The Levant Files

Greece remained under a state of high alert on Monday as a ferocious wildfire tore through Western Attica for a fourth consecutive day, surrounding the coastal settlement of Psatha and forcing new evacuations as fire crews fought to keep the flames from reaching the town of Megara. The blaze, which has already burned across roughly 10 kilometers of terrain in a matter of days, intensified again shortly after midday when a dangerous flare-up erupted on the hillside above Psatha. Flames tore through dense pine forest stretching down to the sea, sending thick black smoke billowing over the coastline and forcing television crews stationed in nearby Alepochori to relocate for visibility. "The situation remains critical today, Monday, August 3rd, as a very high fire risk (Category 4) is forecast for Attica, Boeotia and Evia, with the Fire Service on general alert," officials said, underscoring the gravity of conditions facing emergency crews. Flames Reach the Doorsteps of Kandili T...

Tehran on Monday firmly denied that it is engaged in direct negotiations with the United States, even as diplomatic efforts to defuse the standoff between the two countries continued through regional intermediaries. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters in Tehran that "there are currently no negotiations with the United States," pushing back against suggestions from Washington that a bilateral dialogue was underway. He added that Iran's engagement was instead focused on a separate channel: talks with Oman concerning the management of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. That Oman-mediated track appears to be advancing quickly. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told cabinet members on Sunday that "negotiations with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages" and "on the way to being finalized," according to Iran's state news agency IRNA. Araghchi's remarks came just after President Trum...

Two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air on Sunday while battling a major wildfire in western Attica, in one of the most serious aerial firefighting accidents in Greece in recent years. All four crew members were located after the crash, with two rescued safely and two found unconscious before being transferred to hospital, according to Greece’s public broadcaster ERT.  The collision occurred over the wildfire front near Psatha, west of Athens, where aircraft were conducting water-dropping operations to contain rapidly spreading flames. ERT reported that each helicopter was carrying a two-person crew when the aircraft struck each other during the operation. According to ERT, rescue teams quickly reached the crash site. Two crew members were found in good condition, while the remaining two were discovered unconscious and were airlifted for urgent medical treatment. Their condition has not been officially updated. The accident unfolded as hundreds of firefighters, supported by airc...

Bölge Uçurumun Kıyısından Nasıl Döndü? ABD büyükelçiliklerinin güvenlik uyarılarından Suudi Arabistan’ın devreye girmesine, İran’ın tehditlerinden Donald Trump’ın son anda verdiği mesaja kadar 1-2 Ağustos gecesi Levant ve Basra Körfezi’ni büyük bir bölgesel çatışmanın eşiğine getirdi. Ancak son anda diplomasiye dar da olsa bir alan açıldı. Tehlike henüz geçmiş değil. Washington’ın saldırıları durdurma kararı şartlara bağlı, Hürmüz Boğazı krizin merkezindeki yerini koruyor ve bölge başkentlerinde alarm durumu sürüyor.  Bölge Alarm Durumuna Geçti 1 Ağustos Cumartesi günü ABD’nin Orta Doğu’daki büyükelçilikleri, alışılmışın dışında kapsamlı güvenlik uyarıları yayımladı. Açıklamalarda, Amerikalı vatandaşlar “öngörülemeyen bir tırmanış” ihtimaline karşı uyarılarak bölgeden ayrılmayı değerlendirmeleri istendi. Bahreyn, Irak, İsrail, Ürdün, Kuveyt, Lübnan, Umman, Katar, Suudi Arabistan ve Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri’ni kapsayan uyarılar, Levant’tan Basra Körfezi’ne uzanan geniş coğrafyada A...

by Petros Zarounas Much has been written about UN Secretary-General António Guterres's visit to Cyprus. Most of it reflects the partisan lens through which each side views events. Paradoxically, both the Christodoulides government and the opposition have described the visit as successful, agreeing that momentum will continue until the informal five-party conference is convened. Averof Neophytou's differing position stands out as notable. My own assessment differs, and it is as follows. Guterres's concluding statement makes clear that the two sides agree on none of it — not on substantive issues, not on procedural matters, and not on confidence-building measures (CBMs), which is why no new CBM was announced, nor was the implementation of any previous one. Beyond this, Guterres set no date for convening the informal conference, referring instead to preconditions that must first be met. He even clarified that the customary September trilateral meeting in New York will not take...

From the warning lights of US embassies to Saudi intervention, Iranian threats and a last-minute message from Donald Trump, the night of 1–2 August pushed the Levant and Gulf toward a major regional confrontation—then abruptly opened a narrow diplomatic exit. The danger has not passed: Washington’s strike pause is conditional, the Strait of Hormuz remains central to the dispute, and the region’s capitals remain on alert. The Region Braces On Saturday, 1 August, US embassies across the Middle East issued unusually broad security alerts, warning American citizens of possible “unforeseen escalation” and urging them to consider leaving the region. The notices covered Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—an arc stretching from the Levant to the Gulf and reflecting fears that the next US-Iran confrontation would not remain contained. The guidance was practical but stark: prepare for cancelled flights and sudden airspace restri...

Israel has raised its military alert level amid mounting assessments that US President Donald Trump is nearing a decision to resume large-scale strikes on Iran, according to Israeli officials cited by The Jerusalem Post — even as Turkey signaled it is still working the diplomatic track with Tehran. Israel Braces, But Says it Hasn't Been Asked to Join Two Israeli sources told the *Post* that Israel has raised the alert and readiness amid assessments that Trump is close to deciding to resume military strikes against Iran, potentially on an even larger scale. Officials said "we are on high alert and awaiting the president's final decision." Israel's working assumption is that any major US strike on Iran, even one without direct Israeli participation, would likely draw Israel into the conflict. Still, an Israeli official told CBS that "Israel is not aware of a decision to fully resume military activity, and has not been asked to join any military action against I...

María Ángela Holguín shuttled between Nicosia, Ankara, Athens, London, and Brussels for months. Everywhere she went, the doors didn't seem to be completely closed. No one was saying, "We don't want negotiations." On the contrary, everyone was saying, "If the right conditions are met," "If a suitable methodology is found," "If the other side also takes a step." In diplomatic language, these are often read as signs of hope. Perhaps that's where the problem began. What Holguín saw was indeed movement. But was this movement leading towards a solution, or was it serving to consolidate the positions of the parties? Looking at what has happened in recent months, the second possibility seems stronger. Turkey, while trying to open a new chapter in its relations with the European Union, kept the Cyprus issue as one of the important topics on the negotiating table. The Greek Cypriot-controlled Republic of Cyprus, on the other hand, tried to make...

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday its naval forces struck and halted two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessels attempted to use a route that Tehran considers unauthorized while under U.S. military escort, according to Iranian state-linked media reports. The IRGC claimed the tankers had ignored repeated warnings before attempting to transit what it described as an unsafe route, and that four additional tankers reversed course after similar warnings. A separate IRGC statement said two tankers attempting to use a "southern route" under direction from U.S. aircraft turned back after one caught fire, though the cause was not independently confirmed. The claims could not be independently verified. Iranian state and state-aligned outlets have an interest in projecting military control over the strait, and their reporting on strikes and tanker movements has not been corroborated by independent maritime authorities, the U.S., or internatio...