Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes during a visit to the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces on the occasion of the new year, in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 10, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA

North Korea: The Kims’ Cheat And Retreat Game

by Amir Taheri | Sep 8, 2017 | Opinion

It is too early to guess how the latest storm triggered by North Korea’s behavior might end. Will this lead to a “surgical” strike on North Korean nuclear sites by the United States? Or will it cause “a global catastrophe” as Vladimir Putin, never shy of hyperbole,...

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UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura addresses the media in Vienna, Austria, November 14, 2015 (Leonhard Foeger/ Reuters)

Syria: Elections Gambit to Get Russia Off the Hook

by Amir Taheri | Sep 5, 2017 | Features

In a U-turn that might enter diplomatic annals as among the most bizarre, the United Nations’ special envoy on Syria Staffan di Mistura is forecasting an end of the war and the holding of elections there next year. In a BBC radio interview yesterday, di Mistura more...

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the test-fire of a strategic submarine underwater ballistic missile (not pictured), in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on May 9, 2015. Reuters

Khomeini or Kim? Khamenei’s Real Teacher

by Amir Taheri | Sep 1, 2017 | Opinion

According to the initial narrative of the Khomeinist ideology, the “perfect state” which Muslims should aspire was the brief period during which Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb exercised the Caliphate against a background of revolts and civil war. However, it now seems that...

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The aftermath of an air raid in Aleppo, May 2015.
(AFP / Karam Al-masri)

Book Review: A Grim Portrayal of Syria at War

by Amir Taheri | Aug 31, 2017 | Book Reviews

DESTROYING A NATION The Civil War in Syria By: Nikolas Van Dam Published by I.B. Tauris, London, 2017 The blurb of this new book on Syria presents the author, Nikolas Van Dam, as an experienced Dutch diplomat with a direct knowledge of the Middle East. Having served...

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The new presidential palace in Ankara prior to its inauguration by the Turkish president on October 29, 2014 (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Puffing the Turkish Chibouk in Ankara

by Amir Taheri | Aug 25, 2017 | Opinion

When in a recent column, we commented on efforts by NATO powers to establish some contact with the Iranian military we didn’t expect any quick development on that score. However, this is precisely what happened last week when Iran’s new Chief of Staff, General...