Free Republic

“Washington and Erbil, Iraq — The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN. The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said. Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect....

... The newspaper cited former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as publicly calling Turkey a threat to Israel last week and accusing Ankara of aligning with a hostile regional bloc. Bennett warned Israel could not “turn a blind eye” to Turkey, adding that Tel Aviv must counter threats from both Tehran and Ankara...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan voiced deep concern and sadness on Saturday over U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, while condemning Tehran's drone and missile strikes on brotherly Gulf nations, APA reports citing Daily Sabah. Turkish Erdoğan added ⁠that the U.S.-Israeli ⁠attacks on Iran violated Iran's ​sovereignty ​and targeted ⁠the peace of the Iranian people. In a speech in Istanbul, he said ⁠Iran's ⁠attacks on Gulf countries were also unacceptable and he warned that without restraint and diplomacy the ⁠region risked being "dragged into a circle of fire."

'US Special Envoy Tom Barrack plays a key role in reshaping a policy in the Middle East...'See comments there.Here is an example:Darias @Yosefewz2: Tom Berrak works only for the interests of Turkey and turns the Middle East into hell by defending ISIS number 2, Ahmad al-Shara and the terrorism of Turkish Islamic Arabism. Feb 11, 2026 [https://x.com/Yosefewz2/status/2021611202384666739]

Mostly unnoticed in the recent flurry of world events, from the people’s uprising in the streets of Iran to the lightning fast seizure and extradition of Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro, by the United States (U.S.) in a 2-3 January 2026 overnight raid, was an important meeting in Istanbul, Turkey of leadership figures, branches, and networks associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Many of these representatives came from Brotherhood groups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, but others also represented Brotherhood chapters based in Europe. Preceding the Istanbul meeting itself, on New Year’s Day, 1 January 2026, large pro-HAMAS...

While Iranian protesters are being beaten, imprisoned, and killed by the Islamic Republic, Turkey’s government is busy running diplomatic interference for the mullahs. Ankara’s effort, marshaled by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, is not an aberration or a miscalculation. Rather, it is a revealing confirmation of Turkey’s long-standing ideological sympathy for Islamist regimes and movements across the Middle East. Turkish officials cloak their defense of Tehran in warnings about “regional instability,” arguing that the collapse of the Islamic Republic could create a dangerous power vacuum. But beneath this familiar talking point lies a simpler truth: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not...

RAQQA, Syria — The Syrian government Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade. The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces toward the east. The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense front line area in eastern Aleppo province. Syria's Defense Ministry said it ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement...

Syria’s army has taken control of swathes of the country’s north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade. State media said on Saturday that the army took over the northern city of Tabqa and its adjacent dam, as well as the major Freedom dam, formerly known as the Baath, west of the Syrian city of Raqaa. It came despite US calls to halt the advance. The government appeared to be extending its grip on Kurdish-run areas after the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, issued a decree declaring Kurdish a national language and...

Sometimes member of Julani security detail dood it. Julani says he went rogue. Also says he was strictly ISIS, not affiliated with him. Whatever. Trump doesn't want to depose him, because that would strengthen the IRGC and Iran in Syria, and would lead to an endless non-linear war. But Julani sucks, even if he does look good in a suit and tie, and his beard is neat and trimmed. Julani doesn't want to fight the USA, because he knows that would end badly for him. Transcript linked below video.

Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, removing his shoes in a sign of respect but not appearing to pray in his first visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship during his four-day visit to Turkey. The first U.S. pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque and was led on a tour of the expansive complex, able to hold 10,000 worshippers, by its imam and the mufti of Istanbul. Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with one of his guides, the mosque's lead muezzin - the official...

The potential for a military clash between Turkey and Israel is growing. There are several colliding points, and each one of them has the potential to become a full-scale war, despite mechanisms designed to avoid conflict. The most obvious is the Syrian front. Reports indicate that Turkey plans to help Syria’s transitional government develop a military force of approximately 200,000 personnel (approximately 10–15 divisions). Turkey has assumed the role of protector of Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani, his nom de guerre). Israel, for its part, has assumed the role of protector of the Druze minority in southwestern Syria, an area...

