The Levant Files

In a dramatic shift from their traditionally cautious diplomacy, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, alongside key regional allies, have adopted a unified and defiant posture against Iran, rejecting any notion of an "easy off-ramp" to the ongoing war. Recent high-level summits and joint statements reveal a region no longer willing to be a passive battleground, demanding the permanent degradation of Iran's military capabilities as a condition for peace.  The Riyadh Summit: A Coalition Forged in Crisis The pivotal moment came on March 18-19, when Saudi Arabia hosted a consultative ministerial meeting in Riyadh.  Foreign ministers from all six GCC states—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman—joined counterparts from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan.  The meeting, timed deliberately as Iranian missiles struck nearby, was a powerful display of unity. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan confirmed the attack was in...

Tehran and Gulf cities were rocked by intense strikes overnight into March 31, 2026, as the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran entered a critical phase.  Explosions were reported across Tehran, including at the University of Science and Technology, while Jerusalem and Tel Aviv faced retaliatory Iranian missile barrages, all reportedly intercepted. The UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia also engaged Iranian drones and missiles, with 12 US troops wounded in an attack on Prince Sultan Airbase.  A Kuwaiti oil tanker was struck in Dubai waters, igniting a fire and threatening a major environmental disaster, while civilian casualties mounted, including an Indian worker killed in Kuwait and a man in Tel Aviv. Oil prices surged amid fears of prolonged disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed since the war began on February 28. Rubio: "The Strait of Hormuz Will Be Open One Way or Another" In a pivotal exclusive interview with Al Jazeera on March 30, US ...

Israel’s Knesset passed a sweeping death penalty law on Monday night, mandating execution by hanging for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank convicted of deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis.  The vote, 62 in favor and 48 opposed, marks a seismic shift in Israeli criminal policy and has triggered fierce domestic debate and widespread international backlash.  The legislation, officially titled the Penal Bill (Amendment ― Death Penalty for Terrorists), makes death the default sentence in military courts for Palestinians found guilty of intentional killings “with the intent of rejecting the existence of the State of Israel.” Judges may only impose life imprisonment under “special circumstances,” a reversal of current practice.  Crucially, the law eliminates the right to pardon or clemency and does not require a unanimous judicial decision, allowing a simple majority to impose execution. A Law of Two Systems: Targeting Palestinians Legal experts and human rights gro...

As reported by Middle East Eye, Israel's Knesset is expected to vote on Monday on the final readings of a controversial bill that would introduce the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners convicted of offences classified as "terrorism." The legislation, sponsored by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, has provoked strong condemnation from European governments, UN experts and human rights organisations alike. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Sunday calling on Israel to abandon the vote, warning that the bill carries a discriminatory character and risks undermining Israel's stated commitment to democratic norms. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the country's own military establishment has raised concerns that the law could breach international legal standards and expose senior commanders to potential arrest warrants abroad. Human rights groups — including Adalah, HaMoked, the Public Committee ...

In a terrifying overnight assault that has sent shockwaves across the country, the predominantly Christian town of Suqaylabiyah in Hama province was violently attacked by scores of men from the nearby Sunni town of Qalaat al-Madiq, leaving homes, shops, and cars riddled with bullets and set ablaze.  The incident, which began as a dispute between two men on Friday night, March 27, quickly escalated into a full-scale sectarian rampage, marking the latest and most severe attack on Syria's beleaguered Christian minority since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.  Residents described a night of "terror, fear, and panic." Liyan Dweir, a local shop owner, recounted how his clothes shop was "riddled with bullets" and his children were "terrified during the hours-long assault." Another resident, Nafeh al-Nader, reported that young men broke into his home, kicked a diesel heater, and set a room on fire. Bullet holes were found near a crucifix on a wall...

The ongoing war in the Middle East has left Greece in a precarious position, with Athens grappling with mounting concerns over the conflict's impact on both the national economy and its vital commercial shipping fleet. The Greek government is closely monitoring the economic repercussions of the war. Barely a decade after its devastating financial and socioeconomic collapse, Greece now faces the prospect of renewed economic turbulence driven by regional instability. Rising energy costs, disrupted trade routes, and broader market uncertainty threaten to undermine the fragile recovery that Athens has painstakingly built over the past several years. At the same time, Greece — which controls the world's largest commercial fleet — is facing severe restrictions and growing operational challenges in the strategic straits of the Middle East. According to a well-informed diplomatic source in Athens, the situation could deteriorate significantly if the Ansar Allah movement of Yemen decide...

Turkey has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the ongoing war in the Middle East, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan maintaining constant communication with all parties involved in the conflict. Ankara's top diplomat has been stressing the need for a peaceful resolution to prevail, as the multifront war continues to inflict devastation across the region. A well-informed source in Ankara, underlining these points, shed light on Turkey's main concern: while Washington has signalled a willingness to explore avenues toward de-escalation, Tel Aviv is in no hurry to halt hostilities. "It is obvious that they aim to achieve significant territorial gains in Lebanon. At the same time, their endgame in Iran remains regime change," the source stressed. According to the source, under these circumstances, the prospects for ending the conflict largely depend on the faction within Washington that opposes the continuation of the war. "There is also an interestin...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Deep Dive Podcast Service, an exclusive production of The Levant Files. In this episode, we move beyond the headlines to provide a granular, 30-day post-mortem of the conflict that began on February 28, 2026. We begin with the staggering "military mathematics" of modern attrition. As the U.S. and Israel engage in a multi-front campaign against Iran, the cost of defense has become unsustainable. Our analysts unpack how the coalition is "throwing Rolexes at mosquitoes"—expending $15 million interceptor missiles to down $20,000 drones. With over 3,500 advanced munitions fired in just one month, the global American defense umbrella is being stretched to a dangerous thinness, forcing the Pentagon to divert resources from Ukraine and the Pacific. The ripples of this conflict are no longer contained within the Levant. We examine the "dual strangulation" of global trade, as Iran exerts de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz...

As the United States wages war across the Middle East and bends the rules-based international order to its will, Tokyo faces an uncomfortable reckoning — how to preserve its security alliance with Washington without surrendering its identity as a champion of international law. The image was stark enough to cause visible discomfort in Tokyo's policy circles: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, standing beside U.S. President Donald Trump at a Washington dinner reception on 19 March, offering fulsome praise to a leader who has upended the international order — not once, but repeatedly, and now most dramatically through the ongoing American military campaign against Iran and its regional proxies, a conflict that has reshaped the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East in a matter of weeks. In a candid editorial published this week by Koji Sonoda, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Political News Section at Japan's leading daily Asahi Shimbun, the discomfort was named plainly: Japan's n...