Opinion

Recent events do not mean the end of the SDF as a local actor, but rather the end of a political chapter built on outdated assumptions. The next chapter will be more fluid and unpredictable.

How the issue is handled could set the tone of bilateral relations between the neighbouring states

A tenuous ceasefire between Damascus and the SDF holds, but PKK hardliners in Qandil want to continue the fight

Details over what was exactly agreed remain scant but Trump's confrontational approach may have caused irreparable damage to transatlantic relations

The Hamsho settlement is leading Syrians to question whether the economic architecture of the old system is being quietly repackaged, rather than dismantled

Groups like the SDF and Hezbollah serve foreign agendas that cloak themselves in the myth that they are defending Kurdish or Lebanese Shiite rights

From Yemen and Syria to Sudan and Libya, there is a concerted effort to reassert state authority and thwart moves toward the proliferation of quasi-states and fragmentation

Tehran's elite have few friends, but regional states fear the consequences of a disorderly transition. If Iran's 92 million people turn on one another, it could cause millions to flee abroad.

Trump says he is mulling renewed talks with Tehran over its nuclear programme, but his decision to slap more sanctions on Iran bodes badly for good-faith negotiations

The US and its Western allies seem determined to use every instrument at its disposal—security, economic and military—to topple Ali Khamenei's regime

Cooperation between Iran and Sunni extremists has been exposed more than once. So, when a new terrorist group emerges in Syria, it is fair to question whether Tehran has a hand in it.

No great power has a significant military role in the Western Hemisphere at present or is trying to establish one