Tehran /AFP Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged newly-elected lawmakers on Saturday to resist “schemes” from the West as parliamentarians met in Tehran for the first time since elections finished in April. “The turbulent state of the region and the world and the international adventurism of oppressors and their vassals have confronted the Islamic Iran with conditions more …

WASHINGTON One cause for Syria’s torments is that regional powers have used proxy forces to advance their position in the “great game” of influence, without regard for the effects on the Syrian people. An example is the standoff between two Syrian Kurdish militia groups. One, known as the YPG, appears to be tacitly backed by an odd coalition that includes …

  Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Athens appears economic at its face value, but it is also an attempt to demonstrate Moscow could move through its allies in Europe, notably Athens, to flout EU sanctions imposed by Brussels over Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. Putin is quite aware that Athens could play a role in restoring rapprochement with Brussels amid …