ABD-İran Anlaşma Taslağı İsrail’i Kaygılandırıyor: Hürmüz Boğazı ve Abraham Anlaşmaları Pazarlıkta
ABD ile İran arasında Hürmüz Boğazı’nın yeniden açılması ve deniz ablukasının kaldırılması karşılığında Washington’un askerî varlığını çekmesini öngören bir mutabakat zaptı taslağı, İsrail’de rahatsızlık yarattı. Mayıs 2026 sonunda İran devlet televizyonunun duyurduğu taslak, 60 günlük ateşkesle başlayacak ve İran’ın ticari geçişleri eski hâline getirmesiyle ABD güçlerinin bölgeden uzaklaştırılmasını içeriyor. Ancak Başkan Trump yaptırımların hafifletilmeyeceğini vurgularken, İran ise uranyum ve Hürmüz’den geçiş ücreti alınmaması gibi ek talepleri reddetti. Görüşmeler Pakistanlı arabulucular aracılığıyla sürüyor ve taraflar henüz kilit meselelerde anlaşmaya varmadı. İsrail, anlaşmayı “başarısızlık” olarak nitelendirirken, Washington’daki etkisinin azaldığını savunuyor. Trump’ın İran ile müzakerelere Abraham Anlaşmaları’na uyum şartını eklemesi, Arap müttefiklerinin pozisyonuyla örtüşmediği gerekçesiyle eleştiriliyor. Öte yandan ABD ve İsrail’in Ürdün’ün Mescid-i Aksa’daki vesayetini hedef aldığı iddiaları da diplomatik gerilimi tırmandırıyor. Bu süreçte taraflar arasında askerî çatışmalar yaşandı; Washington Hürmüz Boğazı üzerinde beş İran İHA’sını düşürdüğünü, Tahran ise Kuveyt’teki ABD üssüne balistik füze saldırısı düzenlediğini bildirdi. Anlaşma, küresel petrol arzı açısından kritik olan Hürmüz Boğazı’ndaki tıkanıklığı giderme potansiyeli taşırken, İsrail’in güvenlik kaygıları ve bölgesel normalleşme çabalarını yeniden şekillendiriyor. Trump yönetimi diplomatik çözümü askerî seçeneğe tercih ettiğini belirtse de, Pakistan’ın Abraham Anlaşmaları’na katılma ihtimalinin düşük olması ve İran’ın tutumu müzakerelerin geleceğini belirsiz kılıyor.
This summary is currently in Turkish; automated English translation is coming soon.
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ABD gelişmelerini kaçırma — ücretsiz kaydol, günlük brifinginde gör.
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latest: 07 Jun- Security25 May, 12:23
'Failure': Israel reacts with alarm as emerging US-Iran deal draws criticism
'Failure': Israel reacts with alarm as emerging US-Iran deal draws criticism Nadav Rapaport on Mon, 05/25/2026 - 12:45 Israeli analysts and hawkish US politicians say proposed agreement falls far short of war aims and signals weakening Israeli influence in Washington A woman reacts as people gather at the Tel Aviv 360, a giant beachfront stage in Tel Aviv on 16 May 2026, to watch the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 (Jack Guez/AFP) Off The emerging agreement between the United States and Iran to permanently end the war has been met with scepticism and growing alarm in Israel. Reports over the weekend said the deal centres on a memorandum of understanding establishing a preliminary 60-day ceasefire, which reportedly does not address Iran’s nuclear programme. The initial framework is also said to include ending wars “on all fronts”, including Lebanon. The reported terms have drawn criticism from US Democrats, hawkish Republicans and Israeli commentators alike. Amid mounting backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had agreed with US President Donald Trump that “any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Netanyahu also said Trump had reaffirmed “Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon”. Trump, meanwhile, has defended the negotiations on his Truth Social platform. “If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama,” Trump wrote, referring to the 2015 nuclear agreement signed under former president Barack Obama. “I don’t make bad deals,” he added. 'Failure' But Israeli journalists and military analysts appeared unconvinced by the reassurances from either leader, with many portraying the emerging agreement as a political failure and a strategic climbdown by both the US and Israel. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Amos Harel, military affairs commentator for Haaretz, wrote on Monday that a deal would amount to an American capitulation and reflect Israel’s declining standing within the Trump administration. Harel argued that the agreement falls far short of Netanyahu’s declared objectives when the war began in late February, including the collapse of the Iranian government and the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. 'Israeli interests were not taken into account throughout the negotiations' - Senior Israeli security official Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), echoed that assessment, saying the military campaign’s architects “did not truly understand Iran”. “The enormous gap between the declarations made at the beginning of the campaign and the agreement that will likely bring it to an end illustrates its failure,” Citrinowicz said on Monday. "This war proved that Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy has collapsed.” Raz Zimmt, also a researcher at INSS, described the proposed agreement as “very problematic” for Israel and argued that Iran had succeeded in shaping “a new regional order”. "The one who blinked first was President Trump, not the Iranians," Zimmt told the 103FM radio programme. Veteran political columnist Nahum Barnea of Yedioth Ahronoth wrote on Monday that the emerging deal would represent a “defeat” for both Israel and the United States. He wrote that Netanyahu and Trump “never imagined” that after nearly three months, Iran would be in a better position than it was before the war. Barnea added that Israel was now “subject to the absolute authority of a capricious, hollow, desperate American president” and argued that while Israel still faces the challenge of confronting Iran, “Netanyahu is the last person” capable of leading that effort. Security officials alarmed The criticism comes amid growing concern in Israel over what many see as the country’s diminishing influence in Washington. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); On Saturday, the New York Times reported that Israel had largely been sidelined from the ongoing negotiations by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Haaretz reported on Sunday that senior Israeli security officials were alarmed by the direction of the talks and warned that “Israeli interests were not taken into account throughout the negotiations”. Why Israel and the US were so deadly wrong about regime change in Iran Read More » According to the report, officials expressed frustration that despite Israel’s joint military campaign against Iran, Washington had failed to prioritise Israel’s security concerns. The officials are now said to fear that a US-Iran agreement could place restrictions on Israel’s future military operations in Lebanon and Gaza. Israeli news outlet Ynet also reported that army officials viewed the proposed agreement as “a bad agreement for Israel” and were deeply disappointed by its reported terms. According to the report, the Israeli military had already been preparing for a renewed campaign against Iran and believed the agreement would fall short of its strategic objectives, potentially leaving Iran as a “nuclear threshold state”. David Bitan, a member of the Knesset from Netanyahu’s Likud party, acknowledged on Monday that expectations in Israel at the start of the war had been unrealistically high. Still, he insisted Israel had achieved significant gains during the 40-day conflict. Asked about Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, Bitan said Israel would “have to deal with it again and again”, adding that he believed further rounds of conflict with Iran were likely every two to three years. War on Iran Tel Aviv, Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Diplomatic25 May, 15:28
What we know so far about the US-Iran deal
