"the interests of [its] Russian ally, which is Europe's top supplier of natural gas."" Iran–Iraq–Syria pipeline The Iran–Iraq–Syria pipeline (called the ""Friendship Pipeline"" by the governments involved and the ""Islamic gas pipeline"" by some Western sources) is a proposed natural gas pipeline running from the Iranian South Pars/North Dome Gas-Condensate field towards Europe via Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to supply European customers as well as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The pipeline was planned to be long and have a diameter of . A previous proposal, known as the Persian Pipeline, had seen a route from Iran's South Pars to"
"Syria Syria ( ), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( """"), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Isma'ilis, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Yazidis, and Jews. Sunni make up the largest religious group in Syria. Syria is a unitary republic"
"Geography of Syria Syria is located in Southwestern Asia, north of the Arabian Peninsula, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and southwest, Iraq to the east, and Jordan to the south. It consists of mountain ranges in the west and a steep area inland. In the east is the Syrian Desert and in the south is the Jabal al-Druze Range. The former is bisected by the Euphrates valley. A dam built in 1973 on the Euphrates created a reservoir named Lake Assad, the largest"
"countries of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey. An estimated 450,000 Syrian Christians have fled their homes. By October 2017, an estimated 400,000 people had been killed in the war according to the UN. Syria lies between latitudes 32° and 38° N, and longitudes 35° and 43° E. It consists mostly of arid plateau, although the northwest part of the country bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Northeast of the country ""al-Jazira"" and the South ""Hawran"" are important agricultural areas. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east. It is considered to be one of the"
"Iraq–Syria border The Iraqi–Syrian border runs for a total length of 599 km across Upper Mesopotamia and the Syrian desert. It was defined in the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty (1922), drawn across of what had been designated the ""A zone"" in the Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916. It was the border between the Syrian Republic and the Kingdom of Iraq until 1958, and since 1961 the border between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Iraq. The border passes across Upper Mesopotamia, beginning at the Iraqi–Syrian–Turkish tripoint on the Tigris river at . The border more or less follows the former border"
"Postage stamps and postal history of Syria This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Syria. Syria, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. The French were awarded a mandate to govern Syria at the Paris Peace conference of 1918 and Syria attained independence in April 1946, as a parliamentary republic. Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire until the defeat of the Turks in the First World War and an"
"of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish. Iraq has a coastline measuring on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create"
"the ongoing wars in Syria and Iraq, much of the border fell under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2014, although its northernmost portion remains under Kurdish control, forming the border between Rojava and Iraqi Kurdistan. The Semalka border crossing is a pontoon bridge across the Tigris established by the Kurdistan Regional Government during the Syrian Civil War about 1 km downstream from the Iraqi–Syrian–Turkish tripoint and just north of Faysh Khabur in Iraq. Iraq–Syria border The Iraqi–Syrian border runs for a total length of 599 km across Upper Mesopotamia and the Syrian"
"south and Iraq to the east. The topography consists of a narrow coastal plain in the west which rises up to the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range which runs parallel with the coast. South of this is the Homs Gap, beyond which are Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains which separate Syria from Lebanon. Further east is a large area of steppe or Badia in the centre of the country. This is divided by the River Euphrates, on which a dam was built in 1973 creating a reservoir, Lake Assad, which is the largest lake in Syria. In the east and"
"Al Waleed border crossing Al Waleed border crossing (, also spelled al-Walid), known in Syria as al-Tanf, is one of three official border crossings between Syria and Iraq. Al Waleed is located in the Ar-Rutba District of the Al Anbar Governorate, close to the westernmost point of Iraq and the northeasternmost point of Jordan, in the desert Badia region. It serves as the main border checkpoint on the highway between Damascus and Baghdad. The al-Tanf checkpoint is on the Syrian side of the border, in Homs province. The Al-Waleed Palestinian refugee camp is nearby. In May 2015, the Islamic State"
"in the Syrian Civil War from 2011 the conflict shifted from proxy warfare into direct confrontation by early 2018. Israel is located in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent region. The country is at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, bounded by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank to the east, and Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the southwest. It lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 34° and 36° E. The sovereign territory of Israel (according to the demarcation lines of the 1949 Armistice Agreements and excluding"
