A fifth round of US-brokered talks between Israel and Syria began in Paris on Jan. 5. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, explains why Israel may finally yield to US pressure and sign a security agreement with Syria’s new Islamist government — while remaining unlikely to extend the same protections to Syria’s Kurds as it does to the Druze.

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Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE are escalating anew in Yemen. Al-Monitor senior editor Joyce Karam says the clash is real, leaving the Trump administration torn between its top regional allies.

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Murad Ismael, a prominent Yazidi activist who has worked tirelessly to draw attention to his people’s ongoing plight following one of the first genocides of the 21st century, is vowing to change the way politics are practiced in Iraq.

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Chatham House senior fellow Renad Mansour explains why Iraq remains even more vital for Iran in the wake of its humiliating 12-day conflict with Israel, and how renewed US interest in Iraq with the appointment of a new envoy is adding to the heat.

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On the eve of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's historic meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington on Nov. 10, Al-Monitor spoke with former US Ambassador Barbara Leaf, the first senior US official to formally meet with him after the fall of the Assad regime.

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The fall of el-Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces, amid renewed allegations of UAE backing, raises fears of further civilian massacres in a regional struggle for Sudan’s gold and Red Sea ports. Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair examines the forces — and the toll — behind the violence.

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Vittorio Maresca di Serracapriola, lead sanctions expert at Karam Shaar Advisory, unpacks the current status of international sanctions over Syria and what they mean for its people after 14 years of civil war and 60 years of repression by the Assad regime.

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Weam Fadul, a Sudanese feminist and activist, blames outside forces for fueling the conflict and says the Sudanese people should be left to decide their own fate. 

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US President Donald Trump's foray into the Caucasus is among his most successful so far, says analyst Eric Hacopian of Armenia's CivilNet.

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Turkey and the interim Syrian government fiercely oppose Kurdish self-rule. Researcher Meghan Bodette argues that the current dynamics will force them into changing tack, with all sides reaping the benefits of compromise.

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