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Bucket-wheel excavators mine rare earth materials on Ukrainian soil on February 25, 2025, in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. (Kostiantyn Liberov via Getty Images)
Middle East
Middle East
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), wearing a protective face maks, speaks with his lawyer inside a courtroom at the district court of Jerusalem on May 24, 2020, during the first day of his corruption trial.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech following a cabinet meeting, in Ankara, on June 9, 2020.
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Mourners carry the coffins of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and eight others during a funeral procession in Iraq on January 4, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Hagia Sophia, which was rebuilt for the final time in AD 537 during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Until 1453, it served as the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends ''Vision 2023 Turkeys National Education Ministry'' meeting at Bestepe National Congress and Culture Center on October 23, 2018. ( Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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A Greek Orthodox church in Hama, Syria
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Protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square call for the ouster of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in January 2011.
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Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan addresses the opening ceremony of the 2019 New Economy Forum in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 21, 2019
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations (UN) Security Council on February 11, 2020 in New York City.
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China's President Xi Jinping and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands ahead of their talks at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 21, 2017. (ETIENNE OLIVEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Experts
James Barnett
Research Fellow
Michael Doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
