Syria's mainstream rebels risk total collapse after a Russian-backed government advance that severed their main supply line to Aleppo city and threatens to leave them completely besieged there. Analysts said rebels and their international backers were left with few options to prevent fresh...

Vladimir Putin thinks Russian air strikes in Syria have helped turn the war's tide but the pace of the Syrian army's advance has frustrated him, some sources say. If Aleppo falls, he could get the military and symbolic prize he has been craving. More than four months of Russian...

Four months of Russian air strikes in Syria are taking their toll on rebel forces, strengthening the hand of a defiant President Bashar al-Assad as the United Nations struggles to get peace talks off the ground. Insurgents in the west are being hit harder, while in eastern and...

The lifting of crippling international sanctions linked to Iran's nuclear program and the flurry of diplomacy that led to the release of Americans held by Tehran suggests a new era could be dawning. But anyone hoping for rapid change is likely to be disappointed. President Hassan...

Iran's release from sanctions testifies to its new relationship with the United States as it moves from pariah state to regional power, a status that could come at the cost of Saudi Arabia, Washington's chief Arab ally. Enemies and allies alike must adjust to Iran becoming an...

New friction between Saudi Arabia and Iran sparked by the execution of a Shia cleric is not expected to rise to a level of military conflict, according to close observers.   The kingdom’s decision to execute Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was denounced in Iran as protesters raided the Saudi embassy...

(The National- Hassan Hassan)- Zahran Alloush, the former leader of Jaish Al Islam who was killed by Russian air strikes on Friday evening near Damascus, was more widely mourned than any other opposition figure since the start of the Syrian conflict. He has also been condemned for having made...

(Bloomberg- Josh Rogin)- Early this year, a former top White House official secretly went to Damascus and met with leaders of the Syrian regime. The visit is part of a broader effort by the Syrian government to reach out to Washington’s power brokers and gain influence. The former...

(The Guardian)- The United Nations’ sanctions monitoring team warned last Tuesday that Libya was emerging as a key stronghold for Islamic State close to the shorelines of Europe. The warning aligns with assessments by US intelligence officials that the organisation’s franchise is...

Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet has played into the hands of Syrian President Bashar Assad by bringing Moscow on board with his bitter opposition to Ankara, experts say. Moscow announced Thursday it was preparing economic measures against Ankara two days after Turkish forces shot down a...

The Syria war is escalating in tandem with intensified diplomacy, but neither growing foreign military intervention nor a revived political track look capable of bringing an end to the 4-1/2-year-old conflict. The risk is a more ferocious proxy war between President Bashar...

(The Independent)- Turkey’s downing of a fighter jet on Tuesday is thought to be the first time a Nato member has shot down a Russian aircraft since the Cold War, risking a dangerous increase in international tensions. Vladimir Putin was quick to warn of “serious consequences”...

Hundreds of innocent people have been killed in spectacular attacks claimed by Islamic State militants from Syria, but diplomats say major powers are no closer to a peace deal to end nearly five years of bloodshed and chaos there. Meeting in Vienna the day after Friday night's...

(IBTimes)- The Syrian regime is hoping it’s a case of fourth time lucky as they attempt to retake the northwestern province of Aleppo for the fourth time since the Syrian conflict started in March 2011. The operation has, with the help of Russian airstrikes, enabled forces loyal to...

Almost 80 percent of Russia's declared targets in Syria have been in areas not held by Islamic State, a Reuters analysis of Russian Defence Ministry data shows, undermining Moscow's assertions that its aim is to defeat the group. The majority of strikes, according to the...

Turnout was so low in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, that satirist Bassem Youssef derided it as an ingenious strategy to show the world Egypt had rid itself of its notorious overcrowding. Empty polling stations highlight disillusionment with Egypt's chaotic...

Vladimir Putin turned 63 this week with his now traditional display of sporting prowess, and an announcement that Russian naval vessels had launched a wave of missiles against Islamic State in Syria. The Russian leader has never appeared more confident and his grip on power...

The Bassel al-Assad Airbase in Syria’s northwestern Lattakia province -- believed to host 32 planes, 16 helicopters, nine tanks, two land-to-air missile defense systems and a 2,000-strong staff of Russian officers -- represents Russia’s most significant military asset in Syria. Russia is now...

Russia's air strikes in Syria are in part designed to extract concessions from the West over Ukraine by making Moscow a key player in any attempts by world powers to hammer out a post-conflict settlement in Damascus, some Western officials believe. While the Syrian capital lies...

The worsening war in Syria, allegations of child sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers and the mishandling of the Ebola epidemic cast a spotlight on the inadequacies of the United Nations in a globalized world, operating with a power structure that hasn’t changed since 1945. With age, the...