What we know so far about the US-Iran deal MEE staff on Mon, 05/25/2026 - 15:34 Agreement would begin with 60-day ceasefire, during which Strait of Hormuz would open again US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after returning to the White House in Washington on 15 May 2026 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via AFP) Off US President Donald Trump has indicated that a potential deal between the US and Iran is “largely negotiated”. If agreed, it could bring to an end a regional conflict which has lasted almost three months. Markets were upbeat about the prospect of a deal on Monday morning, with Brent crude oil prices dropping nearly 6 percent to $97 a barrel. The full terms of the deal are not public, but here’s what we know so far: What will the deal entail? Tehran and Washington are close to signing a deal that would begin with a 60-day ceasefire extension, according to a US official cited by Axios. During that time, the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow waterway through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas travels - would be reopened. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); There would be no tolls to pass through the strait, and Iran would clear the mines it has laid near the waterway. Once those mines are cleared, the US would lift its own blockade on Iranian ports which have been in place in recent weeks. Iran would also be permitted to sell oil during those two months, temporarily circumventing US sanctions. The American official told Axios that while this would benefit Iran’s economy, it would also ease pressure on global oil markets. The two sides would then use the time to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear programme. As part of the wider talks on a permanent ceasefire, Iran wants its assets around the world to be unfrozen immediately, as well as permanent sanctions relief. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The US official said such concessions would only be made if Tehran made “tangible concessions”. What about Iran’s nuclear programme? Sources told Axios that a draft of the memorandum of understanding between the two - which is yet to be agreed - included a commitment from Iran never to pursue nuclear weapons. There’s no evidence that Tehran has agreed to such a stipulation. The draft also suggests that Iran would negotiate over suspending its uranium enrichment and over the removal of its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium. A US official told the Washington Post that the next two months would be spent discussing “the mechanism” for such a nuclear deal. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); An Iranian official told the Post that the draft deal did not include a nuclear agreement, but rather a commitment to negotiate the nuclear issue at a later time. How has Trump responded? Over the weekend, Trump faced criticism from US lawmakers on both sides of the political divide about the deal, and the war itself. He responded by stating that he does not make bad deals. “If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about. Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don’t make bad deals!” 'Failure': Israel reacts with alarm as emerging US-Iran deal draws criticism Read More » Later on Monday, he said that negotiations were “proceeding nicely”, and added that he wanted more countries to join the Abraham Accords. Trump listed countries whose leaders he said he spoke with on Saturday about efforts to end the war on Iran. “After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” he said. “Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!)” The Abraham Accords refer to normalisation deals with Israel brokered by Trump during his first term in 2020. They were signed by the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Two of the countries mentioned by Trump, Jordan and Egypt, already have relations with Israel. What did Iran say? Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran and Washington have reached conclusions on several issues discussed as part of the potential memorandum of understanding. However, he stressed that this should not be interpreted as meaning that Iran is close to signing any agreement. Baghaei said Iran’s current negotiations are focused on ending the war, not on nuclear issues. He also repeated Tehran’s concern that shifting positions among US officials continue to complicate efforts to reach a deal. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Political25 May, 16:00
US and Israel 'actively working' to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship, sources say
US and Israel 'actively working' to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship, sources say Faisal Edroos on Mon, 05/25/2026 - 09:45 The plan has sparked fears that regional and international actors are seeking to sideline Jordan's role in Jerusalem in favour of a new arrangement closely aligned with Israeli interests This aerial image taken on 22 March 2023 shows the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque on the compound in Jerusalem's Old City (Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters) On The US and Israel are "actively working" to strip Jordan of its historic custodianship of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and are pursuing a new arrangement that would see the management of the revered Muslim site closely align with Israeli interests, multiple sources have told Middle East Eye. US, Jordanian and Palestinian officials, as well as western and Gulf Arab sources, told MEE that under the plan, championed by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the authority of the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf would abruptly end and a new body created by the Israeli government would declare the Al-Aqsa Mosque a "multi-faith centre". According to the officials, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, the "new arrangement" would grant Jews "equal access" to the Muslim site and formally allow large-group Jewish prayer. Israel would also have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials, and would also be involved in signing off on the content mentioned in Friday sermons. Two US officials told MEE that Washington had drafted a paper on how they envisaged the mosque's future. The officials said that the Trump administration would like to see the Al-Aqsa Mosque stripped of its Muslim identity, with the site turned into a landmark tourist attraction that hosts all three Abrahamic religions. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); A western official, and a source briefed by the Jordanian government, told MEE that according to a proposal they had seen, Arab countries could be granted "rotational" oversight of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. They said that Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had all been briefed on the proposal by the US. According to two Gulf Arab sources and another source familiar with the Jordanian government's thinking, Saudi Arabia, which shares a deep history and a robust alliance with Jordan, was against the proposal. 'The Hashemite Custodianship is a cornerstone for stability in the region, undermining it is tantamount to undermining the very principles for peace - Mustafa Abu Sway, Waqf council The sources said that Israel had first floated the idea with the Trump administration nearly a decade ago, but shortly after Huckabee assumed his post as US ambassador last year he "repeatedly" called on Washington to follow through with the plan. The US envoy, a devout Evangelical Christian and former talk show host, is a long-time pro-Israel advocate who has staunchly supported illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories. The source familiar with Amman's thinking told MEE that "the Americans have been angry that the Jordanians cite their custodianship and raise complaints about Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa." Just this month, Jordan's parliament condemned Israeli measures to seize Palestinian properties and Islamic endowments in an area adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. All of the sources MEE spoke said the new proposal left the fate of Jerusalem's Christian holy sites unknown. The Hashemite monarchy is also custodan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Ascension. Jordan also has an effective veto over the appointment of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. "This plan says nothing about the Christian sites, which raises a whole new set of concerns," one of the sources said. A Jordanian government official stressed that Amman's position on Jerusalem and its holy sites "remains firm," and said the Hashemite custodianship is internationally recognised under treaties and agreements including Article 9 of the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty. The official added that Jordan was coordinating with Palestinian, Arab and international partners to preserve the sites' "Arab, Islamic and Christian identity" and prevent any alteration to the historical and legal status quo. 