Security

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan have signed an agreement to establish the Saudi-Pakistani Supreme Coordination Council. Both countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and chemical precursors, state news agency SPA reported. “Another MoU for …

An attack by an unmanned aerial surveillance system on Saturday targeted Iraq’s Ain Al-Asad air base in western Iraq which hosts US and other international forces, but it caused no injuries, a coalition spokesman said. US Army Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for the US-led coalition, said on Twitter that the …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday the process of removing all contractors from Afghanistan working with the United States was under way as part of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of forces from the country. The remarks are the clearest indication yet that Biden’s April order to withdraw all …

Militants using bombs attacked two oil wells at an oilfield close to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing at least one policeman and setting off fires, the oil ministry said. Industry sources said the attack had not affected production. A statement from the oil ministry did not …

Egypt has signed a contract with France to buy 30 Rafale fighter jets, its defense ministry said in a statement early on Tuesday, in a deal that investigative website Disclose said on Monday was worth 3.75 billion euro ($4.5 billion). Egypt’s defense ministry said the deal would be financed through …

A chemical factory near the central city of Qom caught fire Sunday, Iranian media reported, a blaze that injured at least two firefighters. Videos showed heavy black smoke rising from Movaledan chemical factory in the vicinity of Qom, one of Iran’s prominent religious cities. The cause of the blaze was …

The “new Cold War” between the US and Russia in northeast Africa intensifies. Washington and Moscow struggle to increase their military presence in Sudan.By Nikola MikovicSudan reportedly decided to suspend an agreement granting Moscow permission to construct a naval base just north of Port Sudan, the country’s main commercial hub …

Turkey added cryptocurrency trading platforms to the list of firms covered by anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulation, it said in a presidential decree published early on Saturday. The Official Gazette said the country’s latest expansion of rules governing cryptocurrency transactions would take immediate effect and cover “crypto asset service …

The United States needs to prepare for a potential future conflict bearing little resemblance to “the old wars” that have long consumed the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday in his first significant policy speech. Austin called for harnessing technological advances and better integrating military operations globally to “understand …

An Israeli cabinet minister sharpened his country’s warnings against what it would deem a bad new nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying war with Tehran would be sure to follow. As President Joe Biden explores a possible US return to the 2015 deal to contain Iran’s nuclear program …

-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Turkey and all U.S. allies on Wednesday should refrain from making further purchases of Russian weaponry, threatening the possibility of more sanctions. Frayed relations between NATO allies Turkey and the United States were further tested over the weekend after President Joe Biden recognized …

A Lebanese music composer close to the president’s party is believed to be detained in Saudi Arabia for unknown reasons, according to local media reports confirmed by two sources close to him and a security source. An official source said Lebanon’s foreign ministry had tried to ask Saudi authorities about …

A U.S. Navy warship fired warning shots at three small Iranian speedboats that came within 70 yards of it and a Coast Guard cutter operating in international waters in the Persian Gulf on Monday, according to the U.S. Navy. An earlier incident on April 2 marked the first time in …

Iran has sought to produce and source weapons of mass destruction in 2020, misleading the world about the nature of its nuclear program, Washington Free Beacon said on Monday citing a new intelligence report issued by a German government security agency. Although Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful, it has recently …

Lebanon said on Monday it hoped Saudi Arabia would reconsider a ban on its produce imposed over what Riyadh called a rise in drug smuggling, and tasked its interior minister to coordinate with the kingdom to uncover the culprits and prevent a repeat. The government also asked Lebanon’s public prosecutor …

Turkish prosecutors ordered the arrest of 532 suspects including 459 serving military personnel in an operation targeting people linked to a Muslim cleric who Ankara says was behind a 2016 attempted coup, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Monday. The investigation was being conducted in 62 provinces as part of …

Lebanon has vowed to punish drug smugglers after massive quantities of narcotics were intercepted and seized by Saudi Arabia and Greece. Saudi authorities on Friday reported foiling an attempt to smuggle millions of amphetamine pills stashed in a pomegranate shipment from Lebanon at Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port. It said that …

An Iranian tanker was attacked off the coast of war-torn Syria Saturday, sparking a fire but not causing any casualties, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. State news agency SANA quoted the oil ministry as saying the fire erupted after “what was believed to be an attack by …

Greek authorities say they have seized more than four tons of cannabis hidden in a shipment of industrial cupcake-making machines heading from Lebanon to Slovakia. Greece’s financial crimes squad said in a statement late Thursday that the drugs were found in a shipping container in the country’s main port of …

Lebanese fruit and vegetable imports will be banned from entering Saudi Arabia or transiting via the Kingdom as of 9 a.m. on Sunday in a bid to prevent drug trafficking. The Kingdom has noticed an increase in drug smugglers in Lebanon targeting Saudi Arabia, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on …

The Patriot air defense system that will be provided by Greece to Saudi Arabia will not only bolster the Kingdom’s security but also secure global energy supplies, Nikos Dendias, the Greek foreign minister, has told Arab News. He made the remark during an exclusive interview on Tuesday, after signing an …

