Middle East Press On: Hamas, Qatar, Antisemitism, Israel, Lebanon, Turkiye, Middle East, and Hezbollah: New Age Islam's Selection, 24 February 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
24 Feb. 25
1. Evil neighbours like Hamas cannot be tolerated
2. Qatar's grip on education is causing an explosion of campus antisemitism
3. Israel is right to be cautious about Lebanon withdrawal
4. Who is Stefanie Eller, the Red Cross official seen alongside Hamas?
5. Türkiye-Turkmenistan pact: A key pathway for Europe’s gas security
6. The golden era of Italy-Türkiye relations
7. How Middle East powers are reshaping the clean energy landscape
8. Hezbollah can rebuild and it will be disastrous for Lebanon
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Evil Neighbors Like Hamas Cannot Be Tolerated
By Jpost Editorial
February 24, 2025
Last Thursday, Hamas staged a ghoulish spectacle in which it paraded the coffins of four Israelis – among them an infant and a four-year-old child – as Gazan onlookers, including mothers and children, cheered.
On Friday, it became clear that one of the bodies returned was not that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of the two little boys in the other coffins.
On Saturday, it was revealed that Palestinian terrorists brutally murdered the two little boys.
That same day, Hamas staged two more grotesque displays. As it released the final six living hostages in the first phase of the current ceasefire, it forced one of them to kiss the heads of two of his captors. Meanwhile, two other hostages, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, were made to watch the ceremony from a van before being dragged back down into Hamas’s dungeons.
One of the most striking aspects of those three days was how many of us – both in Israel and the West – were still shocked by Hamas’s cruelty. Many people asked, incredulously, how they could be so disrespectful to the dead. Many were stunned at the glee with which Hamas tormented both the hostages they freed and those they still hold.
Many decent people asked: Who could do such a thing? Who is capable of such monstrous barbarism? But after Hamas’s atrocities during the October 7 massacre – murdering, raping, mutilating, kidnapping, burning entire families alive, and then boasting of it in videos back home – should anyone still be surprised?
And yet, time and again, we are. This speaks more to our own decency – our minds struggle to imagine such cruelty, because it is not in our nature to behave this way, making it difficult for us to comprehend that others could – than to our naivety.
We are continuously shocked that such people exist. But we shouldn’t be.
This brutality will not go unanswered. A price will be exacted. A reckoning will come.
Hamas, with its grotesque parades and ceremonies, seems to believe time is on its side. But it isn’t.
At some point in time – it is not exactly clear when or even how – Hamas will no longer be holding hostages. At some point, it will have played its last card. This could be in a month or three months, or even a year or three years. But that day will come. And when it does, Israel will act against it with all its current pent-up wrath.
Not out of revenge, though there are those demanding it. Not out of outrage, though that is certainly justified. But out of the realization that it is impossible – simply impossible – to live alongside such evil.
Evil neighbours cannot be tolerated
Bad neighbours are one thing. But evil neighbours who seek and work toward your destruction are something else entirely. That cannot be tolerated.
As US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said in a US media interview on Thursday: “Hamas has got to go. We stand with Israel in that Hamas, which is no different than ISIS, al-Qaeda, or any of the other of the world’s worst terrorist organizations, cannot be allowed to rule Gaza, cannot be allowed to do another October 7.”
When reminded in the interview that Gazans, young and old, cheered Hamas’s macabre parade, Waltz said: “To be objective, not all Palestinians are Hamas. However, you are speaking to the radicalization that has occurred.”
While all Palestinians may not be Hamas, Waltz certainly understands that a large percentage of them are, and that even more Palestinians inside Gaza and Judea and Samaria – if not card-carrying members – support Hamas’s ideology and methodology. Hamas’s ideology has millions of supporters across the Arab and Muslim world – and millions more in the West.
What is shattering is not Hamas’s depravity; we are used to that. What is shocking – and disheartening – is that this inhumanity has cheerleaders in major cities and at elite universities in the US and around the world.
Hamas’s cruelty no longer surprises us – we know it all too well. But what we do hope is that the organization’s recent grotesqueries will, at the very least, open the eyes of some around the world to reality: that when people chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they are not calling for justice, but encouraging a baby-killing organization to continue slaughtering innocents – like Shiri Bibas and her two small sons.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843411
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Qatar's Grip On Education Is Causing An Explosion Of Campus Antisemitism
By Amine Ayoub
February 24, 2025
For months, I have followed the disturbing rise of antisemitism in US universities, especially after Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on October 7. But nothing prepared me for the jaw-dropping moment I experienced while watching a recent Al Jazeera podcast.
Khaled Al-Hroub, a professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, spoke not as an academic but as a mouthpiece for Hamas, painting the terrorist group as a symbol of resilience. His rhetoric was not just disturbing – it was dangerous.
This wasn’t an isolated case of radical bias. It was a symptom of a larger, well-funded infiltration by Qatar, which has spent billions to manipulate American academia, indoctrinate students, and turn campuses into breeding grounds for hate.
When I tuned in to the Al Jazeera podcast, I expected an analysis of the war in Gaza. Instead, I found outright propaganda. Hroub, supposedly an academic, openly glorified Hamas. He wasn’t alone – professors at Georgetown, Harvard, and other prestigious universities have been caught pushing similar narratives.