Traces of a monumental building thought to be at least 5,000 years old have been discovered at the Kani Shaie archaeological site, which is located in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq, according to a statement released by the University of Coimbra. Researchers from the University of Coimbra, the University of Algarve, the University of Cambridge, and the Slemani Antiquities and Heritage Directorate think that the building may have been used as a temple. They note that it was decorated with wall cones, which are typically found in monumental architecture in Uruk, an early Sumerian metropolis in...

The very fighters Beijing cites as justification for its hardline policies in Xinjiang – the Uyghurs of the Turkestan Islamic Party – have now been folded into Syria’s military establishment.Syrian Free Army soldiers and Coalition Forces assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Task Force Armadillo provide security after departing a CH-47 Chinook during cold and hot load air assault training at Al-Tanf Garrison, Syria, on Feb. 23, 2025. When Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime collapsed in late 2024, Beijing lost a familiar ally in Damascus. For more than a decade, China had backed Assad under the banner of sovereignty and...

Advance voting for Norway’s upcoming parliamentary election began on Monday, with 22 parties competing for 169 seats across eight electoral districts. Among the candidates are seven Kurds ...

United States President Donald Trump has hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House for the signing of a peace treaty between the two longtime rivals. The US president said during a ceremony on Friday that he believed the two men would have a “great relationship” and that the agreement would bring peace and new economic opportunities to the region. list “I want to congratulate these two great people, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev, for coming to Washington to sign this momentous joint declaration,” Trump said. “The countries of Armenia and...

Taiwan has a “far more robust” claim to statehood than Palestine does, former British prime minister Boris Johnson said during a conference in Taipei, Taiwan, according to a Tuesday report by British outlet The Telegraph…. “Never in the wildest dreams of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, can he have believed – when he and his colleagues instigated the horror of October 7, 2023 – that only 22 months later the United Kingdom itself would be so craven and pathetic as to fall for Hamas propaganda and to turn against Israel,” Johnson wrote in his column in the UK outlet Daily...

Latest DevelopmentsSDF Clashes With Troops: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claimed on August 4 to have repelled an “attack” by “factions affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government” on four of its positions in the village of al-Imam. The incident occurred days after the Syrian Defense Ministry accused the SDF of launching a rocket barrage against an army outpost on August 2, which the SDF claimed was retaliation for an unprovoked government artillery attack on civilian-populated areas. Separately, the SDF announced on August 3 that five of its fighters had been killed during an Islamic State attack on a checkpoint...

Biyara, controlled by militant Islamists until the US-led war, is wary of news that such groups may be returning. By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BIYARA, IRAQ - The merchant shuddered when told that Islamic militants of Ansar Al Islam - the Al Qaeda-backed group dispersed by American bombs last March - may be returning to Iraq. "If they come to my orchard, I will shoot them myself!" vows Shaho Abdulkarim, a merchant-smuggler with a perfect moustache. Such a visceral reaction is common in this village on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran, where Ansar imposed...

Summary Norwegian authorities are dropping charges against Mullah Krekar, the founder of Ansar al-Islam, who had been charged with conspiracy to murder his political foes in Iraq. He is to be deported to Iraq after the government is handed over to the Iraqis on June 30. Analysis A Norwegian court threw out charges against Mullah Krekar, the founder of militant Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, on June 15, citing insufficient evidence. Krekar had faced charges of conspiring to murder political rivals in Iraq. He has lived in Norway since 2003, despite an expulsion order. Now that he no longer faces trial,...

Twelve Turkish soldiers have died after being exposed to methane gas while searching a cave in northern Iraq, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence said. At least 19 personnel were exposed to the gas during the search and clear operation on Sunday, and immediately taken to hospital. By Monday, 12 had died, the ministry said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he received the news with "great sorrow" and extended his condolences to the soldiers' families and to the Turkish Armed Forces. Methane gas is not directly toxic, but can be deadly as it can become suffocating, especially in tight, enclosed...