Tag Archives: Trump

Germany sees a chance to return to a joint transatlantic approach in tackling Iran’s nuclear programme once the new U.S. administration under President-elect Joe Biden takes office, a German official said on Monday. In May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump quit a deal with Tehran that sought to limit Iran’s …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, said on Sunday there should be no return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abandoned by President Donald Trump. Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said he would rejoin the accord if Tehran first …

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Neom on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations, areas of cooperation and ways to enhance them. They also discussed regional and international developments, Saudi Press Agency reported. The meeting was attended by Saudi foreign minister …

Female assassins who lured an Afghan security official to his death with promises of sex before shooting him and dumping his body at a cemetery are among thousands of Taliban criminals freed as part of a fragile peace plan. While the ultra-conservative Islamists ban women from many areas of life …

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday he was confident that Democrat Joe Biden’s incoming U.S. administration would pursue policies that help regional stability and that any discussions with it would lead to strong cooperation. Riyadh is bracing itself for a new U.S. president who pledged on the election campaign …

U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a possible secretary of state in a Biden administration, said on Friday he would only support returning to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal if there were a path to limit Tehran’s missile program and support for regional proxies. The agreement, which U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned …

Syria condemned U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the “occupied” Golan Heights on Thursday in the “strongest language” and said it was a provocative act before U.S. President Donald Trump leaves his post, state media said. Pompeo became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit an Israeli …

Mike Pompeo on Thursday paid the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, in a parting show of solidarity with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the outgoing Trump administration. Palestinians accused Pompeo of helping Israel to cement its control over …

The United States on Wednesday imposed broad sanctions targeting Iran, blacklisting a foundation controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and taking aim at what Washington called Iran’s human rights abuses a year after a deadly crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. The sanctions announced by the U.S. Treasury Department, which also …

Israel launched air raids against what it called a wide range of Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria on Wednesday, sending a signal that it will pursue its policy of striking across the border despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s election defeat. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, …

The Palestinian Authority will resume civil and security cooperation with Israel suspended in May over a now-frozen Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian minister said on Tuesday. Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter that “the relationship with Israel will return to how …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would fully implement its 2015 nuclear deal if U.S. President-elect Joe Biden lifts sanctions on Tehran, which Zarif said could be done swiftly through “three executive orders”. “If Mr. Biden is willing to fulfill U.S. commitments, we too can immediately return to …

On Aug. 21, a tanker called the Otoman docked at the Jose oil terminal on Venezuela’s coast in the Caribbean to load 1.82 million barrels of heavy crude, according to the state oil company’s internal documents. Yet no tanker with that name is registered in major global shipping databases. Muddying …

Afghanistan’s insurgent Taliban on Tuesday called on the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to stick to the February agreement to withdraw U.S. troops. The United States has been pulling out troops under the deal which envisages the withdrawal to be complete by May, subject to certain security guarantees, …

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on officials, entities and individuals it accused of providing support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Washington continued its efforts to cut off funds for Assad’s government. The action, which also targeted the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, aims to push …

The United States is expected to impose sanctions as early as next week on Iranians involved in a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations in Iran a year ago, three sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions announcement was …

Turkey gave an impassive first reaction on Sunday to Joe Biden’s presidential win, with Vice President Fuat Oktay saying it would not change relations between the old allies although Ankara will keep pressing Washington on Syria and other policy differences. Turkey stands to lose more than most other countries if …

Saudi Arabia, which may have more to lose from Joe Biden’s U.S. election victory than other Arab states, has taken its time to comment after the defeat of Donald Trump whose Middle East policies and staunch opposition to Iran had Riyadh’s backing. As other Arab states raced to congratulate the …

When reality TV star Donald Trump took office he quickly cast Iran as a main villain of his presidency – ultimately abandoning a landmark deal aimed at stopping Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and putting an economic squeeze on the Islamic Republic. Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the 2015 …

France expects smoother trade relations with the United States should Democratic contender Joe Biden win the presidential vote, with greater alignment on sustainable development and more multilateral cooperation, trade minister Franck Riester said. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on French wines in a row over Airbus subsidies, threatened levies …

Turkey is ready to work with whoever wins the U.S. election, two top Turkish officials said on Friday, despite a friendship with President Donald Trump that has helped the two countries through turbulent times. “Regardless of which candidate takes office in the U.S., we will pursue a sincere approach to …

Facebook Inc removed on Thursday a fast-growing group in which supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump posted violent rhetoric, as it and other companies tackled baseless claims and potential violence after a contentious election. The “Stop the Steal” group, which called for “boots on the ground to protect the integrity …

A prominent women’s rights advocate who was part of Afghanistan’s government’s team of negotiators at the intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban said that despite the negotiations in Doha, Qatar, the insurgent group believe in regaining power “through military means.” “(Since signing the deal with the US), the Taliban feel they …