How can American universities allow their faculty to justify terrorism? Because many of them are funded – bought – by Qatar, a country with a vested interest in spreading extremist ideology. The more research I did, the clearer the pattern became: Qatar is using America’s elite schools as vehicles for propaganda, erasing the line between education and indoctrination.
Qatar has poured over $6 billion into US universities in the past decade, making it the single largest foreign donor in American academia. Prestigious institutions like Harvard, Georgetown, and Northwestern have eagerly accepted these funds, establishing satellite campuses in Doha and injecting Qatari influence directly into their programs. What does Qatar get in return? Influence, power, and the ability to manipulate curricula, reward pro-Qatar faculty, and silence dissenting voices.
Georgetown University’s Qatar campus has been exposed for promoting narratives sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological parent of Hamas. Harvard has seen its Middle Eastern studies programs shaped by Qatari funding, conveniently ignoring radical Islamic terrorism and Qatar’s own human rights abuses.
At Northwestern University’s Doha campus, Hroub serves as a direct pipeline for Al Jazeera’s propaganda machine, legitimizing terrorist sympathizers under the guise of academia.
Qatar's grip on education is causing an explosion of campus antisemitism
If you want to know why antisemitism has exploded on US campuses, look no further than Qatar’s grip on education. The wave of pro-Hamas demonstrations following October 7, 2023 wasn’t spontaneous – it was the result of years of systematic brainwashing.
From Ivy League universities to small liberal arts colleges, students have taken to the streets chanting “From the river to the sea,” a call for the eradication of Israel. Professors openly defend Hamas, while Jewish students face harassment and violence.
This is not an accident; it is the direct consequence of allowing a hostile foreign power to dictate the educational narrative. But the damage isn’t just limited to universities. Qatar’s influence stretches into K-12 schools through the Qatar Foundation International, which funds Arabic-language programs across the US. While language education is important, QFI uses it as a Trojan horse to introduce anti-Western, pro-Islamist perspectives to American children.
Watching from Morocco, I have seen firsthand how Qatar’s propaganda extends far beyond the US. Through Al Jazeera, Doha exports its toxic ideology to a global audience, controlling narratives and fuelling extremist rhetoric.
IT’S NOT just about Hamas. Qatar is a hub for radical Islamism, hosting terrorists and funding organizations that destabilize entire regions. Its influence in academia is just one piece of a larger strategy to reshape global thought in favour of its own agenda.
From the Middle East to North Africa, Qatar’s Media Empire and educational influence have shaped perceptions, often distorting facts to fit a narrative that supports Islamist movements and erodes Western values. The extent of this manipulation has been vastly underestimated, and the repercussions are now visible on university campuses worldwide.
The good news is that people are finally paying attention. A bipartisan bill in the US Congress aims to ban American universities from accepting money from countries that fund terrorism. If passed, this could be a crucial step in restoring academic integrity and protecting students from foreign manipulation.
Investigative reports have exposed Qatar’s deep web of influence. These revelations are sparking calls for transparency in university funding and greater scrutiny of foreign donations. Universities that claim to uphold academic freedom must be held accountable for their financial ties to foreign regimes that openly undermine the very values they profess to teach.
Beyond the legislative response, a cultural battle must be fought. The glorification of Hamas and the spread of antisemitism in academia cannot simply be attributed to freedom of speech; it is a direct result of a sustained and deliberate effort to radicalize young minds.
University administrators have turned a blind eye, allowing radical professors to indoctrinate students under the guise of scholarly debate. The silence of academic institutions in the face of blatant hate speech and support for terrorist groups exposes a moral crisis within the education system.
If the funding sources of these institutions remain unchecked, the radicalization of future generations will continue unabated, and the consequences will not be confined to the classroom.
The danger of Qatar’s influence on US education is an urgent national security threat. Universities are selling out to a foreign regime that funds terrorism, spreads hate, and fosters antisemitism. This is not just an issue of free speech; it is about protecting the integrity of American academia and the safety of students.
The next time you hear a professor justifying Hamas or see students glorifying terrorism, ask yourself: Who is funding this? Who is behind it? The answer will likely lead straight to Qatar. This isn’t just an education crisis – it’s a fight for America’s future.
Qatar’s success in infiltrating US education is a direct consequence of negligence at multiple levels. The government has failed to enforce stricter regulations on foreign funding in universities, allowing billions to flow in unchecked. Academic institutions, enticed by lucrative financial incentives, have willingly compromised their intellectual independence.
Meanwhile, the public remains largely unaware of the extent to which foreign influence has shaped discourse in American education. The battle against foreign infiltration in academia will not be won solely through legislative measures; it requires public awareness and institutional courage to resist the allure of easy funding at the cost of national integrity.
The conversation surrounding foreign influence in education must shift from passive concern to active resistance before it is too late.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843424
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Israel Is Right To Be Cautious About Lebanon Withdrawal
By Neville Teller
February 24, 202
The unhappy truth is that despite Hezbollah having received a military thrashing at the hands of the IDF, the organization still possesses considerable political power within Lebanon.
On February 7, during a visit to Beirut, US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus, highlighting concerns over the group’s influence and activities, stated that the US had set a “red line” against Hezbollah’s inclusion in Lebanon’s forthcoming government. Speaking after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, she emphasized the US view that Hezbollah should not be part of the new administration in any form.
