The Levant Files

A European Union delegation is set to arrive in Ankara on June 30, just ahead of next week's NATO Summit, with an agenda that prioritizes security, migration and commercial interests over Turkey's human rights record, according to prominent Turkish columnist Murat Yetkin, writing in his column published June 29. Yetkin, a veteran political analyst, reported that the delegation will be led by EU Commission Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, accompanied by Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. On the Turkish side, the visitors are expected to meet Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and Trade Minister Ömer Bolat. According to the columnist, the composition of both delegations signals where Brussels' real priorities lie: military and diplomatic cooperation, infrast...

As the United States and Iran moved to halt four days of tit-for-tat strikes around the Strait of Hormuz and convene fresh talks in Doha, the MAGA and pro-Trump American media over the past 24 hours have coalesced around a single dominant message: President Donald Trump is negotiating from a position of overwhelming strength, and any renewed Iranian aggression will be answered with force. That framing was set at the top by the White House and amplified across conservative outlets. Speaking on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that Washington was "holding up our end of the ceasefire" and warned bluntly that "violence will be met with violence." She cast Tehran as the party that stands to lose most, predicting that continued aggression would leave Iran to "prove themselves to be the pariah of the Middle East" and alienated from its Gulf and Arab partners.  Fox News reported that the diplomatic track was be...

Iraq is in the grip of one of the most sweeping anti-corruption operations in its post-2003 history. In the early hours of June 28, elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) units sealed Baghdad's fortified Green Zone and fanned out across multiple provinces in what Iraqi media have dubbed the "Dawn Crackdown" — a campaign ordered personally by the country's new Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi. According to Shafaq News, Iraqi security forces detained 67 officials, lawmakers, and businessmen across Baghdad and several provinces, in operations carried out under the direct supervision of the prime minister. Officials describe this as the first phase of a wider campaign that could reach more than 200 senior figures within 72 hours. The state news agency INA initially reported 47 detainees, while other counts have since risen above fifty.  The state news agency named a roster of prominent figures. Those held are led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, head of the al-Azm Alliance and a membe...

The best selling point for President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran was that at least it opened the Strait of Hormuz. Well, now the regime is trying to nullify those terms by using force against commercial vessels, Gulf states and U.S. bases. All of this violates the deal and calls into question why Mr. Trump signed it. On Thursday Iran struck a container ship transiting the Strait with a drone. The U.S. responded on Friday with strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radars. It announced the strike after markets closed as if to demonstrate the economic constraints on U.S. military action. Iran then hit a tanker carrying Qatari crude. The U.S. retaliated again against Iranian military sites and has escorted oil tankers with heavy air cover. Iran then fired drones and missiles at civilian targets and U.S. bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. “It is very possible that they will never learn,” Mr. Trump wrote of Iran’s regime on Saturday night. Or is it U.S. d...

Today, The Levant Files officially crossed a major milestone, welcoming its 300,000th unique visitor to the platform. What started as a dedicated effort to provide deep analysis, nuanced perspectives, and rigorous reporting on the Levant region has grown into a thriving global community of readers, researchers, and policymakers. Achieving this threshold is a testament to the trust our audience places in our independent journalism. In an era of rapid news cycles, our readers have consistently sought out the context, depth, and integrity that define our publication. To every single person who has read an article, shared a report, or supported our work: thank you. Your engagement drives our mission forward. As we look to the future, The Levant Files remains deeply committed to expanding our coverage, breaking down complex regional dynamics, and remaining your go-to source for insightful analysis.

    The current wave of terrorism against Iran launched by that murderous criminal in Washington is not something new, and is part of the crimes US regimes have carried out in the Islamic Republic over the past 47 years. On the anniversary of the martyrdom of Iran’s Chief Justice and its First Judiciary Chief, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, along with 72 senior revolutionaries, including cabinet ministers and members of parliament by the US-backed MKO terrorists in 1981, we are proud to say that the blood of the martyrs continues to provide new strength to the Islamic Republic. Each time the dimwitted terrorists target Iranian leaders, including the February 28 martyrdom of the Beloved Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (RA), the nation, instead of collapsing, has solidified its ranks to retaliate with iron resolve against the cowardly enemies. The gallows-deserving Donald Trump – a habitual liar, a scoundrel, and violator of his own ...

