Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis

The Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis connects field reporting and analysis through partnering with journalists, locals, experts and scholars #MECRA

[Aaron Y. Zelin @azelin]

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister: Syria has not revoked its invitation for Russian troops to stay https://t.co/1QUWShWe9E

[Adam Lucente @Adam_Lucente]

LATEST on Middle East escalation 🚨

•fresh IDF-Hezbollah clashes, despite ceasefire
•Lebanon's Salam backs Israel talks, 4th round starts in DC
•Rubio: Khamenei alive, engaging with intermediaries
•IRGC: 24 ships crossed Hormuz

https://t.co/h7aieZibjt

[Wladimir van Wilgenburg @vvanwilgenburg]

"The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Oman"

[Jared Szuba @JM_Szuba]

The drone attacks into Saudi Arabia fit a broader pattern: they were launched from Iraq, according to regional officials and diplomats.

Iran appears to be signaling its proxy networks are still active and operational. Via @amberinzaman @AlMonitor

https://t.co/fj1960jEur

[Duhok Buzz @Duhok_Buzz]

Governor of Duhok visited the construction site of the “New Akre” project in Akre today.

The development includes 200 residential & commercial units; social media users quickly noted its palm-tree-filled design, an element foreign to Akre’s landscape, character & environment🌴

[PDKI @PDKIenglish]

Iran’s terrorist IRGC launched a new wave of suicide drones against the Jejnikan residential camp of the PDKI this morning. This marks the second such attack against Jejnikan within a three-day period.

Jejnikan serves as civilian residential camp for PDKI members’ families. Since the end of February , the Islamic Republic of Iran has now targeted PDKI family camps and the party’s medical and educational installations on close to 130 separate times using ballistic missiles and drones.

[Jared Szuba @JM_Szuba]

NEW @AlMonitor — Pentagon officials across multiple US administrations have urged Arab states in the Gulf to shoulder their own defense against Iran.

Do Saudi and Emirati counterstrikes on Iran signal a shift in the regional security paradigm?

Analysis: https://t.co/TlvGLaRb7I

[Elizabeth Tsurkov @LizHurra]

Excellent news confirmed to me by multiple sources inside the Syrian government: the Secretariat for Political Affairs inside the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is set to be dismantled.
The Secretariat was the evolution of the Sheibani-led Administration of the Liberated Areas, which was, in effect, the civilian apparatus ruling rebel-held Idlib. The Administration and later the Secretariat were staffed by HTS loyalists.
After Assad's downfall, the Secretariat took on extensive authorities to monitor the work of ministries, but also made decisions that impinged on freedom of assembly and speech. Its dismantling, following criticism from Syrian civil society, is a very welcome step. A state reflecting the values of the 2011 Syrian revolution should not be restricting NGO conferences, political organizing or stand-up shows, as the Secretariat has done.
More on the Secretariat https://t.co/Vq1JNW2A36
Today's report by al-Modon on its dismantling https://t.co/plcuXTagLO

[Meghan Bodette @_____mjb]

Kurds are staying out of the US-Iran war. If all you read was mainstream media, you wouldn't know.

I wrote about the "incursion" that never happened, the language and narratives that made it believable, and the impact on the ground.

https://t.co/M5lyPe5Nsy

[U.S. Embassy Jerusalem @usembassyjlm]

On February 27, 2026, the Department of State authorized the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members of U.S. government personnel from Mission Israel due to safety risks.

In response to security incidents and without advance notice, the U.S. Embassy may further restrict or prohibit U.S. government employees and their family members from traveling to certain areas of Israel, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the West Bank. Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available.
Read the full message here>> https://t.co/0tvSfhwFC1?

[Omar Abu Layla @OALD24]

A delegation from the Ministry of Defense is heading to the city of Hasakah to discuss procedures related to the integration of members of the SDF into the military institution, in implementation of the provisions of the agreement signed between the Syrian state and the SDF.

@Asem_Ghalyoun

[Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis @MidEast_Center]

Reports that Iran has carried out a drone and missile attack targeting the PAK in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region; the PAK have been very active during recent protests

[PAK_English @PAKenglishh]

🛑 Mozaffar Mohammadzada (Nabaz), a Peshmerga of the SMK, was martyred in attacks by the Iranian Regime on our bases.

[PAK_English @PAKenglishh]

🛑Urgent Statement from the SMK Internal Command in Kermanshan.

#Kurds
#Rojhalat

[Jared Szuba @JM_Szuba]

US Syria Tom Barrack remains in the lead of Washington’s diplomatic push to unite Syria’s US-backed Kurdish-led forces with Syrian government forces.

Barrack, also ambassador to Turkey, met Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan today in Ankara:

[Barak Ravid @BarakRavid]

Israel shared an assessment with the U.S. that at least 5,000 protesters had been killed, according to a U.S. official

[Aaron Y. Zelin @azelin]

In another operation between Damascus and the Global Coalition, they tried arresting IS’s wali for the Hauran region in Rif Dimashq, but was killed in the operation

[Wladimir van Wilgenburg @vvanwilgenburg]

SDF official to @AlHadath: SDF Head @MazloumAbdi will visit Damascus before the end of the year.
1. We agree on the need to integrate our forces into the Syrian army.
2. We do not want to secede from Syria.
3. We discussed the idea of decentralized governance with Damascus

[Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis @MidEast_Center]

Christmas passes peacefully in the Middle East

https://t.co/emy31P4eiw

[Seth Frantzman @sfrantzman]

Iraqi security forces, in coordination with Syria and the US-led Coalition, carried out an airborne raid, apparently with chopper(s) to arrest suspects. It was not clear what the suspects were wanted for.

"Under the directives and follow-up of the esteemed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and through a qualitative operation by the men of the Intelligence Falcons Cell in the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Interior, an airborne force from this heroic cell, in coordination with Syrian security forces and with technical support and backing from the international coalition, was able to execute an air landing on two important targets wanted by the Iraqi judiciary in northeastern Syria within Syrian territory, and to apprehend them."

[Ambassador Tom Barrack @USAMBTurkiye]

Today’s cowardly terrorist ambush on U.S. personnel in Syria, which claimed the lives of two brave American soldiers and a dedicated civilian interpreter, is a stark and outrageous reminder that terrorism remains a vicious and persistent threat, capable of striking even as we work to eradicate it.

A limited number of U.S. forces remain deployed in Syria solely to finish the job of defeating ISIS once and for all, preventing its resurgence, and protecting the American homeland from terrorist attacks. Our presence empowers capable local Syrian partners to take the fight to these terrorists on the ground, ensuring that American forces do not have to engage in another costly, large-scale war in the Middle East. We will not waver in this mission until ISIS is utterly destroyed, and any attack on Americans will be met with swift and unrelenting justice.

Alongside the Syrian Government, we will relentlessly pursue every individual, facilitator, financier, and enabler involved in this heinous act. They will be identified and held accountable swiftly and decisively. As President Trump has said, the United States will not tolerate threats to our people, and we will ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

We welcome the strong commitment of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who shares our ironclad resolve to identify, pursue, and hold accountable the perpetrators of this attack. Together we will eradicate terrorism in Syria.