The Levant Files

Nournews, a news outlet affiliated with Iran's state apparatus, has published a sharp analysis titled "Europe's Foreign Policy: Between Claim and Reality," examining the European Union's stance regarding the recent preliminary understanding between Iran and the United States. Citing a source inside the first paragraph, the report describes the European position as a "symbol of the decline and exhaustion of the Western structure." According to Nournews, while European countries have reacted to the Iran-U.S. deal with "conditional welcome," their approach reveals a "challenge to the independence of foreign policy and a reduction in the Union's influence in global equations." The report argues that European actions signify a "repetition of a worn-out pattern of power display" rather than effective international role-playing. Contradictory Claims and a Worn-Out Power Display The analysis points to recent statements by Europe...

Israel has spent decades perfecting the art of war. It built one of the most sophisticated militaries on the planet, invested in cutting-edge intelligence infrastructure, and developed doctrines for striking enemies with surgical precision. What it never built — and what may now prove its greatest strategic liability — is the diplomatic architecture capable of actually ending a conflict, not merely pausing it. That is the central argument of a sharp commentary published Tuesday by Ezra Taylor in The Jerusalem Post, which dissects Israel’s so-called “mowing the grass” doctrine and traces a direct line from that posture to Washington’s decision to pull back from Israel’s war effort against Iran. The piece argues that former U.S. President Donald Trump — Israel’s closest international ally — effectively walked away not out of hostility, but because he was confronted with an open-ended, economy-draining conflict that Israel had never equipped itself to resolve. The reason, Taylor argues, i...

A 14-point draft memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, obtained by Bloomberg News, lays out the framework for ending their war and offers Tehran sweeping economic and diplomatic concessions while leaving several core US objectives unaddressed. The two sides are expected to sign the document formally on June 19 in Switzerland, opening a 60-day window of negotiations toward a final peace agreement and new limits on Iran’s nuclear program. According to Bloomberg, the memorandum was already signed digitally on Sunday. The opening clauses commit the US, Iran, and their allies to “an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts,” explicitly including Lebanon — a key Iranian demand likely to anger Israel. Both sides pledge to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to refrain from hostile action. On the military front, Washington agrees to lift its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and to withdraw forces from unspecified “surroundi...

In a column published by the Turkish conservative daily Yeni Şafak, Turkish journalist Yahya Bostan warns that Israel may open new fronts across the Middle East as its confrontation with Iran winds down, despite a 60-day window for nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Bostan argues that with Tel Aviv failing to achieve its objectives in Iran, the Netanyahu government is likely to pivot toward provocations in files directly concerning Turkey, while regional powers must act swiftly to contain Israeli expansionism. The article, titled "As the Iran File Closes, Where Will Israel Open a New Front?", begins with a sobering question: "War again? Perhaps war, perhaps a power struggle." Bostan notes that although the United States and Iran have reached an understanding, the dossier remains far from closed. Lebanon continues to bleed, and the uncertainty surrounding the nuclear talks creates fertile ground for further Israeli maneuvering. A significant portion ...

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...