Aoun, beset by intense internal political pressure, simply ignored the US’s wishes. The next day Lebanon’s prime minister, Nawaf Salam, announced a 24-member cabinet that indeed includes representatives from the political alliance known as the “Shi’ite duo” – that is Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement. Together, they have secured four ministerial portfolios in the new government, and are negotiating for a potential fifth.
According to the terms of the November 2024 Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire agreement, the IDF was required to have withdrawn completely from southern Lebanon by January 26. But by then Hezbollah forces were to have moved out of the region between the Litani River and the so-called Blue Line – the boundary between Lebanon and Israel – and been replaced by the Lebanese army.
Achieving this desirable state of affairs, an objective first set out in UN Resolution 1701 in 2006, has been frustrated for nearly 20 years by a combination of Hezbollah’s growing dominance within Lebanon, and the weakness of successive Lebanese governments in countering it. Hezbollah has continued to operate in the region, maintaining weapons stockpiles and military infrastructure.
Now, while the Lebanese army has made significant strides in deploying south of the Litani River, Hezbollah still has not fully withdrawn from the area. This led Israel to request an extension to the agreed withdrawal deadline.
The ceasefire agreement is overseen by a supervisory committee under the chairmanship of the US, additionally composed of representatives from the UK, France, and Germany. This committee is responsible for monitoring compliance and assisting in the enforcement of the agreement’s terms.
Acceding to Israel’s request, the committee agreed to extend the IDF withdrawal deadline to February 18. A few days before the deadline, given Hezbollah’s continued military presence south of the Litani, Israel asked to remain in five posts in the south for a further 10 days.
Shortly afterward, KAN reported that the US, without specifying a new deadline, had granted Israeli troops permission to stay “in several locations” in Lebanon beyond February 18.
MEANWHILE, IT seems that France’s primary concern is to ensure that Israeli forces quit Lebanon as soon as possible. On February 13, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced a proposal that would involve UN peacekeepers replacing Israeli forces at key points, to ensure that the IDF leaves Lebanon by the deadline.
“It is now up to us,” said Barrrot, “to convince the Israelis that this solution is likely to allow a complete and final withdrawal.”
Confidence in UNIFIL at a low point
But Israel’s confidence in the UN’s peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) is at a low ebb after 47 years of its total inability to control Hezbollah. Israel cannot endorse a situation that leaves Hezbollah forces still controlling areas of south Lebanon, and in a position to recommence its bombardment of northern Israel. This would simply perpetuate the situation that brought Israeli forces over the border in the first place.
It is bad enough that Hezbollah has reasserted its political power within Lebanon’s government but it is demanding a return to its blatant and malign control over Beirut’s Rafic Hariri airport. For a long period, Hezbollah personnel treated the airport like a private domain.
The organization was accused of having operatives embedded within airport security and customs, allowing them to oversee and control the movement of goods and personnel. Hezbollah ignored continual allegations of corruption and security risks, and was able to smuggle weapons, drugs, and cash through the airport at will, bypassing official customs inspections.
Hezbollah is in desperate need of Iranian weapons to restock its depleted military supplies. On February 14, Israel informed the Lebanese government that Iran was about to dispatch a civil aircraft to Beirut loaded with military equipment and weaponry. In an effort to assert its authority, the Lebanese government barred that flight from landing in Beirut and imposed a ban on the import of Iranian military equipment and supplies.
In response, in an overt challenge to the government, Hezbollah began organizing scenes of public disorder in Beirut. On February 15, Reuters reported that the Lebanese army used tear gas to disperse Hezbollah supporters protesting at Beirut airport.
In response to the blocked flight, Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating citizens stranded in Iran, escalating tensions between the two countries. Iranian officials have called for constructive talks with Lebanon to resolve the situation, while also condemning alleged Israeli threats against an Iranian passenger plane as violations of international law.
Hezbollah appears to retain significant military and political power in Lebanon, and the dispersed Israeli inhabitants of the Israel-Lebanon border region are still unable to return to their homes. In December 2024, the Israeli government extended the evacuation period for the approximately 60,000 northern residents by an additional three months.
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in December 2024 led to some cautious optimism among the citizens of the North; some, particularly from communities like Kibbutz Manara and Metulla, made the return journey. Unfortunately, many found their properties extensively damaged or destroyed. Some reconstruction has started, but it is expected to take years and at a great cost. Rebuilding Kibbutz Manara alone is estimated to cost at least NIS 150 million (approximately $40 million)
Many of the evacuated families, fearing a renewal of the violence, are reluctant to return home. Surveys indicate that nearly half of the displaced families are reluctant to go back under the current circumstances.
With the fears and concerns of the displaced inhabitants of the North in mind, Israel is certainly right to exercise the utmost caution before deciding it is safe to leave Lebanon for good.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843417
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Who Is Stefanie Eller, The Red Cross Official Seen Alongside Hamas?
By Amit Slonim
February 23, 2025
The editor-in-chief of Walla called me with an interesting proposal: “You should write a profile piece about Stephanie Eller,” he said.
The name "Stephanie Eller" was never explicitly mentioned. At that moment, neither of us recognized it. Instead, the editor said something along the lines of: “You should write about the annoying blonde from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).”
