Tag Archives: US

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a “disappointing” $1.7 billion had been pledged by countries on Monday for humanitarian aid in Yemen – less than half the $3.85 billion the world body was seeking for 2021 to avert a large-scale famine. “For most people, life in Yemen is now unbearable. Childhood …

The Iranian regime is using the Houthi militia as a pressure card against the international community and the US administration to extract concessions on the 2015 nuclear agreement, Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said on Thursday. Al-Eryani claimed that Iran is pressuring the Houthis for a military escalation in …

In the week since Washington offered to talk with Tehran about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran has curbed U.N. monitoring, threatened to boost uranium enrichment and its suspected proxies have twice rocketed Iraqi bases with U.S. soldiers. In return, the United States and three allies, Britain, France and Germany, …

NATO defence ministers at a meeting on Thursday made no decision on whether or when to pull out of Afghanistan, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, adding that the allies faced a dilemma as violence increases again. After two decades of Western military intervention and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment, …

A fundraising event for Yemen’s humanitarian crisis is expected to take place in early March, hosted virtually by Sweden and Switzerland, four aid sources told Reuters on Sunday. A U.N.-backed push for international donors last June fell short of its $2.4 billion target, raising only $1.3 billion for what the …

Turkish soldiers conducting an operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq have found the bodies of 13 kidnapped Turks executed in a cave, the country’s defence minister said. The identity of the 13 Turkish citizens was unclear and the minister, Hulusi Akar, said their kidnapping had not …

Israel will keep the Golan Heights forever, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced remarks that stopped short of recognizing the claim. In 2019, then-US President Donald Trump parted with other world powers by recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli. Israel occupied …

Saudi Arabia said on Monday that a fuel transport ship anchored at a Jeddah terminal was hit by an explosive-laden boat in what it called a terrorist attack, after shipping firm Hafnia said one of its tankers was struck by an “external source”. A Saudi energy ministry spokesman, in a …

The European Parliament urged the EU on Thursday to impose sanctions on Turkey after President Tayyip Erdogan this month paid a visit to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of Cyprus. With 631 votes in favour, three against and 59 abstentions, the parliament agreed a non-binding resolution in support of EU …

OPEC and its allies fear a prolonged second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a jump in Libyan output could push the oil market into surplus next year, according to a confidential document seen by Reuters, a gloomier outlook than just a month ago. A panel of officials from OPEC+ …

Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters. The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the …

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan of being the main instigator in the deadliest fighting between Armenian and Azeri forces for more than 25 years. In an interview published on Tuesday that is likely to exacerbate international frictions over the clashes in the South Caucasus region, Assad …

Attackers set off a truck bomb in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, according to provincial officials, as violence continues in the war-torn nation despite peace talks taking place in Qatar. Attaullah Khugyani, a spokesman for the provincial government, said the number …

Russia has stepped up its logistic support for private military contractor Wagner Group in Libya with some 338 military cargo flights from Syria in the nine months to July 31 to aid Wagner fighters backing eastern-based Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters on Wednesday. …

The seizure of thousands of rounds of ammunition being smuggled across the Syrian border has exposed Lebanon’s soaring trade in personal weapons. A Lebanese border patrol intercepted two men on a known smuggling route on the outskirts of Yanta, about 80 km east of Beirut. One of the men hurled …

French President Emmanuel Macron has told President Donald Trump that U.S. sanctions that have targeted Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah are playing into the hands of those they are meant to weaken, an Elysee official said on Saturday. The official, speaking ahead of a donors conference on aid to Lebanon co-hosted …

An Iraqi delegation headed by the Iraqi oil minister met the Lebanese prime minister, Hassan Diab, on Wednesday and informed him that Baghdad will provide fuel aid to Beirut after the blast on Aug. 4, according to a statement by the Lebanese government. Lebanese local media also said that an …

After having concluded a $400 billion strategic deal with China Iran now aims to sign a long-term partnership agreement with Russia. From the Islamic Republic’s perspective, good relations with Moscow and Beijing, as well as possibility to expand economic cooperation with the two countries, will help Iran to easier cope …

A Russian bid to halve access for humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey to just one border crossing failed at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, garnering just four votes in favor from the 15-member body. Russia and China cast vetoes on Tuesday to block the council from …

The January U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and nine other people represented a violation of international law, a U.N. human rights investigator said on Monday. The United States has failed to provide sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack against its interests …

06 Jul 2020 This story first appeared as an MEI Insight A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. Resolving the tug of war in the Middle East will require a backing away from approaches that treat conflicts as zero-sum games, and engagement by all regional and external players. …

