The Levant Files

Iran and the United States have finalized a ceasefire understanding following months of military confrontation and intensive diplomatic negotiations, with the formal signing ceremony scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, according to Nournews, an Iranian state-affiliated media outlet. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced the development during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomatic representatives in Tehran, stating that the understanding was finalized on Sunday evening and would be formally signed on Friday at a location yet to be determined. The same day will mark the beginning of a new round of negotiations between the two countries toward a comprehensive final agreement. The understanding, referred to as the "Islamabad Understanding" after the Pakistani-mediated talks that produced it, comes after what Iranian officials described as a difficult and compressed months-long negotiation process. According to Nournews, which has close ties to Irani...

For Israel, the value of any US-Iran agreement will not be judged by oil-market relief or by a White House eager to declare the war finished, stresses in today's editorial note The Jerusalem Post. The only meaningful measure is whether Tehran emerges weaker than before. Has its nuclear program been dismantled? Has its enriched uranium been removed? Have its missiles and drones been neutralized? Has Hezbollah been pushed back? Has Israel preserved its freedom to act? On each count, the answers remain unclear—and that uncertainty is cause for alarm. Tellingly, the sharpest warnings are coming from President Donald Trump’s own camp: Iran hawks, pro-Israel conservatives, and lawmakers who backed the pressure campaign and the airstrikes in the belief that this moment could finally shift the regional balance against the Islamic Republic. The Israeli newspaper adds that Senator Lindsey Graham declined to celebrate. A deal that leaves Iran able to menace the Strait of Hormuz and threaten G...

The memorandum of understanding that Washington and Tehran finalized on June 14 — to be signed Friday in Switzerland by Vice President Vance and Iran’s Ghalibaf — lands in Israel not as relief but as a strategic indictment. The deal halts the war launched on February 28, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, ends Iranian restrictions there, reduces US assets in the region, and includes a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian assets  — reportedly some $12 billion. Sixty days of nuclear talks follow the signing. For Jerusalem, the wound is twofold: substance and status. Netanyahu’s office stresses that “Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding,”  while Trump publicly humiliated the premier, telling reporters Israel “should be very thankful” and dismissing his judgment. The deal dropped earlier demands on ballistic missiles and proxy support, leaving senior officials warning it endangers Israeli security and surrenders US mili...

Ο έμπειρος δημοσιογράφος Γιουσούφ Κανλί, στενός παρατηρητής του Κυπριακού και της τουρκικής εξωτερικής πολιτικής επί δεκαετίες, προχώρησε σε σειρά σημαντικών εκτιμήσεων για τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις στο Κυπριακό. Σε συνέντευξή του στο The Levant Files, ανέλυσε τα σημεία στα οποία, κατά την άποψή του, προσκρούει η διαδικασία, ενώ παρουσίασε και το ευρύτερο όραμά του για μια συνολική διευθέτηση στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο. «Οι δηλώσεις Ερντογάν Ήταν Μια Συνηθισμένη Τοποθέτηση» Αναφερόμενος στην πρόσφατη κινητικότητα γύρω από την πρωτοβουλία του Γενικού Γραμματέα του ΟΗΕ, ο Κανλί υποστήριξε ότι η δήλωση του Προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας Νίκου Χριστοδουλίδη περί «πράσινου φωτός» από την Άγκυρα υπερερμηνεύτηκε. Παραπέμποντας στη συνάντηση του Τούρκου Προέδρου Ρετζέπ Ταγγίπ Ερντογάν με τον Αντόνιο Γκουτέρες στις 12 Μαρτίου, ο Κανλί ανέφερε ότι η τουρκική πλευρά επανέλαβε τη γνωστή θέση της υπέρ μιας λύσης στο νησί και της στήριξης οποιασδήποτε νέας πρωτοβουλίας του Γενικού Γραμματέα. Όπως είπε, ο Ερντ...

