The Levant Files

U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that Iran is interested in a diplomatic resolution to escalating tensions with the United States, even as Washington deploys a massive naval fleet to the region following the violent suppression of protests in the Islamic Republic. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) and the  U.S. news outlet Axios, Trump described the situation with Iran as "in flux," pointing to the significant military presence the U.S. has dispatched to the region. "We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela," the Republican president stated, referencing the naval forces recently positioned near both countries. Tehran Reportedly Reaching Out "They want to make a deal. I know that. They've called several times. They want to talk," Trump added. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by a fleet of warships, has arrived in the region, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), though specific ...

In a chilling development that has sent shockwaves through the Middle East, Iraq's intelligence chief has revealed that the Islamic State terror group has dramatically multiplied its ranks in Syria, raising the specter of a devastating resurgence of the extremist organization that once carved out a brutal caliphate across the region. Hamid al-Shatri, Iraq's head of intelligence, disclosed in a rare and alarming interview that ISIS fighters in Syria have ballooned from approximately 2,000 to a staggering 10,000 militants in little more than a year, according to The Washington Post . The dramatic fivefold increase has prompted Iraq to rush thousands of troops and militia members to its border with Syria in an emergency response to the escalating threat. The Washington Post reported that al-Shatri, speaking in Baghdad this month, has been "warily tracking the growing numbers of Islamic State militants over the border in Syria" throughout the past year. His assessment pai...

By Farhad Alaaldin, t he Iraqi Prime Minister's Advisor for Foreign Affairs Iraq's initiative to accept a number of the most dangerous ISIS members detained in northeastern Syria cannot be separated from the deeper transformations taking place in the counter-terrorism file in the region. This step is not merely a technical procedure or a temporary solution, but a calculated political and security initiative that reflects Baghdad's desire to deal directly with one of the most complex post-conflict issues, rather than leaving it stranded in ungoverned gray areas. For years, detention centers and camps in northeastern Syria have been a clear point of imbalance in the regional security equation. They are unstable spaces governed by temporary arrangements, housing extremists from various countries in a fragile, potentially explosive environment. This reality, long treated as a stopgap solution, is now seen internationally as a continuous source of danger that cannot be contained...

A devastating humanitarian crisis is rapidly escalating across northeast Syria (Rojava) as Damascus-affiliated armed factions, reportedly linked to ISIS, continue their brutal assault on Kurdish-held territories despite a US-brokered ceasefire. The violence has triggered mass displacement, civilian massacres, and desperate conditions that have already claimed lives—including a 60-year-old man who froze to death in a makeshift shelter. Fierce Clashes Erupt Around Kobane Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), and the People's Protection Units (YPG) are engaged in intense combat against advancing militant groups in the southeastern countryside of Kobane. According to ANF News Agency, SDF and YPJ fighters inflicted heavy losses on militant forces along the Çelebiyê front, destroying numerous tanks and armored vehicles while seizing others in a significant counter-offensive. The agency reported that Kurdish forces have cornered ...

"Only in 2025, at least 201 people lost their lives in workplaces." This staggering statistic is the focal point of a furious announcement by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) following a deadly explosion at the Violanta biscuit factory in Trikala. The blast, which decimated nearly the entire night shift, left five female workers dead and seven injured. For the KKE, this tragedy is not an isolated incident but the grim culmination of a year marked by a "heavy blood tax" paid by the working class. According to the party, the 201 deaths recorded so far this year constitute a new "black record" in what they term "employer crimes." The statement explicitly links this surge in fatalities to "overwork, the lack of necessary safety and hygiene measures, and the non-existence of inspections by the competent state authorities." "No Crocodile Tears" The explosion at the Violanta facility has sparked outrage regarding safety standards...

The faint glimmer of hope that remained for families waiting outside the smoldering ruins of the Violanta biscuit factory was extinguished late Monday, as rescue crews recovered the body of the final missing worker. The grim discovery raises the death toll of the catastrophic pre-dawn explosion to five, marking a day of profound mourning for Central Greece and cementing the incident as one of the country's darkest industrial tragedies in decades. The explosion, which tore through the facility shortly before 4:00 AM on January 26, shattered the silence of the night with a force witnesses likened to a missile strike. The blast pulverized the rear section of the factory, burying the night shift workers under tons of concrete and twisted metal. While authorities had earlier confirmed four fatalities, the search for the fifth individual—a worker previously listed as missing—concluded tragically hours later when specialized disaster units (EMAK) located their remains within the debris. A...

The United States and Iran appeared on the brink of military confrontation on Monday as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group completed its deployment to Middle Eastern waters, with President Donald Trump warning that a "large armada" stands ready for potential action against the Islamic Republic. The dramatic military buildup follows weeks of escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, triggered by Iran's brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in early January. According to the New York Times, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei personally ordered security forces to show "no mercy" to demonstrators, with estimates suggesting that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed during a two-day massacre on January 8-9. Iranian officials have responded to the American deployment with their most direct threats to date. Revolutionary Guards Commander Mohammad Pakpour declared that Iranian forces remain "prepared for any pos...

The 15-day ceasefire between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has effectively collapsed less than 48 hours after it was announced, with both sides exchanging heavy fire, drone strikes, and artillery bombardments across northeastern Syria. Reports of civilian casualties, including the death of a child near the besieged city of Kobane, have emerged as fighting escalated dramatically in the early hours of Monday, January 26. The violence erupted at approximately 2 AM local time when Syrian army units, supported by affiliated militias and Turkish drone operations overhead, launched intensive ground assaults on villages southeast of Kobane, according to SDF military sources. The targeted settlements of Kharab Ashk and Al-Jalabiyah came under sustained attack from tanks, armored vehicles, and heavy artillery, with shells striking residential neighborhoods where displaced civilians had sought refuge from earlier fighting. "Clashes are ongoing with no let-...

A disturbing video filmed in Syria's Raqqa in early January 2026 has ignited a wave of solidarity protests across the world and triggered an official investigation against a nurse in Turkey. The footage, showing a jihadist proudly displaying the severed braid of a dead Kurdish woman fighter, has become a symbol of both war's brutality and women's resistance. A Macabre Trophy The man in the video has been identified as Rami Yusuf Deheş, born in 1987 and registered in Tel Abyad (Girê Spî). Reports describe him as a long-time militant who previously fought with the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), the Nusra Front, and Ahrar al-Sham, and who is now aligned with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). He is also said to be a father of five daughters and active on social media under the name "Rami Hashimi." In the viral clip from Raqqa, Deheş is seen holding a thick, braided lock of hair said to have been cut from a fallen fighter of the Women's Defense Units (YPJ), part of the ...

In what human rights monitors and international observers are describing as a “spasm of violence” without modern parallel, the Islamic Republic of Iran has reportedly killed more than 36,500 citizens in a desperate, systematic attempt to crush the ongoing National Revolution. Internal leaks from government ministries and reports from hospital first responders suggest that the scale of the carnage has overwhelmed the state’s infrastructure, with reports of body bags running out and 18-wheeler semi-trailers being used to transport the dead. A "Babyn Yar" in the Streets of Iran According to a bombshell report by TIME, internal data from the Iranian Ministry of Health indicates that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed on January 8 and 9 alone. These figures dwarf the official regime count of 3,117. Experts speaking to TIME noted that a slaughter of this magnitude—conducted primarily via gunfire in just 48 hours—has almost no historical precedent outside of the Holocaust...