Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned Iran not to threaten Israel after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at a Syrian base of the Islamic State group. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had fired six missiles from western Iran into northeastern Syria on Sunday, targeting “terror bases.” The Guard said the strike was “in retaliation” … Read more
Lebanon’s government announced a new election law after a cabinet session Wednesday, ending months of tense discussions and paving the way for the first parliamentary elections in nine years. The deal comes after a stalemate that has seen the country’s parliament extend its term twice since the last elections in 2009. Under the agreement, the … Read more
Lebanon’s government announced a new election law after a cabinet session Wednesday, ending months of tense discussions and paving the way for the first parliamentary elections in nine years. The deal comes after a stalemate that has seen the country’s parliament extend its term twice since the last elections in 2009. Under the agreement, the … Read more
Here are the main developments that led to the unprecedented crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours: On May 20, 2017, Qatar says it is the victim of a smear campaign and rejects accusations of it supporting “terrorism” ahead of a landmark visit by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia. Trump and Saudi King … Read more
Viewed from Tehran, the extraordinary spat between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours has many advantages, experts say, but it is also worried about yet more volatility in the troubled neighbourhood. “This is a new low for the Saudis. They don’t know how to do foreign policy. They are fighting with most of their neighbours,” said … Read more
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, emboldened by US President Donald Trump’s new approach to the region, have seized the chance to isolate Qatar, analysts said Monday. Gas-rich Doha, which has long exercised an independent streak in its foreign policy, last month denied comments which appeared on its official news agency questioning US hostility … Read more
The head of Lebanese movement Hezbollah said Thursday he was unfazed by “threats” of attacks or fresh sanctions, days after US President Donald Trump slammed the group and its sponsor Iran. On his visit to Riyadh last week, Trump blamed Iran for destabilising the Middle East and called for a crackdown on its allies, including … Read more
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas accused US President Donald Trump on Monday of smearing the name of Palestinian “resistance” to Israeli occupation during a speech on Islam. Addressing Muslim leaders in Riyadh on Sunday, Trump called for unity against “Islamic terror”, specifically naming Hamas and the Islamic State group. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said Trump’s remarks … Read more
The yawning gap between Tehran and Washington has grown even wider with US President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to isolate Iran, which accused the United States of “milking” Saudi Arabia for petro-dollars. Trump’s choice of Saudi Arabia, Iran’s bitter regional rival, for his first official foreign visit reflects the deep antagonism of his administration towards … Read more
US President Donald Trump made a 30-minute speech on Sunday in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on his first foreign visit since taking office. Trump’s speech, preceded by a traditional Koranic reading, held Iran responsible for global extremism, urged Arab and Muslim nations to freeze channels of funding for groups including the Islamic State and … Read more
A Hezbollah leader blacklisted this week by the United States and Saudi Arabia on Sunday branded the administration of President Donald Trump as “crazy”. Just before Trump flew to Saudi Arabia on Friday, Washington and Riyadh issued their first “joint terrorist designation” blacklisting Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s executive council. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite movement … Read more
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad lauded his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani Saturday on his election victory and vowed to continue cooperating with Tehran, a key Damascus supporter. Assad congratulated Rouhani on winning a second term and for earning “the trust the Iranian people gave him to continue bolstering Iran’s position and role,” according to a statement … Read more
US President Donald Trump will seek to rebuild relations with the Muslim world on his first foreign trip starting Saturday in Saudi Arabia as political scandals mount at home. Trump can expect a warm reception when he arrives in the oil-rich kingdom for talks with King Salman, but the domestic mood was grim following news … Read more
A pro-regime convoy that was struck by US-led warplanes inside Syria this week likely was directed by Iran, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday. The strike on the convoy heading toward a coalition garrison near the Jordanian border was “necessitated by offensive movement with offensive capability of what we believe were Iranian-directed forces,” Mattis said, … Read more
As US President Donald Trump prepared to head to Saudi Arabia on Friday, Washington and Riyadh issued their first “joint terrorist designation” — blacklisting a Hezbollah leader. Hashem Safieddine was described by US officials as a key member of the executive council of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese armed movement which Washington has branded a “foreign … Read more
Syria on Friday condemned a US-led coalition strike on pro-government forces as a “brazen attack” and said it would “not be intimidated” after the surprise assault. US-led warplanes carried out the Thursday strike in the east of the country against a convoy of pro-government forces headed towards a remote coalition garrison near the border with … Read more
Saudi Arabia is looking to assert its regional leadership against Iran by hosting a summit between visiting US President Donald Trump and Muslim leaders from around the world, analysts say. Trump, on his first foreign trip since taking office in January, will tell Muslim leaders of his “hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam” as … Read more
Syria’s regime is close to cementing its control over the entire capital under local deals with rebels after a six-year war that has ravaged suburbs of Damascus and caused population displacements. Rebels have evacuated some of the last Damascus districts under their control, shattering their dream of one day seizing the capital and toppling a … Read more
Iran will maintain its support for the Syrian government despite the deaths of hundreds of its advisers and volunteers in the six-year civil war, a commander said in comments published Tuesday. Shiite Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are the Syrian regime’s most important military supporters after Russia in its battle against mainly Sunni rebels. … Read more
Israel shot down what it identified only as “a target” over the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday, hours after Syria accused it of hitting a military position near Damascus airport. “The Patriot Aerial Defence System intercepted a target above the Golan Heights,” the official Israeli army Twitter account said, without elaborating. A military spokeswoman refused … Read more