry of speculation about the Kremlin's intentions. Iran has vowed revenge for the attack which it has blamed on Israel. Hanna Notte, head of the Eurasia program at the James Martin Center for Nuclear Non Proliferation Studies, unpacks the stakes.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hamidreza Azizi is a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He tells Al-Monitor that Iran's proxies in Yemen, Iraq and Syria will likely carry out a coordinated campaign to avenge Haniyeh's death and that the chances of a ceasefire in Gaza have been dealt a crippling blow. The risk of a full-blown regional conflict is rising. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ezgi Basaran is a Turkish journalist turned academic who has written a new book examining the outsize influence of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party over Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood party. While both have suffered huge setbacks, Basaran argues they will re-emerge and that the pursuit of power will trump ideology. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The election victory of heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian has aroused hopes and doubts in Iran and beyond. He is a Reformist who says he will be more lenient towards women and will seek to reduce tensions with the West. Yet, his record is spotty. While defying hawkish clerics on some critical occasions, he has stood up for them on others. As with all else in Iran, deciphering the real Pezeshkian is no easy task, says Iranian academic Arash Azizi.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Washington is piling pressure on Azerbaijan to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan that would allow Turkey to normalize its relations with Armenia. But Azerbaijan is resisting calls to finalize a draft peace agreement and wants further concessions from Armenia. Benjamin Poghosyan, a senior research fellow at the ARPI think tank in Yerevan, explains why. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Iran is due to hold presidential elections on June 28 that were precipitated by the death in May in a helicopter crash of former President Ebrahim Raisi. Although real power is held by the country's supreme leader, presidents can make a difference in the daily lives of Iranians and even in foreign policy should the supreme leader agree. The candidacy of a Western-friendly heart surgeon with popular appeal is giving hope that positive changes might be in store. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the Gaza conflict enters its eighth month, Iran stands out as the one country that has succeeded in projecting further as a result.  Israel is more vulnerable than it’s ever been and the United States must engage more smartly in the Middle East to protect its interests, argues Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria is planning to hold landmark local elections in the majority Kurdish and Arab areas under its control. Syrian-Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim says "radical democracy" will be in play as people elect their leaders at every level of local governance, with a man and a woman selected for each post. Turkey has threatened to prevent the elections on the grounds they pose a threat to its national security. The Biden administration has advised against the polls, saying the conditions for conducting them are not ripe. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, unpacks Kuwait's dramatic turn last week when the country's ruling Emir suspended the parliament and parts of the constitution. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Greek academic Ioannis Grigoriadis believes that no major breakthroughs should be expected during Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit. Keeping the channels of communication open and building on the positive agenda promoted by both sides is, however, crucial to averting conflict, notably over Cyprus. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former Turkish Prime Minister and leader of the pro-Islamic Future Party Ahmet Davutoglu met with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal this week and shared their conditions for peace with Al-Monitor. Davutoglu sharply criticized the governments of Turkey and Arab states, saying they had done close to nothing for Gaza. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emma Tsurkov insists that the best way to get Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to make good on his pledges to secure her sister's freedom is for the United States to wield the threat of military sanctions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Iran's weekend attack on Israel in response to an Israeli attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria has put an already explosive region on edge. Israel has vowed to retaliate and Iran says should it do so its own response will be massive.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Following The secular opposition's historic win in the March 31 elections, many say that Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is now confirmed as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief rival in the next elections that are due to be held in four years. However, the reality is far more complex. Much will hinge on whether Erdogan succeeds in dividing the opposition yet again. Moreover commentator Kadri Gursel notes that unless the current one man presidential system is diluted, whoever takes charge is likely to become an autocrat.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This month marks the 13th anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict. French academic Fabrice Balanche says that across the Middle East the West is steadily losing ground to Russia, China and Iran as a result of its failed policy in Syria. The Kurds are among the biggest losers, he adds. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Turkey's opposition is in disarray since its humiliating defeat in last year's presidential and parliamentary elections. However, the opposition has what some say is a final chance to challenge his power in local elections that will be held on March 31. Turkey analyst Selim Koru says with the opposition now bloc fractured, Istanbul's secular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu will face an uphill battle to defeat Erdogan again. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There has been an alarming spike in anti-Semitic attacks in the UK since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing nearly 1,200 Israeli citizens. Hate crimes monitor Dave Rich and historian Andrew Apostolou unpack the dynamics.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the conflict in Gaza rages on, Palestinian children are dying by the thousands while many others are horribly injured. Hospitals are under unremittingly attacked by Israel forces and doctors struggle to treat the wounded. Seema Jilani, a rare American doctor to make it into the Gaza Strip, has been telling the world about what she has seen and is facing a backlash for doing so. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.