"Geography of Iraq The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into five main regions: the desert (west of the Euphrates), Upper Mesopotamia (between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers), the northern highlands of Iraq, Lower Mesopotamia, and the alluvial plain extending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf. The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans through southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, eventually reaching the Himalayas. The desert is in the southwest and central provinces along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan and geographically belongs with"
"Syria (region) The region of Syria (, Hieroglyphic Luwian: ""Sura/i""; ; in modern literature called ""Greater Syria"", ""Syria-Palestine"", or the Levant) is an area located east of the Mediterranean sea. Throughout history, the region has been controlled by numerous different peoples, including ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Assyria, Babylonia, the Achaemenid Empire, the ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimid Caliphate, the Crusaders, the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom and the French Third Republic. In the most common historical sense, 'Syria' refers to the entire northern Levant,"
"Egypt Egypt ( ; , , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia, and across the Mediterranean lie Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, although none"
"be seen as paralleling similar events in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Northern Iraq beginning in the late 1990s. Iraq was formed by the British from three provinces of the Ottoman Empire following the empire's breakup after World War I. Its population is overwhelmingly Muslim but is divided into Shiites and Sunnis, with a Kurdish minority in the north. The new state leadership in the capital of Baghdad was formerly composed of, for the most part, the old Sunni Arab elite. After Saddam Hussein was overthrown by the UK–US invasion in 2003 the secular socialist Baathist leadership were replaced"
"or may not be included in Ottoman Syria. ""The Geographical Dictionary of the World,"" published in 1906, describes Syria as: ""a country in the [south-west] part of Asia, forming part of the Turkish Empire. It extends eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the river Euphrates and the Syrian Desert (the prolongation northward of the Arabian Desert), and southward from the Alma-Dagh (ancient Amanus), one of the ranges of the Taurus, to the frontiers of Egypt (Isthmus of Suez) It lies between the parallels of 31° and 37° [north latitude]. It comprises the vilayet of Syria (Suria), or of Damascus, the"
"and became the Syrian Arab Republic and stamps have been marked first under that name, then ""Syrian A.R."" or just ""Syria"" since then. Postage stamps and postal history of Syria This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Syria. Syria, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. The French were awarded a mandate to govern Syria at the Paris Peace conference of 1918 and Syria attained independence in April 1946, as"
"Mesopotamia (from the Greek Μεσοποταμία ""[land] between the rivers"", in Syriac called ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ pronounced ""Beth Nahrain"", ""Land of rivers"", rendered in Arabic as بلاد الرافدين bilād al-rāfidayn) is a toponym for the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwestern Iran. Mesopotamia is often considered the ""cradle of civilization."" Within its boundaries, some of the most ancient civilizations known first developed writing and agriculture. Many civilizations flourished there, leaving behind a rich legacy of ancient art. Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization,"
"Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign. In September 2017, a referendum was held regarding Kurdish independence in Iraq. 92% of Iraqi Kurds voted in favor of independence. The referendum was regarded as illegal by the federal government in Baghdad. In March 2018, Turkey launched military operations to eliminate the Kurdish separatist fighters in northern Iraq. Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political coalition won Iraq's parliamentary election in May 2018. Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49° E (a small area lies west of 39°). Spanning , it is the 58th-largest country in the world."
"and the areas surrounding the city of Al-Hasakah in Syria by 2015, and from the Nineveh plains in Iraq by 2017. Since the expulsion of ISIL, the Nineveh plains have been divided into Iraqi and Kurdish-controlled zones, with Assyrian militias on both sides. In Gozarto/Northern Syria, Assyrian groups have been taking part both politically and militarily in the Kurdish-dominated but multiethnic Democratic Federation of Northern Syria project. Assyria is the homeland of the Assyrian people; it is located in the ancient Near East. In prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria (and Subartu) was home to"
"war with Iran. In other situations, however, Syria and Jordan become targeted first. An Iraqi war with Jordan is usually over in less than a turn, with Iraq conquering Jordan (unless Iraq is preoccupied with another war with Iran or Syria). In a match-up with Syria, Iraq tends to even out, leading to multiple turns of both nations at war. Against Iran, the same situation happens leading to multiple turns of war, usually ending in an Iranian victory unless Iraq orders a nuclear attack. Due to Iraq's position neighbouring two of Israel's border nations, Iraq can be a useful ally"
"Syria–Turkey border The border between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey is about long. It runs across Upper Mesopotamia for some 400 km, crossing the Euphrates reaching as far as the Tigris, following the Southern Turkish stretch of the Baghdad Railway roughly along the 37th parallel between the 37th and 42nd eastern meridians. In the west, it surrounds the Turkish Hatay Province, following the course of the Orontes River and reaching the Mediterranean coast at the foot of Jebel Aqra. The current Syro-Turkish border was established in the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I,"
