An Arab mom and a Senior Advisor, International Crisis Group. Associate Fellow, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, Kings College, London.
Joined May 2009
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26 Photos and videos
Jun 8
Really looking forward to this @GregoryPWaters and @ShirazMaher 👇🏽
🚨 How has Syria's new Ministry of Interior evolved since the fall of the Assad regime?
Sign up now for Wednesday's event, where author @GregoryPWaters and @ShirazMaher will offer a sneak peek into this new report.
📅 Wed 10 Jun, 17:00-18:00
📍 Online
csns.uk/event/building-syria…
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Jun 8
“Recommending Syria” can’t possibly come as a surprise.
‼️ Trump on Lebanon:
I'd like to see a more surgical attack on Hizballah. More surgical. We can help them with that, or we can recommend Syria. Syria is doing a very good job of cleaning up their act. They have a very good leader & he we’d love to help.
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Dareen Khalifa retweeted
An admirably clear and helpful, if distressing, analysis of the state of play in Iraqi politics by International Crisis Group's @LahibHigel:
Iraq Forms New Government amid Regional Turmoil crisisgroup.org/cmt/middle-e… via @crisisgroup
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Illuminating @CrisisGroup report on where Egypt finds itself in this mess, by @ricfabiani, @dkhalifa, and @YasFarouk. crisisgroup.org/cmt/middle-e…
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May 18
Reflective of how Netanyahu operates. He is willing to compromise his “strategic alliance” with the UAE for a tactical short term gain over his opponent. Though most Arab leaders won’t be surprised with that, one of many reasons they keep an arms length.
timesofisrael.com/liveblog_e…
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May 16
In our new @CrisisGroup commentary, we examine Egypt’s position on the Iran war, its delicate channels with Tehran and its proxies, and the potential fallout from both the conflict and mounting Emirati frustration.
By myself, @ricfabiani and @YasFarouk
crisisgroup.org/cmt/middle-e…
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May 9
Türkiye-UAE relation has been tricky, but it is increasingly clear that, aside from Israel, Ankara does not want to leave any of its regional relationships unmended or get dragged into any regional rivalries.
As explained by @nigargoksel and @NoahBonsey in their latest
crisisgroup.org/cmt/europe/t…
May 8
Potentially significant meeting today bw Erdoğan & Emirati VP. Following years of fraught relations & failed rapprochement, and as Ankara looks to deepen relations in Gulf w/out getting mired in Saudi-Emirati tensions
For more, see piece @nigargoksel & I published this week
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May 6
Not quite aligned, and certainly not neutral, Türkiye is manoeuvring among past and present regional rivals to hedge against turmoil and expand its influence. New @CrisisGroup analysis by @NoahBonsey and @nigargoksel.
May 5
the great @nigargoksel & I have a new @CrisisGroup piece on Türkiye’s competition with Iran & Israel, approach to the current war, and risks & opportunities as Ankara and other players prepare for an unpredictable, messy phase ahead
crisisgroup.org/cmt/europe/t…
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May 4
Looking forward to reading this. And yes it’s not just the academic left, generally speaking the Syrian war exposed the fundamental problems with the Western and Arab left.
May 3
How the Academic Left Failed Syria
On critique without action, and a revolution the Academic Left refused to see
kasurian.com/p/academic-left…
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Dareen Khalifa retweeted
Apr 30
Was great to discuss Syria with @gonultol on her podcast this week. Big challenges ahead, but also some points of optimism amid broader geopolitical dumpster fires
Many thanks Gonul for having me
Syria is in the midst of a fragile transition. Many observers see positive momentum but the risks remain serious: regional spillover, deep humanitarian needs, funding shortfalls, Israeli strikes, sectarian tensions, stalled political tracks, and continued reports of abuses by multiple actors.
Where does Syria’s transition really stand — and what could the war mean for its future?
In this episode of Rethinking Democracy, I’m joined by @NoahBonsey , Senior Advisor at the International Crisis Group, to unpack the opportunities, the dangers, and what comes next. You can watch it here youtube.com/watch?v=WLHvkjfd…
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Apr 22
Agreed – these joyful moments from Syria are a breath of fresh air during a dark time for the region. May Syrians continue to have them!