Perhaps one of the adjectives—“annoying” or “blonde”—was not stated outright, but both were hung in the air. There was no denying who he meant. She was clearly blonde, and the only reason for writing about her was that she had infuriated millions of Israelis.
It’s only natural. We become irritated when people fail to act as we expect them to. It infuriates us to see a representative of the ICRC sitting next to a masked terrorist, signing “release documents” for civilians who were snatched from a party or pulled from their beds in pyjamas. It is almost as exasperating as the fact that the Red Cross—whose duty is to remain neutral and provide medical aid to the wounded on all sides—offered no assistance whatsoever to our captives for over 500 days.
But why stop at 500? Yesterday, we received a painful reminder that for 3,825 days in captivity, the Red Cross did nothing for Avera Mengistu's wellbeing despite the repeated efforts of his family, who met with the organization’s representatives in Geneva.
Before diving into my investigation of Stephanie Eller (spoiler: the mystery surrounding her only deepened), it is worth taking a moment to return to Switzerland.
A look into the Swiss-based ICRC
Chocolate. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of Switzerland. Others might think of precise watches, durable suitcases, or even Eurovision—the first contest was founded in Geneva, produced in Lugano, and won by Lys Assia, a Swiss singer from Aargau. Yet my sweet tooth directs my thoughts unmistakably to chocolate.
Last year, I arrived—almost by accident—in Montreux, a town steeped in cultural history on the shores of Lake Geneva. There, Frank Zappa set the famous casino hall ablaze, an event that inspired Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Inside the casino was a recording studio where Queen recorded their albums. Today, the site is a museum dedicated to the band, featuring a marked spot on the floor reading: “This is where Freddie Mercury stood the last time he recorded a song.” Out on the lake, a statue commemorates that moment.
Beautiful Geneva, with its blue and green hues refreshing the eyes, is renowned for more than just chocolate and watches. It is also a global symbol of neutrality, home to the Geneva Conference, the Geneva Initiative, and of course, the Geneva Convention—the foundation from which the Red Cross was born.
Before turning to Stephanie Eller, let’s return to a man with a formidable mustache: Henry Dunant. A Swiss businessman born in Geneva, Dunant witnessed the horrors of the Battle of Solferino on June 24, 1859, during Italy’s Second War of Independence.
The battle pitted 118,000 Italian-French troops against 100,000 Austrians in a nine-hour clash, remembered in history books as an Italian victory. However, what is often omitted is that 37,000 men lost their lives, 23,000 were wounded, and 12,000 were declared prisoners or missing. Many who died could have survived with proper medical care, yet most perished on the battlefield due to a lack of treatment.
Dunant, unable to turn a blind eye, rallied locals to provide first aid to the wounded on both sides under the slogan Fratelli tutti (We are all brothers). His experience led him to write A Memory of Solferino, published in 1862 at his own expense. In it, he not only recounted the horrors he had witnessed but also proposed a revolutionary idea: the establishment of an international, neutral organization to care for the war-wounded regardless of their affiliation.
That book laid the groundwork for the first Geneva Convention in 1864. The current version—the fourth—was drafted after World War II and remains a framework outlining the limits of just warfare. Dunant later became the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The organization he founded received the Nobel Prize three times—in 1917, 1944, and 1963. Today, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement comprises roughly 16 million volunteers worldwide.
Fast forward to the hostage propaganda ceremonies
When I see Stephanie Eller signing documents alongside terrorists—and the organization functioning as a wartime taxi service, transferring captives from Hamas “victory” ceremonies to the IDF—I wonder: what does “neutrality” even mean?
The saying, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis,” is often attributed to Dante Alighieri. However, Dante wrote something even harsher. He didn’t consign the neutrals to hell at all; he left them in a corridor, incessantly stung by wasps, forever chasing a waving flag. They weren’t even deemed worthy of entering hell, lest the sinners there take solace in knowing there were those far worse.
Stephanie Eller is arguably one of the most enigmatic figures in the world. On the one hand, she has entered millions of homes through television and smartphones; on the other, she leaves no trace on social networks or search engines. Even her official communications to Red Cross institutions have raised more questions than answers.
A review of Red Cross reports reveals that in 2014, she was in the bloodstained battlefields of Anbar Province, Iraq, wrapped in a modest headscarf. She assisted in urgent relief operations while ISIS forces attempted to seize the area. Some would call her a hero.
That same year, a Swiss documentary titled Between the Front Lines exposed the work of Red Cross representatives, featuring Eller as a sharp young delegate investigating the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. But ten years later, as she signs release documents in Gaza alongside masked terrorists, one must ask: where did her neutrality go?
Just when I was about to give up, an advertisement popped up on a social network inviting me to apply for the role of a Red Cross delegate.
I didn’t apply. Not because I oppose humanitarian aid—I support providing humanitarian aid for the children in Gaza. Civilians on both sides should not suffer in war. But I cannot remain neutral in the face of such atrocities.
The day the Red Cross participated in a ceremony where bodies of children were displayed while cheerful music played was a disgrace that will haunt the organization for decades. If that is neutrality, I would rather choose a side—a side against the open murder of children.