Iranian state and semi-official media spent the past twelve hours hammering a unified message: Tehran alone governs the Strait of Hormuz, the United States is the party violating the mid-June memorandum of understanding, and Iran's response to further strikes will widen rather than soften. The dominant story across outlets was Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's press conference in Baghdad. Press TV led with his assertion that only Iran is responsible for reopening the strait under the Tehran–Washington MoU, and that any foreign interference will complicate the process. State-aligned coverage framed his 30-day timeline explicitly, reporting his claim that the waterway would return to pre-war capacity within 30 days under Iran's exclusive management once obstacles are removed. Outlets carrying his remarks stressed his warning that any external interference could hinder normal shipping and further escalate regional tensions. The Lebanon file was woven into the same coverage. Ir...

Sevgül Uludağ, the Turkish Cypriot investigative journalist, author and peace activist known internationally for her work tracing the island's missing persons, has died. Born in Nicosia in 1958, Uludağ entered journalism in 1980 and went on to build a career defined by her determination to uncover the fate of those who disappeared during Cyprus's years of intercommunal conflict and division. Over decades, she gave voice to the relatives of the missing on both sides of the divide, working with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot families alike to seek answers that had eluded them for generations. For many years she wrote columns for the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yenidüzen, while also contributing to Politis, published in the south. Through her work in both communities, she became a rare cross-divide voice, championing dialogue, peace and a culture of reconciliation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Her investigations into the missing helped lead to the discovery of numerous mass...

As the dust settles on the newly signed Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, Israeli media outlets are engaged in a fierce debate over the deal’s long-term implications. While the government hails the accord as a diplomatic breakthrough that weakens Iranian influence, opinion pieces and analyses from the last 24 hours paint a picture of deep strategic anxiety, with critics warning that the agreement prioritizes global economic stability over Israel’s security needs. The "Gaza Model" and the Illusion of Security A prominent critique emerging from military analysts is that the new framework merely replicates the US-led model recently applied in Gaza, focusing on technical mechanisms while ignoring political realities. In an opinion piece for Maariv, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Amit Yagur argues that the deal relies heavily on "pilot zones" where the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) must prove their ability to disarm Hezbollah before the IDF withdraws . Yagur contends that this approach...

In the past hours, Lebanese media outlets spanning the political spectrum have intensely covered and analyzed the newly announced Israel-Lebanon memorandum, a fragile agreement aimed at de-escalating tensions along the border while opening the door to limited economic cooperation. The coverage reflects the country’s deep political divisions, with pro-government publications cautiously supportive and Hezbollah-aligned media striking a far more skeptical tone. The memorandum, which lays out steps to reduce border hostilities and potentially foster cross-border economic initiatives, has sparked a wave of commentary emphasizing its conditional and tactical nature.  Pro-Government Media: A Tactical Step Toward Stability Leading pro-government outlets such as An-Nahar and L’Orient-Le Jour framed the memorandum as a pragmatic move to prevent further instability. In an editorial published this morning, An-Nahar described the agreement as “a necessary tactical move to prevent further econom...

Iran's pro-government press spent the past 12 hours converging on a single message: the latest American strikes on Iranian coastal sites have exposed Washington as a treacherous negotiator, even as Tehran insists it still holds decisive leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and the fate of Lebanon. After US forces struck Iranian missile, drone, and radar positions in response to an alleged Iranian drone attack on shipping in the strait, the Foreign Ministry — amplified across Press TV, Tasnim, and IRNA — branded the raids a “blatant violation” of the June 17 memorandum of understanding and of the UN Charter. State outlets reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had already retaliated against US-linked targets in the Gulf, describing its “right to reciprocal response” as “legitimate and certain.” The tone in hardline commentary was sharper still. Kayhan, whose editorial line is widely seen as reflecting the Supreme Leader's office, and its managing editor Hossein Sharia...

