Arsal: The battle that begins a long war

The Arsal agreement reached between the Lebanese military and government parties and the militants indicates that the two parties are betting on different factors.

Lebanon

Brahimi on Syria: 'We need to get out of this vicious circle'

UN Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said that there is "no military solution" to the Syrian conflict.

Syria

Turkey downplays IS threat, but concerns grow

As the Islamic state draws closer to the Turkish border and Ankara struggles to overcome its differences with the Iraqi administration, Turkey may be left to face the jihadist threat on its own.

Iraq

Gaza war brings Hamas, Hezbollah closer

The war on Gaza offers an opportunity to renegotiate the strategic relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah, whose relationship has been severed over the past three years, providing major obstacles can be overcome.

Qatar

Kerry meets Syria opposition

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the US and Moscow are both committed to convening for peace talks "as soon as possible."

Syria

NPR's Deborah Amos reports on Syria from front lines

Veteran National Public Radio Middle East correspondent Deborah Amos has reported from Syria that the regime forces and rebel groups are fighting for supply lines to their respective regional allies.

Syria

White House: UN needs immediate access to Syria site

Obama administration officials have said that if the Syrian Government has "nothing to hide" it should grant UN inspectors immediate access to the suspected chemical attack sites

Syria

Kurdish security chief: Turkey must end support for jihadists

The head of the Syrian Kurdish security police forces, Ciwan Ibrahim, tells Al-Monitor that they are willing to cooperate with Turkey if it halts its support for jihadist groups.

Iraq

Turkey wakes up to Islamic State threat

An inflammatory sermon in Istanbul has made Turkey realize that the Islamic State has become a serious threat to its internal security and stability.

Iraq

Syrian Alawites horrified by rising death toll

Most Alawites remain steadfast in their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but many are quietly horrified at the high number of Alawite men dying in combat.

Syria

Obama: Syria chemical attack would cross US 'core national interests'

President Obama is consulting with allies and advisers over what the US response would be if the Syrian Government did in fact attack a rebel village with chemical weapons.

Syria

Ayatollah Khamenei, Assad spoke of reforms

Iran's former ambassador to Syria conceded in an interview that the Syrian government made mistakes in the first stages of the Syrian protests and revealed that Iran's supreme leader wrote a letter to Syria's president urging reforms.

Syria