For its part, the Red Cross defends its actions. In a rare statement, the organization claimed that misinformation about its work is spreading. It emphasized that its operations depended on the goodwill of warring parties and that proactive intervention might have jeopardized both staff and captives.
Returning to my conversation with the editor, I realized that “annoying” wasn’t quite the right word. Stephanie Eller joined a human rights organization for honourable reasons—but she became the face of an institution that has lost its way.
If Jean Henri Dunant were alive today, standing on the shores of Lake Geneva, perhaps he would understand that the Red Cross on a white background has become something else entirely—a white flag of surrender, raised in the name of neutrality.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843373
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Türkiye-Turkmenistan Pact: A Key Pathway For Europe’s Gas Security
By Gökçe Nur Ataman
Feb 24, 2025
In energy diplomacy, the relationships between three state actors play a crucial role in navigating challenges and fostering successful cooperation. The presence of common interests in overcoming difficulties and achieving joint successes is essential for formulating a strategy within a strong trilateral cooperation framework. Iran is Türkiye’s second-largest natural gas supplier after Russia, and now Turkmenistan has entered the picture. Turkmenistan has the potential to become one of the world’s largest natural gas producers. Its gas is currently exported to neighbouring countries such as China, Russia and Iran. With the addition of Türkiye, diversifying energy exports would contribute to Europe’s energy supply security.
Turkmen gas on market
Energy cooperation between Türkiye and Turkmenistan could significantly impact both the Middle East and Central Asia. Diplomatic engagements between Ankara and Ashgabat have been ongoing for a long time. One key point to remember is that Turkmenistan reached an agreement to transport natural gas to Türkiye via Azerbaijan and Georgia. This agreement was announced by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
According to Chronicles of Turkmenistan, Bayraktar met with Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov in Istanbul. Following the meeting, the parties signed an agreement to increase the capacity of several natural gas pipelines. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye stated that this agreement would enable the transportation of additional volumes of natural gas from Azerbaijan and the Caspian region to Türkiye and Europe by 2030, though exact figures have not yet been disclosed. However, Bayraktar did not specify how the gas would be delivered from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan.
Currently, due to the lack of progress in constructing a trans-Caspian gas pipeline that would allow for direct shipments, Iran’s absence from the agreement suggests the possibility of a supply swap arrangement through Iran. Turkmenistan has reached an agreement with Türkiye’s state energy company, BOTAŞ, for the transit of its natural gas to Türkiye via Iran using the SWAP method.
This significant development was reported during a phone call between the chairperson of Turkmenistan’s Government Council, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. During the conversation, Berdimuhamedov stated: “Our countries have been cooperating in the energy sector for many years. Within this framework, Turkmenistan’s natural gas will be delivered to Türkiye via Iran through a SWAP agreement with BOTAŞ.”
This announcement did not surprise industry stakeholders. Between 2022 and 2024, Turkmenistan exported gas to Azerbaijan. However, in January 2024, exports were suspended due to disagreements between Ashgabat and Baku over gas volumes and pricing. The ongoing turbulence between the two countries will alter regional dynamics. It may reduce the commercial appeal of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Southern Gas Corridor, decrease European dependence on Azerbaijan and bring alternative projects for transporting Turkmen gas directly to Europe to the forefront.
Struggle to cooperate
Azerbaijan will likely face pricing pressure on its gas exports, increasing competition. This situation could push Azerbaijan to enter long-term contracts with Europe and develop alternative strategies for its gas exports. Meanwhile, Iran stands to gain economic and geopolitical advantages from transporting Turkmen gas to Türkiye. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have had longstanding disputes over gas fields in the Caspian Sea. However, recent joint projects, such as the Dostluk field, have increased their cooperation potential. The transportation of Turkmen gas to Türkiye via Iran will inevitably affect Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan relations. If plans for gas transportation through the Caspian Sea are disrupted or an agreement is not reached, Turkmenistan – so long as it can export gas through Iran – will have less need to negotiate with Azerbaijan for exports via TANAP. While Turkmenistan’s rapprochement with Iran poses a disadvantage for Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan must take steps to enhance its energy cooperation with Turkmenistan and turn this new geopolitical shift to its advantage.
Considering the challenges at hand and the possibility of Iran re-establishing its influence in a scenario that excludes Azerbaijan, Iraq emerges as another alternative. Turkmenistan’s ambition to export gas to Türkiye and contribute to Europe’s energy supply security points to a potential “Plan C” involving Baghdad. The continued pivot toward the Middle East makes it highly likely that any viable solution will pass through Iran and Iraq. Although political issues may render this alternative a distant possibility, Ashgabat has already initiated gas swap agreements and electricity trade partnerships with Baghdad and Tehran. Given these developments and future expectations, this energy diplomacy has the potential to evolve into a long-term peace-building initiative for the Middle East and an energy security project for Europe.
A major obstacle to this scenario is financial cooperation. Both Iran and Turkmenistan have faced challenges in the past due to debt issues, which could become the biggest barrier to larger energy flows unless a stable financial partnership is established. Additionally, considering that such cooperation would require investment in the necessary infrastructure, it is crucial for all partners to ensure financial sustainability.
