Security

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday Turkey would “do what is necessary for its security” after what it said was a rise in cross-border attacks by Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that an attack that Ankara blamed on the U.S.-backed YPG that killed two …

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi movement in Yemen said a hostile projectile launched by the group hit King Abdullah airport in Jizan, injuring five civilians, the Saudi state news agency reported on Friday. “There were five minor injuries among civilians, passengers and airport employees,” the agency quoted a coalition …

Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile attack above the Homs countryside, injuring six soldiers and causing some material damage, official media said on Friday. Israeli military declined to comment. The attack occurred around 9:33 p.m. (1833 GMT), Syria’s official news agency quoted a military source as saying. “The Israeli …

Turkey has made a request to the U.S. to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes, as the NATO ally looks to modernize its Air Force after the purchase of F-35 jets fell through, sources familiar with the matter said. The …

Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan are high amid a diplomatic spat that is approaching crisis point, according to regional observers. Although the two countries normally enjoy cordial relations, they are drifting apart owing to divergent strategic interests and political visions. Azerbaijani authorities, long frustrated by Iran’s support for its neighbour …

Iran’s aggressive and expanding unmanned aerial vehicles program is a growing threat not only to countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, but also the West, according to officials from the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI’s Washington office, said the program …

The European Union is applying pressure for a ceasefire in Yemen and to stop the attacks on Saudi Arabia, an EU official said Sunday, adding that Houthi assaults on the Kingdom violated international law. “The EU countries are Saudi Arabia’s largest strategic partner,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and …

The Libyan Foreign Minister said on Sunday that some foreign fighters had left the country as the government of national unity sought to mobilize international aid to withdraw those who remained. “The information is correct. There is a very modest start,” Najla Mangoush said at a press conference in Kuwait …

A new report has linked a UK Royal Air Force base with high-profile US drone strikes, including the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in January last year. The report’s release has put pressure on ministers to explain whether Yorkshire’s Menwith Hill base has been directly involved in the carrying …

Falling debris from a Houthi drone intercepted by Saudi air defenses damaged houses and shops in the southern region of Jazan, authorities said early Saturday. The drone fragments of the bomb-laden unmanned aircraft scattered over a residential neighborhood in Uhud Al-Masarah governorate, but fortunately did not result in death or …

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber held talks with Sweden’s envoy for Yemen Peter Semneby in the capital, Riyadh, on Thursday. During the meeting, they discussed the Kingdom’s efforts and joint steps for a cease-fire and beginning political consultations to alleviate the human suffering of the Yemeni people …

Turkey is considering more joint defence industry steps with Russia including for fighter jets and submarines, President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with President Vladimir Putin, despite a U.S. warning of further sanctions. On the return flight to Turkey from the talks, Erdogan told reporters he also proposed working with …

 The Iran-backed Houthis on Thursday rejected the latest regional calls to cease fighting in Yemen and intensified their ground and missile attacks on government-controlled areas in the central province of Marib. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam demanded the Arab coalition stop military operations and lift what he described as a blockade …

The presidents of Russia and Turkey on Wednesday began talks on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and on possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defence systems to Ankara despite U.S. objections. The talks are taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and the Kremlin said that …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Tuesday. The summit is scheduled for Oct. 30-31. Plastic straw bans are not helping the oceans Erdogan has recently said that relations between Ankara …

U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had a detailed discussion about the war in Yemen on Tuesday in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior administration official said. The war, in which a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis, has devastated Yemen’s …

US President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the Associated Press.  Sullivan will also visit the United Arab Emirates as part of his regional trip. Source: Arab News

President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey still intended to buy a second batch of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, a move that could deepen a rift with NATO ally Washington and trigger new U.S. sanctions. Washington says the S-400s pose a threat to its F-35 fighter jets and to NATO’s …

Iran-backed Houthi terrorists launched five armed drones toward Saudi Arabia late on Thursday as the Kingdom celebrated its 91st national day, state media Al-Ekhbariya TV and the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The weaponized drones, which came in waves, were intercepted and destroyed by coalition air defenses before they could do any …

The leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee introduced legislation on Wednesday to provide $1 billion to Israel to replenish its “Iron Dome” missile-defense system, a day after the funding was removed from a broader spending bill. Some of the most liberal House Democrats had objected to the …

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday removed $1 billion in military funding for Israel from legislation to fund the US government after objections from House of Representatives liberals, setting the stage for a potential fight over the matter later this year. Some House Democrats objected to a provision in a stopgap spending …

East Libyan forces said they lost two helicopters in a crash during a military operation on Sunday, after days of fighting with a formerly allied rebel group from Chad. The Libyan National Army (LNA) of eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar has been engaged since last week in battles with the Front …

Syria’s defense minister met Sunday with Jordan’s army chief in Amman after after Syrian troops captured several rebel-held areas near Jordan’s border, state media reported. The Hala Akhbar news site, which is linked to Jordan’s military, reported that the meeting between Jordanian Gen. Yousef Huneiti and Syrian Gen. Ali Ayoub …