'Cornerstone for stability' The Al-Aqsa Mosque has been governed under a decades-long status quo, or international arrangement, preserving its religious status as an exclusively Islamic site. Under arrangements reached after the 1967 war, Jordan and Israel agreed that the Islamic Waqf would administer internal affairs at the compound, while Israel would control external security. The Israeli unmaking of the Ibrahimi Mosque Read More » Non-Muslims are permitted to visit the site during designated hours, but are not allowed to pray there. For Jews, the site is known as the Temple Mount, where many believe two ancient Jewish temples once stood - the temple built by King Solomon (Suleiman in Arabic), which was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the second temple, destroyed by the Romans. Jordanian and Palestinian officials said the proposed arrangement appeared to be loosely modelled on Israel's policies at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, where restrictions imposed after a 1994 massacre by an Israeli settler eventually led to a formal division of the site between Muslims and Jews. Following the massacre, Israel allocated 63 percent for Jewish worship and 37 percent for Muslims, despite the site being revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews alike as the burial place of the Prophet Abraham and other patriarchs. For Jordan, custodianship over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the wider compound is central to the legitimacy of the Hashemite monarchy itself. Jordan's ruling family traces its custodianship over Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem to 1924, when Palestine was under British mandate rule. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Britain and France divided much of the Levant between them after defeating the Ottoman Empire during World War I, which led to the formal collapse of the Islamic Caliphate in 1924. The Hashemites were granted custodianship in Jerusalem after losing control of Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, to the Al-Saud family. Jordan's role as custodian was later recognised in its 1994 peace treaty with Israel, which acknowledged Amman's "special role" in Jerusalem's Islamic holy sites. 'The settlers are in control': How the West Bank is being ethnically cleansed Read More » But for years, Jordanian officials and Palestinian leaders have warned that the arrangement has been steadily eroded by successive Israeli governments and emboldened far-right groups seeking greater Jewish control over the compound. Israeli police raids inside the mosque compound, increasing visits by ultranationalist Jewish activists and repeated calls by Israeli ministers for Jewish prayer rights at the site have fuelled accusations that Israel is incrementally changing the status quo. Waqf officials have also repeatedly told MEE that other than imposing strict restrictions on Palestinian worshippers, Israel had made it difficult for the Waqf to carry out necessary maintenance works and repairs. Mustafa Abu Sway, the deputy head of the Waqf council, refused to comment on Jordan's waning influence in the Old City but said the Hashemite custodianship was "a cornerstone for stability in the region". He said Palestinians viewed the custodianship "strategically as a lifeline" and noted that Jordan had consistently defended the historical status quo at international forums including Unesco. "The Hashemite Custodianship is a cornerstone for stability in the region, undermining it is tantamount to undermining the very principles for peace". For its part, the Jerusalem Governorate said it had not been informed of any such proposal, but said it "reject[s] it entirely." The Governorate said there had been a "dangerous escalation" in Israeli interference in the Waqf's work, including restrictions on guards and staff and increasing settler incursions into the compound. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Jordan plans 'work-around' Two Gulf Arab sources told MEE that Jordan's US-backed government was likely going to rely on regional backing to counter the US-Israeli proposal. Despite Amman's growing outreach to the UAE, they said it was inconceivable that Riyadh would remain silent or refuse to publicly oppose such a proposal. "Saudi Arabia fully understands that if any moves are taken against the Hashemite custodianship then that would inflame the entire region," one Gulf Arab source said. 'They [UAE and Bahrain] should be cautious about publicly supporting changes to the status quo' - Gulf Arab source Another Gulf Arab source said Riyadh viewed the custodianship as "a pillar of regional stability," adding: "The Saudis may have disagreements with Jordan on some issues, but on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa they understand the consequences of dismantling the existing arrangement". According to the sources, Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah has developed a "good relationship" with his Saudi counterpart, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in recent years, with ties deepening since a group of Arab countries normalised ties with Israel. But both of the sources said it was unclear how the kingdom would respond if the UAE or Bahrain publicy backed the proposal. Since signing the Abraham Accords in 2020, both Abu Dhabi and Manama have steadily deepened political, economic and security ties with Israel, even as regional anger over Israel's actions in Jerusalem and Gaza have intensified. The UAE, in particular, has positioned itself as Israel's closest Arab partner, expanding cooperation in trade, technology, energy and defence. Emirati-linked religious and diplomatic initiatives have also promoted the idea of "multi-faith coexistence" in ways that Palestinian and Jordanian officials fear could be used to legitimise changes to the historical status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Why Netanyahu leaked his secret wartime visit to the UAE Read More » In 2023, the UAE established its own multi-faith centre that includes a Catholic church, a Jewish synagogue and an Islamic mosque. Bahrain has similarly maintained close ties with Israel and defended its engagement with Israel as necessary for countering Iran. Bahraini officials have also generally avoided direct public criticism of Israeli policies in Jerusalem, a position that has fuelled concerns that they are increasingly willing to accommodate Israeli demands over holy sites. "They [UAE and Bahrain] understand how explosive this issue is in the Arab and Muslim world," one of the sources said. "Given that they are closely aligned with Israel they should be cautious about publicly supporting changes to the status quo," they added. MEE reached out to the Bahraini, Egyptian, Moroccan, Saudi and UAE foreign ministries for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication. The Jordanian government, which has banned MEE since May 2025, acknowledged receiving our questions but refused to comment. Occupation Sean Mathews Lubna Masarwa Athens Jerusalem London Exclusive: US and Israel 'actively working' to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship, sources say News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security25 May, 21:00
Trump calls for 'mandatory' adherence to Abraham Accords in Iran ceasefire talks
