Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On August 8, President Donald Trump hosted a White House summit between Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev and the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which resulted in a preliminary peace deal to end the decades-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is a corridor which could become a mammoth transport hub between Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Central Asia.The flow of Central Asian hydrocarbons to Turkiye and Europe, could boost the regional economy, at the expense of Russia and China.Armenia was hesitant to allow Azeri access to the corridor, but Trump reassured Pashinyan,…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On August 10, Israel deliberately targeted a tent near Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, killing two Al Jazeera journalists, Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqa. Killed with them were photojournalists Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Alaiwa, and camera assistant Mohammed Noufal. A sixth journalist succumbed to his injuries the following morning. The attack occurred in an area heavily populated by press teams covering the ongoing conflict. The office confirmed that the total number of journalists killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza has now reached 238. Israel does not want their citizens, or the world,…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Beirut, August 2025 — The U.S. has welcomed the Lebanese government’s recent decisions to fully implement the terms of the ceasefire agreement with Israel, originally announced in November 2024. U.S. envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, expressed support via social media, stating that President Donald Trump’s administration is “ready to help Lebanon build a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors.” He also cited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, emphasizing that the U.S. aims to support a “strong Lebanese state capable of confronting Hezbollah and disarming it.” The Israeli government remains focused…

By: Prof. Dr. Ali Arslan, Turkish professor In the simplest terms, for a political entity to be recognized as a state, it must have: clearly defined and defended borders; a branche–nation–society that has accepted to live together; and a political government through which these people exercise their sovereignty.In geographies less affected by local, regional, and global competition, states tend to last longer. However, in stratejik hedef alanları (strategic target zones) where competition is intense — and especially in kilitmekânlar (lock-locations: decisive geographic chokepoints) — the survival of states depends on the initiative of major powers.The case of the states established…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Trump has characterized the meeting as having achieved “great progress”. On Friday, Trump has threatened Putin with new sanctions for failure to make peace with Ukraine. Trump has pulled in India and China into the negotiations, by imposing 25% duties on India for buying Russian oil, and has threatened China with the same. Trump is using his position as President of the world’s superpower, to threaten other nations into compliance with the Oval Office’s demands. Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Dragana…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Lebanon’s government is scheduled to convene on August 5 to deliberate the highly sensitive issue of exclusive state control over arms. The session has sparked speculation regarding potential absence or boycotts by Hezbollah-aligned ministers, including Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar and Finance Minister Yassine Jaber. This follows remarks by Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, firmly rejecting the party’s disarmament. The debate unfolds against the backdrop of persistent Israeli occupation of five strategic points along the southern border and recurrent attacks on Hezbollah’s personnel and infrastructure. The unresolved equation of “withdrawal versus disarmament” remains mired…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Lebanon’s government is scheduled to convene on August 5 to deliberate the highly sensitive issue of exclusive state control over arms. The session has sparked speculation regarding potential absence or boycotts by Hezbollah-aligned ministers, including Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar and Finance Minister Yassine Jaber. This follows remarks by Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, firmly rejecting the party’s disarmament. The debate unfolds against the backdrop of persistent Israeli occupation of five strategic points along the southern border and recurrent attacks on Hezbollah’s personnel and infrastructure. The unresolved equation of “withdrawal versus disarmament” remains mired…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a plan: it’s called Vision 2030. The underlying infrastructure of his visionary project calls for regional stability. Syria had been in chaos and a deadly civil war beginning in 2011. Now after the fall of the Assad regime, Saudi Arabia has reached out a hand to help Syria to recover. The Saudi $6.4 billion commitment to Syria is not just a financial investment, but is a sign of the Saudi commitment to keep Syria from falling victim to Israeli plans of partitioning…

On June 22, the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. advanced a bill from Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican representing New York. H.R. 4427 is the Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025, and has prompted Democrats and Republicans to work together in support of the bill, while others of both parties are working against it. If the bill passes into law, it would allow President Donald Trump to permanently lift key sanctions on Syria in two years if certain conditions are met by the government in Damascus. Among the conditions is…

By:Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The news is the same each day about Gaza. More deaths, more starvation and more suffering. Yesterday, at least 32 people were killed and more than 100 injured after Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of starving Palestinians at a free food distribution hub in southern Gaza, the only free food available in all of Gaza. Eye witness survivors of the massacre told reporters that they were shot at, they laid down on the ground, but jeeps and tanks arrived which continued to shoot at the defenseless people laying face-down on the ground. The hub…