The reaction of France to the new trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the US brings to mind a powerful cartoon published by an American newspaper during the Trump years, when the US president was ruling by executive order to evade Congress. The cartoon, which appeared in the …

Lebanese authorities have seized 20 tons of ammonium nitrate — the same chemical behind a deadly explosion last year at Beirut’s port — in the eastern Bekaa Valley, state media reported on Saturday. Ammonium nitrate is an odourless crystalline substance commonly used as a fertilizer that has been the cause …

Iran joined a rapidly expanding central Asian security body led by Russia and China on Friday, calling on the countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to help it form a mechanism to avert sanctions imposed by the West. The body, formed in 2001 as a talking shop for Russia, China …

The head of Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) believes the state owned business could be run by a Saudi female engineer in the future as it seeks to attract top talent back to the Kingdom. Speaking to Arab News at the DSEI trade fair in London, SAMI CEO Walid Abukhaled, …

The US State Department has approved a potential agreement covering up to $500 million in military support services for Saudi Arabia, and has sent the agreement to Congress for review, the Pentagon said on Thursday. It was the first major defense agreement for Saudi Arabia sent to Congress since President …

Former Obama CIA Director Michael Morell said Sunday that President Biden’s chaotic retreat from Afghanistan and subsequent Taliban takeover “absolutely inspired” jihadists and emboldened terrorists across the globe. Morell, who twice served as acting director of the CIA under the Obama-Biden administration and was considered a frontrunner to then-President-elect Joe Biden’s for …

Bahrain has strongly condemned the failed Houthi drone attack which targeted Abha International airport south of Saudi Arabia. The bomb-laden drone launched by the Iran-backed group was intercepted and destroyed by Arab Coalition forces.“The launch of a drone by the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militia towards Abha International Airport in the …

Defense spending in Saudi Arabia is to focus on acquisitions as well as research and development (R&D) over the next decade to ensure that the local military industry will create around 100,000 jobs for Saudis, the governor of the Kingdom’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) said. Speaking in an exclusive interview …

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi renewed his call for the removal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, stressing the need to ensure the unity of Libyan national institutions. El-Sisi discussed with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, and Aqila Saleh, speaker of the House of Representatives, ways …

srael’s defence minister accused Iran on Sunday of providing foreign militias with drone training at an airbase near the city of Isfahan, a month after Tehran came under global scrutiny over a suspected drone attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off Oman. Israel has combined military strikes with diplomatic pressure to …

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will have no access to footage captured by surveillance cameras at Iranian nuclear sites, Iran’s state-run Press TV channel said on Twitter on Saturday. The channel added that an “informed source rejects reports suggesting that Iran may reconsider (its) decision on IAEA access restrictions.” …

The FBI has released the first document related to its investigation of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States and allegations of Saudi government support for the hijackers, following an executive order by President Joe Biden. Relatives of the victims had called on Mr Biden to skip memorial events …

The US Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet said on Wednesday it will launch a new task force that incorporates airborne, sailing and underwater drones after years of maritime attacks linked to ongoing tensions with Iran. Navy officials refused to identify which systems they would introduce from Bahrain. However, they promised the …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a royal decree to terminate the public security director Khalid al-Harbi and refer him to investigation with corruption charges, the state news agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday. Charges include embezzlement of public money, forgery, bribery and abuse of influence. Source: Reuters

U.S. authorities are investigating whether payments by U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Technologies Corp RTX.N to a consultant for the Qatar Armed Forces may have been bribes intended for a member of the country’s ruling royal family, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. A lawsuit filed in …

The World Defense Show, the global defense and security event to be held in Riyadh under the patronage of King Salman, has allocated 85 percent of its space, a statement released on Tuesday said. The event aims to provide a platform for global firms to connect with the regional defense …

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhhimi held talks with Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Naif on Saturday. During the meeting, they discussed security cooperation between Baghdad and Riyadh, and ways of developing it in various security fields, especially combating terrorism. The Saudi minister conveyed greetings of …

President Joe Biden on Friday directed the declassification of certain documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a supportive gesture to victims’ families who have long sought the records in hopes of implicating the Saudi government. The order, coming little more than a week before the 20th anniversary of the …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait next week, the Pentagon said on Friday, in a “thank you” tour for allies and troops that helped in the massive U.S.-led airlift from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. Austin planned to leave on Sunday and …

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it’s “possible” the United States will seek to coordinate with the Taliban on counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan against Islamic State militants or others.Milley did not elaborate, and his comment Wednesday did not appear to suggest immediate plans to …

For the first time, US and Israeli forces held a joint naval exercise in the Red Sea with the aim of improving security and maintaining maritime trade routes. The Israeli army wrote today (Wednesday) in a statement on its Twitter page:For the first time, the Navy (Zionist regime) held an …