Veteran journalist Yusuf Kanlı, a long-time observer of the Cyprus issue and Ankara’s foreign policy thinking, has offered a series of striking assessments on the latest phase of the Cyprus negotiations. Speaking exclusively to The Levant Files, Kanlı outlined what he sees as the principal obstacles facing the process while also presenting a broader vision that, in his view, could pave the way for lasting peace in the Eastern Mediterranean. “President Erdoğan’s Remarks Were Routine and Entirely Predictable” Commenting on the recent diplomatic activity surrounding the initiative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Kanlı argued that President Nikos Christodoulides’ claim that Ankara had given a “green light” to renewed talks was overstated. In his view, it amounted to little more than Christodoulides’ own interpretation of events. Referring to the March 12 meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Guterres, Kanlı summarized Turkey’s position as follows: “The question put t...

Kıbrıs meselesini ve Ankara'nın dış politika kodlarını yakından tanıyan deneyimli gazeteci Yusuf Kanlı, kritik bir dönemece giren Kıbrıs görüşmelerine dair çarpıcı değerlendirmelerde bulundu. Yıllarca Ankara'yı, Türkiye'yi ve Doğu Akdeniz'deki güç dengelerini takip eden Kanlı, The Levant Files'a özel açıklamalar yaparak sürecin hem tıkanma noktalarını hem de Akdeniz'de topyekûn bir barışı tesis edebilecek büyük resmi masaya yatırdı. "Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın Açıklaması Klasik, Sıradan Bir Açıklamaydı" Son günlerde Kıbrıs diplomasisinde hareketliliğe yol açan BM Genel Sekreteri'nin girişimine dair konuşan Kanlı, Cumhurbaşkanı Nikos Hristodulidis'in "Ankara'dan yeşil ışık alındı" çıkışının abartılı olduğunu vurguladı. Kanlı'ya göre bu, Hristodulidis'in "kendine yontan" bir yorumundan ibaret. 12 Mart'taki Erdoğan-Guterres görüşmesine atıfta bulunan Kanlı, Türkiye'nin tutumunu şöyle özetledi: "Cumhur...

The Levant Files Sunday Night Movies returns this Sunday at 20:00  (Cyprus Time)  with a special historical screening tracing, hour by hour and day by day, the dramatic events of Romania’s 1989 Revolution and the violent collapse of one of Eastern Europe’s last communist dictatorships. Drawing extensively on rare footage from the ITN Archive, the documentary follows the uprising from its origins in the western city of Timișoara, where protests erupted in mid-December 1989, through to the chaotic final days in Bucharest that culminated in the overthrow of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. The Romanian Revolution began as a local protest but rapidly evolved into a nationwide movement that brought an end to more than two decades of authoritarian rule.  Viewers will witness the extraordinary scenes that shocked the world: Ceaușescu’s final public speech on 21 December, when a carefully orchestrated mass rally unexpectedly turned against him; the growing street battles between prote...

Amidst intensifying hostilities in the Middle East, in Sunday, Israel has launched renewed air attacks on Dahiyeh, the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, even as a potential ceasefire looms. The strikes, described by the Israeli military as a "precision" operation targeting Hezbollah command centers, come in direct response to drone and projectile fire launched by the Lebanese group into northern Israel. This escalation has raised fears that diplomatic breakthroughs between the United States and Iran could be derailed by military provocations on the ground. US President Donald Trump announced that a deal to end the war on Iran could be signed as early as Sunday, a timeline that Tehran has disputed, stating only that a signing could occur in the "coming days." Despite the US President's optimism, Iranian officials and analysts suggest that the final decision remains pending, with internal divisions and the critical issue of frozen assets compl...

By Ali Darabi Various theories and perspectives have been proposed regarding the responsibilities of management. However, there is broad consensus that managers are entrusted with five core functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leadership, and control. The purpose of this article is not to explain the importance of these five components. Rather, it is to emphasize that when the pillars of management fail to perform their duties properly and in a timely manner, organizational resources are wasted. Among these responsibilities, the ability to make sound decisions is the defining characteristic of senior leadership in any institution, organization, or governing body, and a key manifestation of good governance. In the aftermath of war and the transformations that follow, fundamental changes in the approach, policies, strategies, and management of Iranian society are essential. Every official must be accountable within the scope of their responsibilities and authority. Some reforms req...