"Mashriq The Mashriq (, also Mashreq, Mashrek) is the historical region of the Arab world to the east of Egypt (sometimes including Egypt and Sudan). This comprises the modern states of Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq. Poetically the ""place of sunrise"", the name is derived from the verb ""sharaqa"" ( ""to shine, illuminate, radiate"" and ""to rise""), referring to the east, where the sun rises. As the word ""Mashriq"" refers to countries bounded between the Mediterranean Sea and Iran, it is the companion term to ""Maghreb"" (),"
"2017 Western Iraq campaign The Western Iraq campaign was the final major military operation of the Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017), in the western province of Anbar, and on the border with Syria, with the goal of completely expelling ISIL forces from its last strongholds in Iraq. The offensive followed the Hawija offensive by the Iraqi Government, and was also concurrent with several major offensives in Syria: the Syrian Democratic Forces' Deir ez-Zor offensive, and the Syrian Government's Battle of Deir ez-Zor and Eastern Syria campaign on the opposite side of the Al-Qa'im border crossing. Al-Qa'im was known as a hotbed"
"Iraq. Cyprus (ancient Alashiya), a large island in the eastern Mediterranean was a separate cultural entity during most periods of human occupation. However, its proximity to both Anatolia and the northern and southern Levant was responsible for influences from and to both these regions. This was especially the case as Cyprus was an important source of copper for much of the region. Mesopotamia (""The Land of Two Rivers"") is considered to begin more or less near the modern border with Iraq and refers to the flat valley of the southern Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries. These rivers empty"
"Lebanon Lebanon (; ; ; ), officially known as the Lebanese Republic ( ; ; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km (4,036 sq. mi.), it is the smallest recognized sovereign state on the mainland Asian continent. The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back"
"area and population). It is also the world's 80th largest by area and world's 51st largest by population. It measures long from end to end and wide at its widest point, with Turkey to the north. It lies between latitudes 34° and 36° N, and longitudes 32° and 35° E. Other neighbouring territories include Syria and Lebanon to the east (, respectively), Israel to the southeast, Egypt to the south, and Greece to the northwest: to the small Dodecanesian island of Kastellorizo (Megisti), to Rhodes and to the Greek mainland. Sources alternatively place Cyprus in Europe, or Western Asia and"
"was at its lowest level in ten years. History of Iraq The current territory of the modern state of Iraq was defined by the Anglo-Iraqi treaty of 1922 which resulted from the 1920 Iraqi revolt against British occupation. It centers on Lower Mesopotamia (corresponding to historical Babylonia, later also known as ""ʿIrāq-i ʿArab"") but also includes part of Upper Mesopotamia and of the Syrian Desert and the Arabian Desert. The history of this area has witnessed some of the world's earliest writing, literature, sciences, mathematics, laws and philosophies; hence its common epithet, the Cradle of Civilization. As part of the"
"Egypt's population. Egypt Egypt ( ; , , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia, and across the Mediterranean lie Greece, Turkey and Cyprus,"
"the polity uses the name Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (; ; ). The DFNS lies to the west of the Tigris along the Turkish border. It is composed of three regions: Jazira, Euphrates and Afrin Region. Jazira Region borders Iraqi Kurdistan to the southeast. Other borders are fluid in the Syrian Civil War. All regions are at latitude approximately 36°30' north. They are relatively flat except for the Kurd Mountains in Afrin Region. In terms of governorates of Syria, the DFNS is formed from most of al-Hasakah Governorate, the northern parts of Raqqa Governorate, the northwestern parts of the"
"Doctrine, which pertained to the Suez Crisis. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles defined the Middle East as ""the area lying between and including Libya on the west and Pakistan on the east, Syria and Iraq on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudan and Ethiopia."" In 1958, the State Department explained that the terms ""Near East"" and ""Middle East"" were interchangeable, and defined the region as including only Egypt, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west"
"Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region in Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq, Kuwait, parts of Northern Saudi Arabia, the eastern parts of Syria, Southeastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish–Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders. The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid"
"100 km it finally reaches the Tigris River south of Cizre. For the final 30 km, the border now follows the course of the Tigris, turning towards the south-east, until it reaches the Syrian-Turkish-Iraqi triple-point at . From west to east: Syria–Turkey border The border between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey is about long. It runs across Upper Mesopotamia for some 400 km, crossing the Euphrates reaching as far as the Tigris, following the Southern Turkish stretch of the Baghdad Railway roughly along the 37th parallel between the 37th and 42nd eastern meridians. In the west,"