The U.S. military said on Tuesday that Russia has deployed fighter aircraft to Libya to support Russian mercenaries fighting for eastern forces, adding to concerns of a new escalation in the conflict. “Russian military aircraft are likely to provide close air support and offensive fire,” the United States Africa command …

The U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty will affect the interests of all of its participants, who are also members of NATO, RIA state news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Thursday. Russia has not violated the treaty and nothing prevents the continuation of …

Venezuela’s military will escort Iranian tankers bringing fuel to the gasoline-starved country as soon as they enter its exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Wednesday. His comments came after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said the shipment should “alarm” Latin America. Both OPEC members are U.S. adversaries …

Global growth in new renewable energy capacity will experience its first annual decline in 20 years this year amid the coronavirus pandemic but is expected to pick up next year, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The world is set to build fewer wind turbines, solar plants and other …

Although the crisis precipitated by the new coronavirus pandemic is still in its very early stages, it is clear that it has vastly accelerated the ongoing processes around the world. The most consequential is the intensification of Sino-American rivalry and the emergence of new global bipolarity. By Dmitri Trenin It is …

[I wrote this blog piece  in October 2016, on the eve of the US presidential election. Given all the discussion today of what kind of a system we are trying to protect and restore under Corona Virus, I thought it would be relevant to revisit it on the eve of …

When America has recovered from the coronavirus crisis and people are back to work, Rep. Adam B. Schiff thinks Congress should consider a 9/11-style independent commission to examine why the nation was so unprepared for the pandemic. By David Ignatius Schiff, a California Democrat, told me in an interview Monday that his …

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will pardon 10,000 prisoners including political ones in honor of the Iranian new year on Friday, state TV reported. “Those who will be pardoned will not return to jail … almost half of those security-related prisoners will be pardoned as well,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein …

Countries around the world on Saturday continued to close borders, impose strict entry and quarantine requirements and restrict large gatherings in efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said it will close all its retail stores worldwide, outside Greater China, until March 27. Apple reopened …

Britain has increased its security and readiness at military bases in the Middle East after the United States killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, Sky News reported on Friday without citing sources. Britain has about 400 military personnel in Iraq, who help provide training in the country. They are mostly located …

Iran promised harsh revenge after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds force and architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East. Soleimani was a general who was regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme …

Turkey will carry out an operation east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria, in an area controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. Turkey has been running out of patience with the United States, which made an agreement with Ankara to implement a …

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar met military officials on Thursday to discuss a possible offensive east of the Euphrates River in Syria as Ankara ramped up warnings of a cross-border operation. A Turkish military tank is seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi The …

Four progressive Democratic members of Congress vilified by U.S. President Donald Trump are “fantastic”, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday. Trump tweeted over the weekend that the representatives known as “the squad” – Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and …

The United States said on Wednesday that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, a move long threatened and expected after Ankara began accepting delivery of an advanced Russian missile defense system last week. The first parts of the S-400 air defense system were flown to the …

Germany on Monday rejected demands by the United States to deploy ground troops in Syria, a stance likely to anger President Donald Trump who wants Chancellor Angela Merkel to commit to a bigger military role in the Middle East. “When I say the government envisages sticking to the current measures …

Saudi Arabia’s flyadeal will not proceed with a provisional order for 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets, the U.S. planemaker said on Sunday after the airline announced it would operate an all Airbus A320 fleet. Flyadeal began reconsidering a commitment to order the Boeing jets after two MAX aircraft crashed in …

Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on July 9 to exchange views on the latest regional and international developments, Qatar’s state news agency said on Saturday. The White House said in June the visit would deal with economic and …

Israel’s financial system faces significant risks from falling U.S. bond yields and high global debt levels, the Bank of Israel said on Sunday in a semi-annual financial stability report. The central bank noted that global growth and rate forecasts continued to moderate in the first half of 2019, while major …

Forces allied to Libya’s internationally recognized government based in Tripoli captured sophisticated U.S. and Chinese rockets as well as drones when they seized a town from eastern forces last week, officials said on Saturday. On Wednesday, Tripoli’s forces took Gharyan, south of the capital, which eastern forces loyal to Khalifa …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the Israeli occupation government proceeds with its settlement plans in the West Bank and works day and night to seize more lands. The percentage of confiscated land has increased to a high degree …

Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials said on Wednesday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the country for a two-day visit. Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic …

A Lebanese businessman detained in Iran since 2015 for alleged anti-state activity left the country on Tuesday, a Lebanese official said, after Beirut secured his release. Nizar Zakka, who has U.S. residency, flew to Beirut with Lebanon’s security chief Abbas Ibrahim, the official told Reuters. Zakka, who also holds U.S. …