Oil was largely steady on Wednesday after President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory in a tight U.S. election, despite millions of votes still to be counted and the final result not yet clear. West Texas Intermediate was up 16 cents, or 0.4%, at $37.82 a barrel by 0850 GMT. Brent …

At least one “Islamist terrorist” was responsible for attacks across central Vienna, in which at least five people were killed and several others injured, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday. A massive search operation has been launched for other attackers, with at least 1,000 police officers fanning out …

A young white man was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison by a federal court in Lafayette, Louisiana after he pleaded guilty to setting three historically Black churches on fire. Federal District Judge Robert Summerhays sentenced Holden Matthews to 25 years but gave him 18 months credit for …

Usumain Baraka speaks impeccable Hebrew, considers Israelis among his best friends and can quote passages from the Old Testament. But as a Sudanese asylum seeker, Baraka has no legal status in Israel and lives a precarious life tethered to the whims of the Israeli government. Now, after Israel and Sudan …

The group of Russian hackers accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election earlier this year targeted the email accounts of Democratic state parties in California and Indiana, and influential think tanks in Washington and New York, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The attempted intrusions, many …

The U.S. State Department notified Congress it approved the sale of 50 Lockheed Martin Co LMT.N F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates in a deal that could be worth $10 billion, sources said on Thursday, potentially setting up a showdown with lawmakers over the deal. The United States and …

For many West Bank Palestinians, the olive tree is both a revered cultural emblem and an economic necessity – but it has also become a focal point of a struggle between them and Israeli settlers for a land they both claim. More than 1,000 trees owned by Palestinian farmers have …

Nearly half the respondents in an Arab News/YouGov poll conducted in 18 Middle East and Africa (MENA) countries believe neither candidate in the upcoming US elections will necessarily be good for the region. Of the rest, 40 percent said Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden would be better for the region while 12 percent said …

The Trump administration lifted a decades-old ban on Wednesday that had prohibited U.S. taxpayer funding for Israeli scientific research conducted in Jewish settlements in occupied territory, drawing Palestinian condemnation. With Tuesday’s U.S. election approaching, President Donald Trump’s move was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and could resonate with …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Friday that Turkey had been testing the S-400 air defence systems that it bought from Russia and said U.S. objections on the issue did not matter. Washington says Ankara’s purchase of the Russian systems compromises NATO defences, and has threatened sanctions. An apparent firing …

Government analysts and private sector investigators were able to rapidly attribute to Iranian hackers a wave of thousands of threatening emails aimed at U.S. voters because of mistakes made in a video attached to some of the messages, according to four people familiar with the matter. Those failures provided a …

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince enjoyed a near free pass under his personal relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, but the kingdom’s brazen young leader will have to tread more carefully should Democrats take the White House and reset strategic ties. Riyadh’s human rights record, with the brutal 2018 murder of …

The United States on Monday said it blacklisted two Chinese men and six Chinese entities for having dealt with Iranian shipping company Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and, in some cases, helping it to evade U.S. sanctions. The U.S. State Department named the entities as Reach Holding Group …

President Donald Trump announced on Monday the United States would remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism as soon as Khartoum sets aside the $335 million it has agreed to pay to American victims of militant attacks and their families. The deal could also set in motion …

A White House official traveled to Damascus earlier this year for secret meetings with the Syrian government seeking the release of at least two U.S. citizens thought to be held there, a Trump administration official said on Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, named the official as …

One of the UK’s leading literary festivals has announced it will not be going back to Abu Dhabi after one of the event’s curators claimed she was sexually assaulted by the United Arab Emirates’ tolerance minister. Caitlin McNamara claimed a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday urged Saudi Arabia to consider normalizing relations with Israel as he met with the Gulf country’s foreign minister, also saying that Washington supports a “robust program of arms sales” to it. Pompeo said he raised the so-called Abraham Accords, a U.S.-brokered agreement …

Israel’s cabinet approved a normalisation deal with the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince had spoken and agreed to meet soon. The U.S.-brokered “treaty of peace” establishing full relations with the Gulf Arab country broke new diplomatic ground in …

An array of Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups have agreed to suspend rocket attacks on U.S. forces on condition that Iraq’s government presents a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops, one of the groups said on Sunday. “The factions have presented a conditional ceasefire,” said Mohammed Mohi, spokesman for the …

Qatar has submitted a formal request to the United States to buy stealthy F-35 fighter jets, three people familiar with the deal said, in a deal that if pursued could strain U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia and Israel. The request for the Lockheed Martin Co jets was submitted by the …

A top Palestinian business executive said on Monday that new Gulf Arab ties with Israel, condemned by Palestinian leaders, could also be an opportunity to apply fresh pressure to halt Jewish settlement in occupied land. Bashar Masri, a Palestinian-American who runs two of the Palestinians’ largest holding companies, said the …