The Israeli military last week made a point of highlighting the Israeli Air Force’s abilities to conduct long range operations, including the IAF’s midair refueling capabilities. The Washington Post notes that the display comes on the eve of talks between the West and Iran: In an apparent message to Iran,...

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North Korea announced yesterday that it was placing its military on high alert. It warnedthe United States of “disastrous consequences” and an “unexpected horrible disaster” after the U.S. moved naval assets, including an aircraft carrier, into a South Korean port for what officials described as a routine trilateral search and...

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Analysts have worried for months that the decline in Turkey’s regional and global position will heighten the frequency and intensity of diatribes by the country’s Islamist prime minister Recep Erdogan. In September Erodgan lambasted Jews for orchestrating the overthrow of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-linked president Mohammed Morsi, after Ankara had sought...

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Spillover and chaos driven by the Syrian conflict threatens to reverse the critical gains made by the U.S. and its allies during the Anbar awakening. The cooperation of tribal leaders in that region allowed the U.S. to hand Al Qaeda a battlefield defeat. Deepening sectarian tensions in Iraq, coupled with...

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An October 2010 deal between Iran and Egypt to resume direct flights between the two countries was described by Iran at the time as part of “a prelude to the resumption of ties between the two countries.” Iran had been seeking to shrug off international efforts to isolate Tehran, and...

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Analysis of Israeli reactions to Netanyahu’s speech has been tangled. The BBC, for instance, asserted that “Israeli media [was] unconvinced by PM Netanyahu’s UN speech” and then linked to an article in which Israeli media outlets were quoted expressing doubts that the international community would be convinced by Netanyahu’s speech....

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this afternoon to the United Nations General Assembly, questioning the assurances being voiced in some corners of the foreign policy community that newly inaugurated Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was willing or able to alter what is widely believed to be an Iranian drive to...

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Details are beginning to emerge about what the U.S. would minimally demand from Iran in the context of a deal over the country’s nuclear program. National Security Adviser Susan Rice explained on Sunday that Iran would, for example, not be permitted to continue enriching uranium under any potential deal with...

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Egypt’s media is responding to President Barack Obama’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly with something between enthusiastic approval and outright euphoria. The overarching perception is that, the occasional caveat aside, the White House has accepted that American interests require ongoing work with the army-backed interim government: Analysts believe the US...

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U.S. lawmakers have had a bit of time to evaluate last night’s speech by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. The speech was panned by analysts and journalists as “defiant” and “angry.” Reuters quotes Democratic Senator Robert Menendez as one of the many members of Congress who noticed as much: Two senior...

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