Trump calls for 'mandatory' adherence to Abraham Accords in Iran ceasefire talks Sean Mathews on Mon, 05/25/2026 - 21:26 An Arab diplomat told MEE that Trump appeared to be trying to find a 'lubricant' in the Iran ceasefire deal for Israel US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on 25 May 2026 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump on Monday threw a new wrench into any deal to end the war on Iran, saying that Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority nations must normalise ties with Israel as part of efforts to reach a deal. The remarks took a US diplomat and an Arab diplomat by surprise. Both said that it was unlikely there would be any movement on normalisation. The Arab official told MEE that Trump may be using normalisation as a “lubricant” to ensure Israeli buy-in for any deal with Iran. Israel on Monday escalated its strikes on Lebanon, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he had ordered the military to "crush" Hezbollah. Iran has been adamant that any agreement to end the war include Lebanon. "After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords," Trump wrote in a lengthy social media post. "Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!).” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Trump considers the 2020 Abraham Accords, through which the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco normalised ties with Israel, as a major foreign policy achievement. But several of the countries he listed already have diplomatic ties with Israel, although they have become seriously strained by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, where more than 72,790 Palestinians have been killed, and military adventurism against Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Egypt and Israel established diplomatic ties in 1979, and Jordan followed in 1994. Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognise Israel in 1949. The US has been lobbying Saudi Arabia for years to normalise ties with Israel. Riyadh mulled the idea in exchange for US weapons and nuclear technology before 7 October 2023, but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has since publicly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and has tied recognition explicitly to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Pakistan, the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed state, also has a chilly opinion of Israel. Meanwhile, Qatar was attacked by Israel in September 2025, when the latter targeted Hamas negotiators in Doha. Shortly after Trump’s social media post, an unidentified Saudi source reiterated to several major US news outlets that the kingdom would only normalise ties with Israel if it agreed to "an irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman brushed off a similar request by Trump in November 2025 at the White House to normalise ties with Israel. Oil prices tumble on hopes of deal Trump’s social media post on Monday comes after his earlier announcement that a deal with Iran to end the war was almost at hand. The US president said over the weekend that a deal had “largely been negotiated”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day, causing world oil prices to tumble based on renewed optimism about an agreement. UAE and Israel established fund for joint defence acquisition, sources say Read More » "We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today," Rubio told reporters during a visit to New Delhi, referring to hopes for a deal. "We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open.” Crude oil prices tumbled six percent on optimism of a deal. But Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei poured cold water on hopes of a quick final settlement. "It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion," he told a weekly news briefing on Monday. "But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent - no one can make such a claim." US and Iranian forces have observed a shaky ceasefire since 8 April. Both sides have sought the upper hand at the negotiating table for a wider deal with competing blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20 percent of the world’s energy flows. Both sides were still engaging in diplomacy as Washington closed for a Memorial Day holiday and the Middle East prepared for Eid al-Adha. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); A high-level Iranian delegation, including the country's top negotiator and foreign minister, was in Doha on Monday to discuss an agreement with the US and the release of frozen funds, according to US and Israeli media reports. Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government is spearheading efforts to mediate a negotiated agreement between the US and Iran, met China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Speaking to Chinese leaders, Sharif said "the world is passing through a critical moment," Pakistan's state-run PTV channel showed. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security26 May, 21:38
Why Trump is using Iran talks to revive the Abraham Accords
Why Trump is using Iran talks to revive the Abraham Accords Sean Mathews on Tue, 05/26/2026 - 21:56 Trump's injection of the Abraham Accords into Iran ceasefire talks is a deep misreading of where US Arab allies are at, experts say US President Donald Trump looks on as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets the crowd during the Saudi-US investment forum at King Abdul Aziz International Conference Centre in Riyadh, on 13 May 2025 (Fayez Nureldine/AFP) Off President Donald Trump’s injection of the Abraham Accords into talks with Iran underscores how the Islamic Republic is getting the better of the US at the negotiating table, and Trump is trying to distract from it, current and former US and Arab officials told Middle East Eye. “Trump knows he’s getting a deal that undermines every war aim he espoused after 28 February. So, he’s trying to create a bigger deal,” Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator, told Middle East Eye. “This is a typical Trump ploy,” added Miller, now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The deal under discussion would extend the shaky ceasefire in place now for 60 days. In exchange for obtaining a sanctions waiver on oil sales, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where the US also has a competing naval blockade. The deal does not address Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, which The New York Times has reported is at 70 percent pre-war levels. Trump provided a mixed rationale for his decision to launch a war on Iran in February, at times saying it was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He also said that the US aimed to destroy Iran’s conventional military capabilities, and at other times, he also suggested regime change was the ultimate goal. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In a separate social media post on Monday, Trump said Iran’s enriched uranium would either be turned over to the US and destroyed or destroyed in coordination with Iran at an “acceptable location”. The latter statement was read by some observers as a US concession, with China or Russia potentially playing a role. Despite US claims that a deal is close, the current ceasefire between the two countries appeared to be on shaky ground on Tuesday. Iran accused the US of “flagrant” violations of their truce and vowed to respond after the US conducted air strikes against Iranian missile launchers and boats. Misreading the Gulf A former senior US official told MEE that Trump appeared to expect a “payment” from Gulf states for ending the war on Iran. “Trump’s pitch on the Abraham Accords rests on a mistaken impression that the countries that he ensnared into a war that led to the bombings of their cities and critical infrastructure owe him a favour to conclude the war,” the former senior US official told MEE. 'Trump’s pitch rests on a mistaken impression that the countries he ensnared into a war owe him a favour' -Former Senior US official Trump called on several countries that lack diplomatic ties with Israel to normalise, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan. His request came shortly after he spoke with the leaders of those countries, and then with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a separate call. The US-Israeli war on Iran has jolted the Arab Gulf monarchs, who depend on the US for their security. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar lobbied the US against attacking Iran, but bore the brunt of Tehran’s reprisals, with thousands of Iranian missiles and drones hitting their cities, energy infrastructure and US military bases in the countries. The Gulf states generally responded to the war by giving the US greater access to their bases and overflight permissions. Some, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, even joined in strikes on Iran, according to Reuters. But all share some frustration with Washington. Abu Dhabi has at times called for a more aggressive response, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have advocated for mediation. Former US officials and Gulf analysts across the region say the war has sparked deep discussions about whether the Gulf states can depend on US security guarantees, but Trump has appeared immune to those concerns. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "didn’t think this was going to happen…he didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass…he thought it’d be just another American president that was a loser…but now he has to be nice to me,” Trump said at the onset of the war. “The most troubling part of Trump's approach is that he genuinely thinks these countries owe him if he ends the war,” the former senior US official added. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Appeasing Netanyahu and Iran hawks An Arab diplomat told MEE that Trump may have raised the Abraham Accords as a concession to Netanyahu, who analysts say is opposed to ending the war on Iran. Israel is expected to enter elections in the fall, and justifying an end to the war by expanding the Abraham Accords could help it at the ballot box, the Arab official said. UAE and Israel established fund for joint defence acquisition, sources say Read More » Trump may also have to appease Republican allies in Congress who are closely aligned with Netanyahu. “If it is perceived in the region that a deal with Iran allows the regime to survive and become more powerful over time, we will have poured gasoline on the conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq," US Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on X after Trump announced a deal to end the war was close. US Senator Ted Cruz called a peace deal a "disastrous mistake". The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco normalised ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, which Trump considers his major foreign policy achievement. Netanyahu has also been sensitive to the optics of the Abraham Accords at a time when Israel appears isolated on the world stage. His office boasted earlier this month that the Israeli leader made a wartime visit to the UAE, despite Abu Dhabi having to issue an uncomfortable denial. The Gulf rift The war on Iran has exacerbated divisions within the Gulf over Israel and Iran. The UAE has moved closer to Israel as it seeks a new security partner. 'Ideology, family and history': The UAE-Saudi Arabia feud explained Read More » Israel deployed Iron Dome air defence batteries and personnel to the UAE to operate them during the war. MEE revealed that the two also established a fund to jointly acquire and develop new weapons systems. But Saudi Arabia, which Trump has been lobbying without result to normalise ties with Israel since his first term, has grown even more suspicious of Israel as a result of the war. It was already in a rivalry with the UAE and has since pivoted to deepening defence ties with Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt. “The rivalry between the UAE and Saudi means Saudi Arabia is not going to join the Abraham Accords now. If they do normalise, it's going to be under a different name,” Miller said. “The UAE has already doubled down [on Israel]. But why would any Gulf state tether itself to the most extreme, right-wing government in Israeli history that is in the process of annexing the West Bank and occupying Lebanon,” he added. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security27 May, 12:46
Iran says draft of US deal would reopen Hormuz, end naval blockade
Iran says draft of US deal would reopen Hormuz, end naval blockade Tehran has received a draft of the initial unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the US, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday. According to the report, Washington has agreed to withdraw its military forces from the vicinity of Iran and lift its naval blockade in exchange for Tehran restoring commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month. Military vessels are not included in the agreement, Iranian state TV said, adding that traffic management and shipping routes through the strait would be overseen by Iran in coordination with Oman. The report added that if a final agreement is reached within 60 days, it would be approved through a binding UN Security Council resolution, but contended that the framework is not yet finalised and that Iran would not proceed without first receiving “tangible verification”.
- Security27 May, 23:52
Trump says he will not ease sanctions on Iran as part of a deal
Trump says he will not ease sanctions on Iran as part of a deal US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that easing sanctions on Iran is not under consideration in the current negotiations towards ending the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and paring down Iran's nuclear capability. This comes as Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has repeatedly insisted that unlocking access to his country's money should be a confidence-building measure, if not a precondition, for talks with the US. Both Ghalibaf and Iran’s central bank chief travelled to Qatar on Monday to discuss the release of some $6bn that has been held in the Gulf state - on Washington's orders - since September 2023, signalling a potential breakthrough. Iran maintains it is owed up to $120bn of its own revenue that has been withheld by foreign governments and banking institutions, thanks to US sanctions steadily imposed on the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The 1996 Iran Sanctions Act expanded sanctions to those doing business with Tehran and barred it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. From 2005 onwards, a slew of US sanctions have been imposed on individuals and companies alleged to have ties to terrorist activity. Read more: Trump says he will not ease sanctions on Iran as part of a deal
- Security28 May, 16:13
U.S., Iran exchange fire threatening peace talks
Washington says it shot down five drones over the Strait of Hormuz while Tehran fires ballistic missiles at American base in Kuwait
- Diplomatic29 May, 19:02
Why Pakistan will likely refuse to join the Abraham Accords
Why Pakistan will likely refuse to join the Abraham Accords Zia Ur Rehman on Fri, 05/29/2026 - 18:31 Despite Trump's pressure, costs of normalising ties with Israel are higher in Pakistan than in Arab states due to its more vibrant and contested political landscape US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, DC, on 29 May 2026 (Mandel Ngan/AFP) Off For decades, Pakistani passports have carried a simple but striking inscription: “Valid for all countries of the world except Israel." This position is more than a diplomatic formality. It reflects one of Pakistan’s longest-standing foreign policy principles: Pakistan does not recognise Israel. Rooted in Pakistan's founding in 1947, this policy is reinforced by deep religious sentiment, a sensitive media ecosystem, successive governments' reluctance to challenge either, and a national consensus that views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a historical injustice. Now, this long-standing consensus is facing an unprecedented external test. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); US President Donald Trump has linked a proposed peace deal to end the war with Iran to a dramatic, “mandatory” expansion of the Abraham Accords. The accords were a series of bilateral normalisation agreements between Israel and several Muslim-majority nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, originally brokered by the US during the first Trump administration in 2020. Morocco and Sudan later joined the framework. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, following discussions with regional leaders, including Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump demanded that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and others join the accords “simultaneously” to solidify a historic regional settlement. “It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit,” Trump wrote. Islamabad swiftly rejected the notion. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on 26 May said that Pakistan could not become part of any arrangement that conflicted with its “fundamental ideologies”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “Right now, no initiative in this regard has been taken by us, nor has anyone asked us,” Asif told a Pakistani TV channel. The episode has reignited a debate that surfaces periodically in Pakistan but rarely gains political traction: could Islamabad ever recognise Israel, and under what circumstances? Why Pakistan says 'no' Pakistan's position on Israel has remained largely unchanged since the country's founding. Successive civilian and military governments have maintained that recognition of Israel is contingent upon the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. While governments have differed on many aspects of foreign policy, there has been remarkable continuity on this issue. '[Costs are] significantly higher in Pakistan than in most Arab states' - Pakistani foreign ministry official In January, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, reiterated Islamabad’s position that it would not join the Abraham Accords while responding to questions about President Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace,” which was intended to oversee post-war Gaza. “We have no issue with which countries choose to join or not join the accords,” Andrabi said. “We view the matter through the prism of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.” Analysts say the policy is shaped not only by diplomatic considerations but also by powerful domestic political realities. “Unlike the Gulf monarchies that joined the Abraham Accords, Pakistan operates in a highly contested political environment where public opinion, Islamist parties, jihadi groups, parliament, civil society, and a vibrant media all exert influence over foreign policy debates,” Muhammad Israr Madani, head of the International Research Council for Religious Affairs, an Islamabad-based think-tank, told the Middle East Eye. A senior Pakistani foreign ministry official said the political costs of normalisation are “significantly higher in Pakistan than in most Arab states”. “Any government perceived as abandoning the Palestinian cause would face immediate resistance from religious parties and significant sections of the public," the official said. The issue is further complicated by Pakistan's position on Kashmir. For decades, Pakistani policymakers have drawn parallels between the Palestinian and Kashmiri struggles, framing both as issues of self-determination and international law. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Many analysts argue that recognising Israel without a Palestinian settlement would expose Islamabad to accusations of inconsistency and weaken one of the central pillars of its diplomatic narrative. Pressure from Washington Trump’s latest proposal goes further by linking future regional diplomacy, including a potential understanding with Iran, to an expanded normalisation framework. The proposal has been met with scepticism across much of the Muslim world, particularly amid continuing anger over Israel's genocide in Gaza. Why Trump is using Iran talks to revive the Abraham Accords Read More » The Abraham Accords have been a central pillar of his Middle East strategy since his first tenure. Among the strongest advocates of the initiative is Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's closest allies in Congress. Graham has publicly argued that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan should support the accords, describing their expansion as “beyond transformative for the region and the world”. “If you refuse to go down this path as suggested by President Trump, it will have severe repercussions for our future relationships and make this peace proposal unacceptable,” Graham warned in a post on X on 24 May. “Further, it would be seen by history as a major miscalculation.” The debate comes at a sensitive moment in US-Pakistan relations. Islamabad has sought to position itself as a diplomatic bridge between Washington and Tehran, while simultaneously maintaining close ties with Saudi Arabia and China. Some American lawmakers, such as Senator Graham, and commentators have questioned whether Pakistan can play the role of neutral mediator while remaining firmly opposed to Israel. For Pakistani policymakers, however, joining the Abraham Accords would create new risks. 'The Abraham Accords cannot be sustained through coercion or transactional pressure' - Asif Durrani, Pakistan's former ambassador to Iran and UAE Recognition of Israel could complicate relations with Iran, trigger domestic unrest, and undermine Islamabad's carefully balanced regional diplomacy. “The Abraham Accords cannot be sustained through coercion or transactional pressure,” said Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Iran and the UAE. According to Durrani, lasting regional peace requires “credible diplomacy, mutual security guarantees, de-escalation with Iran, and meaningful progress on Palestine” rather than pressure tactics or attempts to shift responsibility onto regional partners. Veteran Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir also suggested on X that President Trump’s recent remarks show his anger over Pakistan and Saudi Arabia's refusal to join the Abraham Accords. Some analysts, however, caution against assuming that warmer ties with the Trump administration would translate into a shift in Pakistan’s policy towards Israel. They note that Islamabad has historically maintained independent positions on key strategic issues, including China, Afghanistan, and regional security, even in the face of pressure from Washington. “President Trump is aware of those limitations,” said one Islamabad-based security official. “That may explain why he acknowledged that one or two countries could ultimately decide not to join the Abraham Accords. Pakistan is widely viewed as one of the most likely candidates.” The Saudi variable While Pakistan insists that its foreign policy decisions are sovereign, analysts widely agree that any future shift on Israel would be closely linked to Saudi Arabia’s position. As the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and one of Pakistan’s most important strategic partners, Riyadh’s actions carry significant political and religious weight in Islamabad. Abraham Accords: Support for normalisation deals with Israel plummets in Gulf countries Read More » The relationship extends far beyond diplomacy. Saudi Arabia has long provided Pakistan with financial support, investment, employment opportunities for millions of Pakistani workers, and extensive defence cooperation. The two countries further strengthened their ties with a security agreement signed in September, which states that an attack on either country would be considered an attack on both. Although the practical implications of such a commitment remain open to interpretation, the pact highlights the depth of their strategic partnership. Against this backdrop, many observers believe that Saudi Arabia’s approach to Israel will heavily influence any debate within Pakistan over possible normalisation. Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at The Atlantic Council, recently suggested that Pakistan “would feel pressure to reconsider” its position if Riyadh were to join the Abraham Accords. “But given where public sentiment stands, a Pakistani govt that joins them would risk committing political suicide,” he warned in a post on X. Even then, Saudi Arabia continues to insist that normalisation must be tied to a credible pathway towards a two-state solution, a position that largely mirrors Pakistan’s own stance. The Gaza factor If normalisation was politically difficult before October 2023, the war in Gaza has made it considerably harder. Before the conflict, the US was actively courting Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, with many analysts viewing a Saudi-Israeli breakthrough as increasingly likely. Such a move would have placed significant pressure on Pakistan to reassess its own position towards Israel, given Riyadh’s political and religious influence in the Muslim world. That prospect, however, was dramatically altered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza. The war effectively froze Saudi-Israeli normalisation talks. As civilian casualties mounted and images of widespread destruction in Gaza dominated regional media coverage, support for engagement with Israel declined sharply across much of the Muslim world. In Pakistan, the conflict further hardened public attitudes. According to a 2023 Gallup Pakistan survey, 91 percent of Pakistanis said they sympathised with Palestinians in Gaza, while only two percent expressed sympathy for Israel. Religious groups, mainstream political parties, and civil society organisations have portrayed the war as evidence that normalisation without a viable Palestinian state would be both morally and politically untenable. For now, Pakistan appears unlikely to alter its position. Trump’s latest call for an expanded Abraham Accords framework is not the first time Islamabad has faced questions about recognising Israel. Despite shifting regional dynamics and periodic speculation about a policy change, Pakistan’s seven-decade-old red line remains firmly in place. Inside Pakistan Islamabad News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Diplomatic29 May, 19:54
Iran rejects Trump's terms of deal to lift Hormuz blockade
Iran rejects Trump's terms of deal to lift Hormuz blockade Sean Mathews on Fri, 05/29/2026 - 19:46 Trump says he will lift blockade of the strait in return for no tolls in Hormuz and Iranian uranium, which Tehran rejects US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on 25 May 2026 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump said he was lifting a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iran denied his claim that negotiations were taking place on the fate of its nuclear programme, a resolution to which Trump conditioned lifting the naval siege. Trump’s murky statement on Friday is one of several he has made in recent days suggesting a deal to end the war is at hand, only for the stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz to continue as a fragile ceasefire between the two sides prevents a wider flare-up in fighting. Trump conditioned the lifting of the US’s blockade on Iran agreeing not to charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz and allowing the US access to damaged nuclear facilities in order to destroy Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The US bombed three Iranian facilities in June 2025. “The enriched material, sometimes referred to as “Nuclear Dust,” which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains…will be unearthed by the United States…in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED,” Trump wrote on his Truthsocial platform on Friday. As a result, Trump said that “Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of “heading home!” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But Iran said on Friday that “no negotiations" were taking place over its nuclear programme, and a deal had not been finalised. "Regarding the understanding, as I said while speaking to you, exchanges of messages are continuing, but no final agreement has been reached yet," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state media. 'Mixture of truth and lies' Iran's Fars news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Trump's latest comments were a "mixture of truth and lies”. It said Trump’s remarks that the deal included the extraction and destruction of Iran’s highly enriched uranium were “fundamentally baseless". The real reason Iran and the US cannot end the war: Money Read More » The global energy markets have, so far, responded to Trump's optimistic posts. Trump said that he was going to the White House situation room “to make a final determination” on extending the ceasefire based on the points he laid out. Brent Crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.5 percent on Friday. It is down about 15 percent since the start of the month on expectations that Iran and the US will expand their ceasefire, allowing vessels and energy to flow through the Strait of Hormuz again. But the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed on both sides. Iranian vessels and those loaded with Iranian oil are not able to transit the waterway because of the US’s blockade. But the other 2,000 ships stuck in the Gulf are not transiting because of Iran’s own stranglehold over Hormuz. The Islamic Republic has allowed some vessels to transit if they pay a toll or negotiate directly with Tehran. Trump’s social media post rejected this system. “The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” Trump added, calling on Iran to remove any mines in the Strait of Hormuz. "Trump claimed that Iran was obligated to open the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, even though no such clause appears in the text of the agreement," Fars said. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Iran wants sanctions relief and the unfreezing of billions of dollars in funds held abroad as part of any ceasefire extension. Such an agreement, according to reports and analysts, would only be a stepping stone for deeper talks. Trump ruled out the unlocking of frozen funds in a social media post, saying, “No money will be exchanged, until further notice”. It’s unclear whether that language applies only to frozen funds or to waivers allowing Iran to sell its oil on the global market without sanctions. Senior diplomats were huddling as talks progressed. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar travelled to Washington, DC, where he met his counterpart, Marco Rubio, on Friday. Islamabad has been a key intermediary between the US and Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a call with his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, on Friday. Muscat was mediating between the two sides before the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. This week, Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman if it agreed to work on a fee system with Iran for the Strait of Hormuz. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Diplomatic31 May, 01:27
Key issues unresolved in Iran-US talks, Tehran says
Key issues unresolved in Iran-US talks, Tehran says Iran says a proposed agreement with the United States has not yet been finalised and that negotiations remain ongoing through Pakistani mediators and other regional actors, despite signals from Washington that a deal may be close. Iranian officials say several major issues still need to be resolved before any formal announcement can be made. Among the main sticking points are the release of Iran’s frozen assets, which Tehran wants returned immediately upon a deal being announced, while Washington reportedly favours a gradual, performance-based process. Iran is also seeking commitments on a proposed $300 billion “construction fund” and relief from sanctions, particularly on its oil and petrochemicals sector. Iranian officials say a formal agreement will only be announced once consensus is reached on these outstanding issues.
- Security31 May, 03:01
Trump: We are ‘close to a very good agreement’ with Iran
Trump: We are ‘close to a very good agreement’ with Iran US President Donald Trump said Washington is “close to a very good agreement with Iran” but warned that military options remain available if negotiations fail. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said, “I prefer the diplomatic option because signing an agreement means immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz to navigation,” adding that “the only and fundamental guarantee I adhere to is preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” Trump claimed that “the Iranians have already agreed not to develop or purchase a nuclear weapon” and said, “The Iranians are very experienced negotiators and it takes time, but I am not in a hurry.” He added, “We will get what we want from Tehran slowly and steadily, and if that doesn't happen, we will end the conflict in a completely different way.” Trump also asserted that Iran is “in a very bad position” and claimed that US actions against Iranian leadership had made remaining leaders “more rational.”