Third-party actors
The Middle East has been characterized by turbulence – both in Iran’s relations with the EU and the U.S. and in Iraq’s internal stability. Other state actors, such as Syria, could also be critical for uninterrupted energy flows in the proposed project. The global perception of key stakeholders will inevitably play a role. The EU and the U.S., for political reasons, are reluctant to engage with all three countries involved – Iran, Iraq and Turkmenistan. If the route passing through the Persian Gulf is considered the most financially and politically viable solution, the existing pipeline infrastructure is both outdated and not operating at full capacity.
While this creates significant opportunities for increased natural gas trade, it also raises concerns about what would happen if these flows were to expand. It highlights the need for greater infrastructure maintenance and possibly expansion with new pipeline networks and even LNG terminals. Given all these factors, overcoming the obstacles that prevent the three countries from pursuing a common energy agenda will require a concrete action plan. In this context, neighbouring countries and external actors with access to capital, diplomatic leverage and energy-hungry markets could emerge as critical allies. The Iran-Iraq-Turkmenistan energy triangle holds the potential to alleviate some of the energy security concerns that arose from the 2022 energy crisis, particularly for markets such as the EU.
Although the likelihood of this scenario materializing remains low, the most probable outcome is continued instability. However, this possibility still offers a road map to break out of the cycle of uncertainty. To realize this potential, regional political and economic instabilities must be addressed, infrastructure investments must be increased, and international cooperation must be strengthened.
Historical disputes, security risks and deficiencies in energy infrastructure make it challenging for this triangle to become a reliable supplier to major markets such as Europe. Nevertheless, at a time when energy supply security is becoming increasingly critical, collaborative projects among Iran, Iraq and Turkmenistan could not only promote regional economic development but also introduce new balancing factors in global energy markets. While this remains an unlikely scenario, it is essential for the parties involved to engage in long-term strategic planning to support this process.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/turkiye-turkmenistan-pact-a-key-pathway-for-europes-gas-security
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The Golden Era Of Italy-Türkiye Relations
By Valeria Giannotta
Feb 24, 2025
Certainly, stating that Italy and Türkiye are experiencing a golden time is not exaggerating. The relations have indeed sealed a new important level both in terms of business and institutional contacts. A simple piece of data: in the last three years, bilateral trade has grown by 1/3, and nowadays, it marks a record $32 billion, thus going well beyond the joint target of $30 billion, as it was stated during the last Jetco and subsequently during the 2022 Italy-Türkiye intergovernmental summit.
Just a few months ago, bilateral trade had stood at $28 billion, marking a more recent surge that proves the great complementarity and congruence of the business environments. Synergies are evident in many sectors, especially textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive and machinery.
As Italy is among the five countries Türkiye exports the most, it is now evident that relations will boost in the near future along with new and ambitious goals. More recently, thanks also to the propulsive push of diplomacy and politics, the margins of cooperation have been significantly increasing both in terms of economic and industrial partnerships. In this context, the acquisition of Whirlpool and its Italian factories by Turkish Arçelik/BEKO, which is part of the Koç group, had been accomplished.
The most recent acquisition of Piaggio Aerospace by Baykar, the Turkish company leader in the production of unmanned drones, has raised much enthusiasm. The move has been carefully followed and supported at the political level, along with clear strategic visions. In this regard, the relations between the parties are continuous and profitable. In recent weeks, the CEO of Baykar, Selçuk Bayraktar, paid a visit to Italy's Piaggio facilities, starting new consultations on business development plans and worker protection. This was then followed by meetings in Istanbul with the minister for Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, who was accompanied by Leonardo’s Chairperson Stefano Pontecorvo hence signalling positive developments in the already discussed framework of defence cooperation.
Italy-Türkiye industrial partnerships are therefore crucial as pivots to strengthen and extend bilateral cooperation in terms of innovation and technology and, finally, to elevate the two countries as major regional stakeholders. "Baykar is a leader in the production of drones and the fact that it will produce in Italy, expanding in Europe and beyond, is of crucial importance for the international positioning of the two countries," stated Minister Urso. Besides, Türkiye’s minister of Technology and Innovation Mehmet Fatih Kacır emphasized that Türkiye and Italy are “Two leading production centres of the Mediterranean, thus they develop their centuries-old relations and economic partnership day by day.”
Rome and Ankara are perceived as the natural bridge between Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In the Euro-Mediterranean area, Italy and Türkiye have been historic players. In Africa, while Rome shows renewed activism, Ankara boasts important stakes. The same goes for the Near East. Thus, their mutual pragmatism and vision lead to building and enforcing synergies in these regions, which will ultimately ensure greater regional integration.
As Urso says: “Strengthening industrial cooperation means contributing to the stability of the region and creating new development opportunities." Hence, greater regional integration arises as a strategic imperative to face the numerous global challenges and to restrict the high degree of instability and unpredictability of the current international system. Greater integration at every level, however, requires a regulatory framework and shared good practices; in this spirit, during the meeting between the Italian minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, and his counterpart, Yılmaz Tunç, the need to strengthen further the historic and intense judicial cooperation was pointed out.
With less than two months to go until the next Italian-Turkish intergovernmental summit in Rome, the political commitment and diplomatic efforts are evident and constructive. Strengthening relations between Italy and Türkiye passes through consolidating mutual regional stances and enforcing cooperative frameworks. This is an asset for establishing a solid axis at an international level. Hence, there is room to believe that numerous new agreements will be signed in various sectors in Rome, which will eventually enrich the already nourished files. Looking at the results achieved so far, the future seems increasingly sparkling and successful, along with new opportunities to exploit together.
