Thomas Seibert

Thomas Seibert is an Arab Weekly contributor in Istanbul.

Author Articles

Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Abdulaziz al-Assaf (2nd L) receives US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, September 18. (AFP)
Deniability risky tack in Iran’s foreign policy as US mulls strike
September 21, 2019
Chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hossein Salami speaks in a ceremony displaying pieces of the American drone shot down by the Guard in the Strait of Hormuz in June, in Tehran, Iran, September 21. (AFP)
Iran escalates provocations as US struggles with response
September 21, 2019
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrive for a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, Sept. 16, 2019. (AP)
Syria summit demonstrates Turkey’s growing dependence on Russia
September 17, 2019
A file picture shows John Bolton (L) listening to US President Donald Trump speaking during a working lunch at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP)
Bolton’s ouster boosts prospect of talks between US and Iran
September 14, 2019
Caught in the middle. A young Syrian boy gazes from a small hilltop at the makeshift camp where he currently lives in the northern countryside of the Idlib province. (AFP)
Idlib fighting and Turkish ‘safe zone’ plans throw cloud over Syria summit
September 14, 2019
Lifting more limits. Iranian President Hassan Rohani (R) and the head of Iran’s nuclear technology organisation Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran, last April. (AFP)
Tehran raises stakes in nuclear row by escalating threats, making offers for talks
September 07, 2019
Visitors rest at the booth of Netflix during leading digital games fair Gamescom, in Cologne, Germany, August 21. (Reuters)
New internet regulations in Turkey stoke censorship fears
September 07, 2019
A search for a safe port. Refugees and migrants arrive at the port of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, September 3.(AP)
As refugee numbers rise, Greece and Turkey face new border challenges
September 07, 2019
With a pinch of salt. Iranian President Hassan Rohani (2 L) attends a ceremony in Tehran, August 27. (AFP)
US and Iran say willing to talk but ulterior motives keep big divide
August 31, 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a news conference in Zhukovsky outside Moscow, August 27. (Reuters)
Erdogan fails to end Idlib fighting despite plea to Putin
August 31, 2019
A crew member raises the Iranian flag on oil tanker Adrian Darya I, previously named Grace I, as it sits anchored in the Strait of Gibraltar, August 18.(Reuters)
Iranian oil tanker on course for new escalation with United States
August 24, 2019
Pervin Buldan (C), co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), speaks during a news conference at HDP headquarters in Istanbul, August 20.(AFP)
Dismissal of Kurdish mayors fuels opposition’s fears of new wave of repression in Turkey
August 24, 2019
Smoke billows above buildings during a reported air strike by pro-regime forces on the town of Hish in Syria’s Idlib province, August 19. (AFP)
Attack on Turkish convoy in Syria strains Ankara’s alliance with Moscow
August 24, 2019
A Turkish military truck patrols at the border with Syria in Akcakale in south-eastern Turkey, August 14. (AFP)
Turkey presses Syria intervention against Kurdish forces despite agreement with US
August 17, 2019
Minor damage from an earthquake is seen on a street in Bozkurt, in Denizli province, western Turkey, August 8. (AP)
20 years after deadly earthquake, Turkey is unprepared for expected new shock
August 17, 2019
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar (L) and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US Air Force General Tod Wolters, speak at a NATO meeting in Brussels, last June. (Reuters)
US-Turkey ‘safe zone’ augurs fracturing of Syria into foreign areas of influence
August 17, 2019
Members of Turkish human rights NGOs take part in a demonstration to support refugees in Istanbul, July 27. (AFP)
Turkey hints at new Syria operation as domestic pressure over refugees grows
August 03, 2019
Abbas Araghchi (2nd R), Iranian Foreign Ministry official, and EU official Helga Schmid (3rd L) take part in a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in Vienna, July 28. (AFP)
Iran looks for Europe to save deal as economic woes deepen
August 02, 2019
Legacy of bloodshed. Somali medical workers and relatives help a woman who was wounded in a car bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, May 14. (AP)
Reported Qatari role in Somalia terror attack draws ‘disturbing’ picture
July 27, 2019
Different agendas. Iran’s President Hassan Rohani (R) welcomes Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president, in Tehran, July 10. (AFP)
Europe steps up diplomatic efforts to save nuclear pact as Iran widens claims
July 27, 2019