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem has strongly condemned the newly announced "framework agreement" between the Lebanese government and Israel, describing it as a severe surrender of national sovereignty that legitimizes a prolonged Israeli occupation. According to a report by Al Mayadeen, Qassem warned that the deal deprives displaced Lebanese citizens of their right to return and risks paving the way for the annexation of Lebanese territory. The remarks come amidst escalating tensions and a fragile ceasefire along the volatile northern border region. In a detailed statement, Qassem criticized the Lebanese authorities for allowing the enemy to dictate internal affairs, insisting that any arrangement must be strictly confined to the area south of the Litani River. He labeled the agreement a "terrible fall" and a "great sin," arguing that it enables Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to monitor the deployment of the Lebanese army in desig...

On 24 June 2026 the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Romania's parliament, let a bill “on the unification of Romania with the Republic of Moldova” pass without a vote. Under Romanian rules, a draft that is not debated within a 45-day deadline is automatically deemed approved by the first chamber. The deadline lapsed, and the session chair simply declared the proposal adopted. Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian outlets alike called it adoptare tacită — “tacit adoption,” a procedural pass-through rather than a political endorsement. The headline is easily misread. No binding unification process has begun. The bill, sponsored by the fringe far-right S.O.S. România party, still must clear the Senate, the decisive chamber, and it carries negative opinions from the government and from the Chamber's own legal and human-rights committees. A former head of the Constitutional Court called it unconstitutional, with “no chance.” Bucharest's stated priority is helping Moldova into t...

A controversial new report alleges that Israel has been employing tactics to influence politicians, journalists, and academics in Greece and Cyprus, drawing historical parallels to Cold War-era influence operations. The claims, which highlight the complexities of a rapidly deepening regional alliance, remain unverified but are sparking discussion regarding the extent of foreign influence in the Eastern Mediterranean. According to an anonymous security source of The Levant Files in Athens, Israeli operatives have been utilizing various methods—including purported economic incentives—to cultivate relationships within the Greek and Cypriot intelligence communities, media, and political spheres. The source likened the alleged strategy to the methods utilized by the United States during the Greek Civil War (1945-1949), when Washington allegedly employed economic and diplomatic leverage to sway Greek intellectuals, journalists, and politicians against the Soviet Union. "In the last coup...

The framework signed in Washington this week solves nothing, because it asks Hezbollah to do the one thing it will never do voluntarily: surrender its weapons. Disarmament is not a clause to be haggled over; it is the party’s reason for being. Naim Qassem said as much — no normalization, no gains for Israel, the resistance as “the pillar of Lebanon’s independence.” Strip away the diplomatic varnish and the message is simple: the guns stay. That leaves Lebanon two roads, and both are dark. On the first, Israel keeps its boots on Lebanese soil, citing Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm as the standing justification for occupation. Every strike and every leaflet drop deepens the very enmity the framework claims to dissolve. On the second — the road Hezbollah’s own MP, Hassan Fadlallah, named aloud when he warned of “civil war” — the Lebanese state tries to enforce the deal itself. But the army that would do the enforcing is weak, under-equipped, and sectarally mixed. Order it to disarm Hezboll...

Hezbollah moved swiftly to reject a US-mediated framework agreement signed by Israel and Lebanon in Washington on Friday, with the Iran-backed group’s supporters burning cars and blocking roads in Beirut even as its leaders vowed to keep their arsenal. The trilateral accord, signed at the State Department by the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors and announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was not signed by Hezbollah — though the group remains the principal party to the fighting it is meant to end. The framework ties a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah’s disarmament, a condition the movement flatly refuses. “Our hands are on our weapons,” a Hezbollah spokesperson told Newsweek, warning that further clashes were inevitable if Israel did not pull back fully. “As long as there is occupation, there is resistance.” The spokesperson said the group would honor the deal only if Israel committed in full, rejecting what it called the idea of “surrendering our land t...