The current golden age is based on strategic and political convenience, and it is the natural culmination of a century-old historical journey together where Türkiye and Italy stood as good friends and interlocutors.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/the-golden-era-of-italy-turkiye-relations
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How Middle East Powers Are Reshaping The Clean Energy Landscape
Adrian Monck
February 23, 2025
The energy sector stands at a crossroads, with the Middle East well positioned to reinvent its global influence through strategic control of the battery supply chain.
Just as petroleum shaped the geopolitical order of the 20th century, lithium and other critical minerals are rapidly becoming the “white gold” of a clean energy future, and Gulf States are orchestrating a remarkable pivot that could redefine global power dynamics for decades to come.
Saudi Arabia’s approach reveals both ambition and foresight. Through Vision 2030, the Kingdom has launched a comprehensive strategy that leverages its energy expertise while transcending traditional resource extraction.
The collaboration between Saudi state mining firm Ma’aden and energy titan Aramco aims to commence commercial lithium production by 2027, establishing an integrated innovation ecosystem. This initiative seeks to meet the Kingdom’s growing demand for lithium, driven by plans to produce 500,000 batteries for electric vehicles and generate 110 gigawatts of renewable energy. The partnership focuses on the extraction of lithium from oilfield brine, utilizing advanced direct lithium extraction technologies.
Meanwhile, with pragmatism and audacity, the UAE is also establishing itself in the battery materials sector. Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has established a 60-person trading unit focused on metals essential for the energy transition, including lithium. This move aligns with the UAE’s broader strategy to diversify its economy and capitalize on the growing demand for critical minerals.
Oman is positioning itself as a logistics hub for battery materials. Minerals Development Oman is setting up a trading team to manage the nation’s exports of minerals such as chromite and gypsum. This initiative aims to streamline mineral exports and integrate the country more deeply into the global battery supply chain.
Qatar is also leveraging its financial resources to secure a foothold in the critical minerals market. The Qatar Investment Authority has committed $180 million to TechMet, a mining-investment company backed by the US International Development Finance Corporation. This aims to reduce global reliance on Chinese-dominated supply chains for the minerals, such as lithium, essential for electric vehicle batteries.
However, significant challenges remain. The Gulf States face steep learning curves in mineral processing technologies that are dominated by established players. Environmental concerns about water usage in lithium extraction — particularly relevant in the water-scarce Gulf region — require innovative solutions. And market dynamics, including fluctuations in global lithium prices and competition from established players, require strategic planning and investment.
Yet the potential benefits extend far beyond regional economics. As the world races to electrify transportation and build robust energy storage systems, the Gulf’s emerging role offers a potential solution to the concentration risks that currently plague battery supply chains. While China maintains dominance in refining and manufacturing, the Middle East’s entry creates the possibility of more balanced, diversified networks.
For international stakeholders across Europe, Asia and the Americas, the Gulf’s battery pivot represents both reassurance and opportunity. The reliability and diplomatic finesse that made Middle Eastern energy partnerships indispensable might now strengthen clean energy supply lines worldwide. With the region serving as a counterbalance to supply concentrated in any single country, global manufacturers gain access to more resilient, diversified material sources.
Will this transition create an “OPEC for Batteries,” with coordinated influence over critical material flows? Or will it foster a more collaborative framework in which multiple stakeholders balance supply stability against market access? The answer probably lies somewhere in a system where Gulf expertise in managing strategic resources meets the technological innovation of manufacturing powerhouses, creating balanced interdependence rather than one-sided vulnerability.
What is increasingly clear is that this pivot represents not only economic diversification but strategic reinvention. By applying their considerable financial resources, technical capabilities and diplomatic experience to battery minerals, Gulf nations are orchestrating a remarkable second act on the global stage. They are demonstrating that skills honed through decades of energy leadership — long-term planning, complex international partnerships and balanced resource management — apply perfectly to the materials powering our electric future.
For a world increasingly concerned about sustainable development, energy security and technological advancement, the Middle East’s embrace of battery minerals offers a compelling narrative — one in which traditional energy powers become architects of the clean energy transition — that promises a future where critical supply chains benefit from the region’s stabilizing influence, diplomatic connections and infrastructure expertise.
What will success depend upon? The Gulf’s ability to build technical expertise in unfamiliar domains. The willingness of global manufacturers to diversify supply partnerships. And the development of governance frameworks that balance commercial interests against broader stability.
Yet, given the remarkable talent for adaptability the region has shown throughout its history, transforming from traditional societies into global energy powers in a single generation, there is every reason to believe it will master this transition as well.
The Gulf’s “battery moment” represents more than regional reinvention, it offers a potential solution to one of the clean energy transition’s most “wicked” problems. By creating diversified, reliable supply networks for critical minerals, Middle Eastern nations could help ease the tension between rapid decarbonisation and resource security.
And in doing so, they would once again demonstrate a unique capacity to shape global energy systems through strategic vision, careful diplomacy and long-term thinking, qualities that will prove just as valuable in the battery age as they were during the oil era.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2591340
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Hezbollah Can Rebuild And It Will Be Disastrous For Lebanon
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib
February 23, 2025
As expected, Israel refused to fully withdraw from Lebanon on Feb. 18, leaving its forces in five border areas. Maintaining the occupation in this way is exactly the breath of life Hezbollah needs to revive itself.