A missile launched from Syria was fired into southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria. The incident, marking the most serious violence between …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency reported. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Greece, aspects of joint cooperation in various fields, and ways to support and develop it. They also …

Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister Prince Khalid bin Salman recieved special envoy to UK’s PM for the Arabian Gulf, Edward Lister. They reviewed the “strong cooperation between our two friendly countries, especially in the defense,” Prince Khalid tweeted early on Tuesday. “We reemphasized the importance of our partnership in preserving …

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met with the special envoy of the British prime minister for the Arabian Gulf region, Edward Lister, in Riyadh on Sunday. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the historical relations between their two countries and ways to develop them, the …

Iran named a suspect Saturday in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country before the sabotage happened. State television named the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi. It showed a passport-style photograph of a man it identified as Karimi, saying he …

Eritrea has acknowledged its troops are participating in the war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region but has vowed to pull them out amid mounting international pressure. The first explicit admission of Eritrea’s role in the fighting came in a letter posted online Friday night by the country’s information minister, written …

The Israeli military said Saturday it had conducted airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack from the Palestinian enclave, in the second such exchange in as many days. The strikes hit what the military described as “terror targets” operated by Gaza’s Islamist ruling party Hamas. They …

Foreign troops under NATO command will withdraw from Afghanistan in coordination with a U.S. pull-out by Sept. 11, Washington’s top diplomat said on Wednesday, after Germany said it would match American plans to leave after two decades of war. Around 7,000 non-U.S. forces from mainly NATO countries, also from Australia, …

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has told Congress it is proceeding with more than $23 billion in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, armed drones and other equipment, congressional aides said on Tuesday. A State Department spokesperson said the administration would move forward with the …

A commercial vessel owned by an Israeli firm was attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in Gulf waters, pro-Iran media and an Israeli television channel said on Tuesday. Israel’s top-rated Channel 12 quoted unnamed Israeli officials as blaming arch-foe Iran for the assault, which it described as …

The global chemical weapons watchdog has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Syria’s air force dropped a chlorine bomb on a residential neighbourhood in the rebel-controlled Idlib region in February 2018, a report released on Monday said. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government. Syria and its military ally …

Canada on Monday scrapped export permits for drone technology to Turkey after concluding that the equipment had been used by Azeri forces fighting Armenia in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said. Turkey, which like Canada is a member of NATO, is a key ally of Azerbaijan, whose …

Ukraine is actively preparing for a potential conflict escalation in the coal-rich Donbass region that is currently controlled by the pro-Russian forces. Kiev sees Turkey as a strategic partner and is purchasing Turkish-made Bayraktar drones. What is Ankara’s position in this proxy-war?By Nikola MikovicAfter Western-backed opposition overthrew allegedly pro-Russian Ukrainian …

The Saudi Ministry of Defense has announced the execution of three soldiers – Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Yahya Akam, Shaher bin Isa bin Qasim Haqqawi, and Hamoud bin Ibrahim bin Ali Hazmi on charges of high treason, Saudi Press Agency, SPA reported. Source: Arab News

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday warned Ethiopia of the risk of conflict over its giant dam on the Blue Nile after talks involving the two countries and Sudan ended without progress. Ethiopia is pinning its hopes of economic development and power generation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, …

Turkey’s latest arrest wave targeting former admirals who signed a critical night-time declaration has stirred debate over whether the crackdown is a result of the country’s “Eurasianist shift.” On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused 104 former navy commanders of trying to stage a “political coup” through an open …

An Iranian cargo ship has come under attack in the Red Sea, Al Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday, quoting unnamed sources, and semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim said the vessel was targeted by a limpet mine. Al Arabiya cited the sources as saying the vessel was attacked off the coast …

Lebanon’s outgoing prime minister said on Friday that experts had found “dangerous chemicals” at a warehouse at the Zahrani oil installations in the south. Hassan Diab said the country’s atomic energy authority identified the substances as “nuclear” after reviewing a report by German company Combi Lift, which Lebanon had tasked …

A number of joint military exercises that have been taking place in Saudi Arabia this week concluded on Thursday. Royal Saudi Land Forces and the US Marines completed their week-long Falcon Claws 3 maneuvers in the Kingdom’s northwestern region. The troops displayed “continuous effectiveness … in all aspects of the …

The Saudi-led coalition has cleared four fuel ships to dock at Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, two sources familiar with the matter said, after Yemen’s internationally recognised government said on Wednesday it had approved entry of some vessels. The move came after the Iran-aligned Houthi group, which has been …

Seven years after Moscow incorporated Crimea into the Russian Federation, the Kremlin still cannot resolve the most critical problem – water supply to the disputed territory. By Nikola Mikovic Even though Russia invested billions into Crimea, to this day it did not find a way to deal with Kiev’s decision …

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) began a joint training exercise with Greece on Tuesday. The “Falcon Eye 1” exercise took place at the Souda Air Force Base in Greece, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said. Several joint sorties using F-15C aircraft by the RSAF and F-16, Dassault Mirage 2000 …

Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired armed drones at an airport and air base in southern Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned group said it had intercepted an explosive drone. This appears to be the first news of Houthi drones being fired into Saudi …