Türk sinemasının kalbi bugün derinden sarsıldı; Türkiye halkları, topraklarının yetiştirdiği en büyük kültürel değerlerden birini yitirmenin derin yası içinde. Yeşilçam’ın efsanevi jönü, vakur duruşu ve benzersiz karizmasıyla milyonların sevgilisi olan usta sanatçı Kadir İnanır, yoğun bakımda verdiği yaşam mücadelesini kaybederek 77 yaşında aramızdan ayrıldı. 14 Mayıs akşamı zatürre ve solunum yetmezliği teşhisiyle hastaneye kaldırılan İnanır, akciğerindeki tümör nedeniyle tedavi sürecinin kontrolü ve acı çekmemesi amacıyla 21 Mayıs'ta entübe edilmişti. Hayat arkadaşı Jülide Kural’ın ve tüm sevenlerinin büyük bir umutla takip ettiği yaklaşık iki aylık yoğun bakım sürecinin ardından, usta oyuncudan gelen acı haber tüm ülkeyi yasa boğdu. Fatsa'dan Yeşilçam'ın Zirvesine 15 Nisan 1949'da Ordu'nun Fatsa ilçesinde doğan Kadir İnanır, sinema dünyasına 1967'de adım attı. Asıl büyük çıkışını, Türkan Şoray ile başrolünü paylaştığı Kara Gözlüm filmiyle yaptı. Bu efsanevi o...

According to Qods News Agency (QNA) — an Iranian state-aligned outlet with close institutional ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and widely regarded as a semi-official mouthpiece of the hardline security establishment in Tehran — the Naval Force of the IRGC has issued a stark warning declaring that vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz must use only the navigation routes officially designated by Iran, following reports that an alternative shipping corridor had been announced by unspecified authorities without prior coordination with Tehran. In a statement released early Thursday, the IRGC Navy described the newly announced route as “unacceptable and extremely dangerous,” asserting that it had been introduced without the knowledge or approval of Iranian authorities. The statement underscored that the only authorized navigation corridors through the strategically critical waterway are those previously communicated by Iran, and warned that any vessel operating outside...

By Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias In an exclusive interview with The Levant Files, Özdil Nami — former Foreign Minister of the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and a veteran Turkish Cypriot negotiator at the heart of successive rounds of the Cyprus talks — offers a sober reading of the diplomacy now gathering pace around the island. He cautions against the language of a “new plan,” parses what the United Nations may actually be attempting, and explains why, in his view, the cost of saying “no” remains the missing ingredient of every settlement effort since 2004. Not a Plan, but a “Strategic Agreement” Asked by The Levant Files whether the much-discussed new summit and the United Nations’ reported initiative mean the island stands on the eve of a fresh settlement plan — or whether this is merely another attempt to breathe life into a dormant process — Nami began by insisting on precision about the very word everyone is using. “We need to clarify what we understand by a new ‘plan,...

Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias Eski Dışişleri Bakanı ve eski Ulaştırma ve Bayındırlık Bakanı Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, The Levant Files’a verdiği özel röportajda Kıbrıs meselesinin mevcut durumunu diplomatik bir bakış açısıyla değerlendirdi. Kozakou-Marcoullis, gerçek bir siyasî irade ortaya çıkmadığı takdirde adanın geri dönülmez biçimde bölünmeye sürüklenebileceği uyarısını yaptı. Kıbrıs’ın en deneyimli diplomatlarından biri olan Kozakou-Marcoullis, adada çözüm arayışının yeni ve belki de son bir aşamaya yaklaştığı yönündeki değerlendirmelere temkinli yaklaştı. “Çözüme yalnızca bir adım kalmıştı” Hükûmetin dile getirdiği “nihai süreç” söyleminin gerçekçi bir beklenti mi yoksa iyi niyetli bir temenniden mi ibaret olduğu sorusuna yanıt veren Kozakou-Marcoullis, iyimser beklentiler yaratmaktan kaçındı. Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Sekreterinin, Cenevre ve Crans-Montana’daki yoğun diplomasi döneminden sonra kayda değer bir ilerleme sağlayamadığını belirten eski bakan, görevini devretmeden önce halef...