On Feb. 23, Hezbollah held the funeral of its secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27 last year. The funeral was an occasion for the group to show it still commanded strong support among the Shiite community.
Wafiq Safa, the official in charge of the group’s coordination and liaison unit, said a few weeks ago that Hezbollah would emerge stronger than it was before. He could be right. It was born out of the grievances caused by the Israeli invasion in 1982. Now, Israel has created enough hatred and pain to give the group exactly the boost it needs to rebuild itself.
Prior to withdrawing from the areas they did leave, Israeli forces made sure to burn the houses they had not already destroyed. Towns close to the border, such as Kfar Kela, were razed to the ground.
Southern Lebanon is an agrarian society; the people there make a living from the crops they farm. Israel bombed the south with phosphorus bombs to ensure those people would no longer be able to cultivate their land.
Israeli authorities are attempting to create an undeclared “no-man’s land,” a buffer zone along the border with Lebanon. They hope that because of all the destruction, people will be discouraged from returning home. Through this buffer zone and control of five strategic points along the border, Israel thinks it can guarantee the security of its settlements in Galilee.
In addition, the Israelis think that their presence within Lebanese borders means they will be able to move freely there and target anyone they want. A few days ago, for example, Israeli forces carried out a drone attack in Saida in which they assassinated a Hamas operative. Their reconnaissance and surveillance drones and planes can breach and roam Lebanese airspace as they please. From time to time, they fly at low altitude and break the sound barrier, creating fear and anxiety among the Lebanese people.
Why would they not? Israeli authorities see no restrictions on their actions. They can do whatever they want. They broke all international laws in Gaza and faced no repercussions, so why not in Lebanon?
However, the Israelis underestimate the urge this is fuelling among the Lebanese to fight back, especially among Shiites, whose homes and land have been devastated. This is something Hezbollah, weakened as it is, can use to its advantage.
To fully understand the group’s fall, one should understand its rise. Hezbollah was created out of a need to fight an Israeli occupation. It evolved from small, random groups into a formidable, well-organized guerrilla force that could spread fear among the generals in Tel Aviv. Of course, its creation came three years after the Iranian revolution, and directly after the Israeli invasion of Beirut. The rise of Hezbollah was considered the first export of Iran’s revolution to the Arab world and it was successful mainly because of the indigenous need to fight the Israeli occupation.
After Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah lost its raison d’etre as a resistance organization. Following the withdrawal of Syrian forces in 2005, the group entered politics. Its members felt they had to because they had lost their Syrian sponsor. Political power represented a tool with which to protect their arms; they did not want a government in place they could not control, which might ask them to disarm in compliance with 2004’s UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended the civil war in Lebanon.
In 2008, Hezbollah tightened its grip on the government through the Doha agreement, signed on May 21 that year, which was designed to end an 18-month political crisis during which the weapons the group had been pointing at the Israelis were turned on their fellow Lebanese.
On May 7, 2008, Hezbollah had taken Beirut by force. It became part of the country’s corrupt political structure. The arms that had been protecting Lebanon from Israeli aggression were now the main protectors of the political elite and their corruption.
The more the group’s legitimacy was eroded, the more brutal it became, domestically. It suppressed dissent, whether through assassinations or by crushing the public protests that erupted in 2019, demanding the dismantling of a corrupt political system.
The group had morphed from a clean resistance organization comprising a tight-knit group of dedicated people to a more mafia-like structure. It became involved in drug production and trafficking along with the Assad family. It started to become a conglomerate inside Lebanon. It owned a bank and various businesses. Somehow it began to mimic the corrupt Lebanese political system, and became its main patron.
As it expanded in the region, however, Hezbollah made too many enemies. While the group enjoyed some degree of Arab acquiescence while fighting Israel, it lost whatever legitimacy it had in the Arab world when it entered Syria and acted like a proxy of Iran as part of the latter’s quest for regional domination.
The Israeli attack on Hezbollah last year using booby-trapped pagers and other communication devices, and the wider recent war on Lebanon, were a wake-up call for the group and its surviving leaders. They realized they had overstretched themselves by interfering in other countries in the region.
The only way for Hezbollah to rebuild itself, then, is to return to its origins as an armed resistance to an Israeli occupation. The grievances in southern Lebanon are strong enough to fuel this project.
Wafiq Safa was not entirely wrong, therefore, when he predicted that Hezbollah would eventually emerge stronger than it was before. However, this would be a very dangerous development as it would lead to another war. The authorities in Israel at present are unhinged, buttressed by a permissive administration in the US. This means that if any resistance does arise, the response from the Israelis will be extremely destructive to Lebanon.
The US should be wise enough to realize that the continuing presence of Israeli forces in Lebanon, and their operations there with the aim of killing every member of Hezbollah, will only strengthen the group in the long run.
For the sake of stability, Israel must withdraw and the Lebanese state must be strengthened. If this is done, Hezbollah will eventually be decommissioned as an armed movement.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2591339
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/middle-east-press/middle-east-press-hamas-qatar-israel-lebanon/d/134707
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