Also, you can’t really be in your 40s and not have jammed to Missy Elliott...
Apr 21
Really enjoying these surreal "meanwhile, in Damascus" interludes
The rest of the region is on the brink of a renewed war, meanwhile Ahmed Sharaa is jamming to Missy Elliott
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Apr 16
We won’t admit it, but half of us check Iran embassy shitposting before we get to the news. They are winning Twitter.
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Apr 14
One can think of a few parties that may have an interest in fuelling disinformation between Türkiye and Israel to keep the relationship thorny. What is concerning, however, is how quickly the situation escalated - at least online – over fabricated quotes and how quickly they abandoned basic diplomatic protocol and instead turned to a high-level public spat.
Apr 13
The Telegraph deletes a story which mistakenly claimed Erdogan had threatened to invade Israel
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Apr 13
While all eyes were on the US–Iran talks this weekend, Israel and Turkey slipped into a little twitter war over what were clearly fabricated quotes attributed to Erdogan. Senior Israeli officials quickly escalated their anti-Turkey attacks (including by AI generated weird images)
טורקיה, שכבשה את צפון קפריסין ושולטת בשטחים כורדים במזרח,
מעזה ללמד אותנו מוסר.
טורקיה, שבנתה את כלכלתה על רצח העם הארמני,
מעזה להאשים אותנו ברצח עם.
טורקיה, שאוכפת איסלאמיזציה בכוח הזרוע,
מעזה לדבר על זכויות אדם.
ארדואן הצבוע לא מרגש אף אחד עם הקרקס הנוכחי.
עם ישראל הורשע בהרבה "בתי משפט" לאורך ההיסטוריה.
באינקוויזיציה שפטו אותנו,
על היותנו יהודים.
כשהגבנו אחרי פוגרומים שביצעו בנו,
שפטו אותנו על היותנו חזקים מדי.
ובשואה שפטו אותנו על עצם קיומנו.
תמיד אחרי כל ״משפט״,
חזרנו חזקים יותר.
וכך יהיה גם מול הדיקטטור המגלומן בעל השאיפות האמפריליסטיות שחושב להיות סולטאן עותמאני, בזמן שאיננו יותר מאשר עריץ עלוב של מדינה עם כלכלה קורסת ודמוקרטיה מתה.
הגיע הזמן לסגור את הפרק העצוב של היחסים עם הרודן הפשיסט הזה.
מחר בישיבת הממשלה אדרוש משר החוץ ומראש הממשלה לסגור את השגרירות והקונסוליה לאלתר.
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Apr 11
I think it’s important to remember that no single party viewed the idea of a “Kurdish army” in Iran as a good one - not even the PKK.
How Tom Barrack Caused Washington to Lose the “Kurdish Army” in Iran nlka.net/eng/how-tom-barrack…
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Dareen Khalifa retweeted
Indeed -- we were on the brink of a security agreement in September 2025, as the world gathered around UNGA in #NewYork.
Just hours before I hosted @MiddleEastInst's event with President al-Sharaa, we were being tipped off to an imminent announcement -- but #Israel backed out.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to the UK that his government attempted to normalize relations with Israel “without success,” claiming that Israel changed its mind at the last minute.
✍️ @ariella_roitman
jpost.com/middle-east/articl…
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Mar 31
Also what’s the point of developing nuclear and missile capabilities and spending billions on proxy militias when your one effective weapon is geography.
Mar 30
I told @NewYorker: “What is the point of the entire U.S. military role in the Middle East? If it has any point, it should be to prevent something like the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Yet U.S. military action has only brought about the very problem it’s supposed to prevent.”
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Dareen Khalifa retweeted
🧵A short thread on the Suqaylabiyah events now that the details are clearer:
There is both a local and national aspect to this mob attack and the media reaction, and many seem to be conflating the two. But understanding the causes and needs require separating them.
Mar 27
#Syria: a literal mob went through Suqaylbiyah tonight (N. #Hama), attacking shops and houses.
This is an unprecedented attack in this Christian town.
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