- Security01 Jun, 20:14
Trump says he 'had a very good call with Hezbollah' to end 'shooting' in Lebanon
Trump says he 'had a very good call with Hezbollah' to end 'shooting' in Lebanon Yasmine El-Sabawi on Mon, 06/01/2026 - 18:59 The US president referred to 'highly placed representatives' who coordinated the discussion US President Donald Trump talks on the phone as he departs the White House for the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on 31 May 2026 (Aaron Schwartz/Reuters) Off US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had "a very good call with Hezbollah" to implement some measure of a ceasefire with Israel in Lebanon, after Israeli forces again issued forced expulsion orders from the Beirut suburbs. "I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. "Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop - That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel." Middle East Eye reached out to the White House for clarity on who from the US government spoke to Hezbollah, and was told that the press office had "nothing to add to the TRUTH post". Hezbollah member of parliament Hassan Fadlallah said later on Monday in a statement that the group supports a "full ceasefire" throughout all of Lebanon, adding it would be a precursor to an Israeli troop withdrawal from all Lebanese territory. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Fadlallah added that Hezbollah rejected a partial truce offer that would spare Beirut from strikes in return for a halt to Hezbollah's attacks in northern Israel. The Lebanese presidency confirmed later on Monday that Hezbollah agreed to a US proposal on a “mutual cessation of attacks” that would expand across all of Lebanon. Netanyahu, however, said Israel's "stance... remains unchanged". "I spoke with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens—Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut. This stance of ours remains unchanged," the Israeli prime minister said on X. "In parallel, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon," he said in reference to Israeli forces. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs began leaving their homes again on Monday after Israel threatened to expand its attacks on the Lebanese capital, raising fears of a renewed assault on Dahieh despite a nominal ceasefire. The latest wave of anxiety followed a statement by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who warned there would be “no calm in Beirut” if Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli forces and northern Israel continued. A ceasefire in principle Israel has killed more than 3,200 Lebanese since Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel, in support of its ally Hamas, on 8 October 2023. A Biden administration-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, signed in November 2024, has been violated by Israel more than a thousand times. The US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February, intensified Israel's assault on Lebanon as it continues to demand that Hezbollah be entirely disarmed. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); On Friday, US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby hosted military delegations from Israel and Lebanon to launch what the Pentagon described as the "security track supporting the ongoing talks" between the two sides. Israel issues new expulsion orders as forces press deeper into Lebanon Read More » "The delegations engaged in productive, military-to-military talks focused on building practical frameworks for regional security and stability," the statement said. "The progress and tangible outcomes from these discussions will directly inform the Department of State-led political track," which is scheduled to reconvene this week, marking the third such meeting, the Pentagon said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors for direct talks in Washington in late April, and again last month for a longer discussion. It was the first time in four decades that there had been face-to-face engagement between the two sides at a high level. Hezbollah was not represented. The US designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997. But it remains the foremost military actor in Lebanon, and is represented in the country's parliament. It was formed in 1982 to explicitly counter Israel's occupation and influence in Lebanon. "I know some of you were shouting questions about a ceasefire," Rubio told reporters at the first talks in April. "This is a lot more than just about that. This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah’s influence in this part of the world and the - not just the damage that it’s inflicted on Israel - [but] the damage that it’s inflicted on the Lebanese people." That meeting ultimately lasted just two hours. "It's certainly a good thing that the conversation took place, and it's a good thing that the United States agreed to host it, even though it was...at a low level, purely exploratory," Steven Simon, a former National Security Council official in the Clinton administration, told Middle East Eye at the time. "It's really difficult to see how these talks will alter the course of combat operations, which are what shape the diplomatic environment and the diplomatic possibilities," he added. Trump insists Iran is at the negotiating table Also on Monday, Trump appeared to rebuff Iranian reports that Tehran decided to pull out of ongoing talks with Washington, precisely because Israel escalated its attacks on Lebanon. Hezbollah has received Iranian training and support since its inception, and considers Iran its foremost partner. Iran halts talks with US, says it will close Bab el-Mandeb Strait: Report Read More » "Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Just hours earlier, Iran reportedly suspended all exchanges with mediators to end the war, the Tasnim news agency said. "Given the continuing crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Lebanon and considering that Lebanon was one of the preconditions for the ceasefire and that this ceasefire has now been violated on all fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team is suspending dialogues and exchange of texts through mediators," Tasnim reported. Tasnim said that Iran wants an "immediate cessation" of Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Tasnim, which is close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that Iran and its allies had "set their determination to completely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait" at the entrance to the Red Sea. War on Iran Washington News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Political02 Jun, 07:24
If Muhammad will not go to the mountain, Trump will find him from space
If Muhammad will not go to the mountain, Trump will find him from space Hamid Dabashi on Mon, 06/01/2026 - 08:47 The US president's claim that most Iranian nuclear workers are called Muhammad reveals an Islamophobia that mocks a name carried by generations of Muslim scientists and scholars A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-US billboard depicting US President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz in Tehran on 30 May 2026 (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters) Off You need a whole AI-generated search engine, perhaps one of those software gadgets that the Palantir Technologies chief executive Alex Karp employs to help Israel commit genocide in Palestine and mass murder children in Iran, to monitor and catalogue the mere number of unvarnished stupidities Donald Trump commits every single day of his miserable existence - but this one gets the cake. During an interview with Fox News (where else?), he was blabbering away to the host Bret Baier about the US Space Force's ability to surveil Iranian nuclear sites: Space Force, which I created, has got cameras - nine different cameras - in space on that site. We know everybody that moves there. We can read the name of a person. If his name is Muhammad something - and most of 'em are Muhammad, you can guess about 50 percent right - we can read his name right on his tag from space. Let us see now how many Muhammads there are anyway. We Muslims have a hadith (the sayings and doings of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) that says: "God is beautiful and he loves beauty." (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "Muhammad" (from the Arabic trilateral root H-M-D) means "he who has been praised, loved, graced" and is therefore praiseworthy. What is wrong with that? So first and foremost there is nothing wrong with the precious name Muhammad or any of its variations like Mahmoud, Ahmad, Hamed, or yours truly, Hamid. Our parents have loved our prophet and named us after him or his children, or else find our name in the Holy Quran through bibliomancy. But we also carry the names of other prophets or saints we hold respectfully and dearly like Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), Mariam (Mary), Ebrahim (Abraham), Ya'qub (Jacob), Nuh (Noah) and others. We love and respect them all. We name our children after them too. They are our prophets too. Have you ever seen a Christian or a Jew named Muhammad or Ali? You will find many Muslims named Musa (Moses) or Isa (Jesus) or Ebrahim (Abraham). Now, who is embracing the world and all its precious traditions more fully? A Muhammad or a Donald Trump? Among them Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (circa 780-850), the legendary Iranian scientist. The most famous Palestinian Isa is of course Isa ibn Mariam, Jesus the son of Mary. Now, who is embracing the world and all its precious traditions more fully? A Muhammad or a Donald Trump? It is only vagabond carpetbaggers like Donald Trump and other Islamophobes he inspires and empowers who have no clue where their names come from. Donald is actually a Scottish masculine given name, derived from the Gaelic name Domhnall. Alas, it is wasted on this particular Donald. Donald Duck is a far better specimen of the name. The larger question, upstream from Donald Trump's incurable racism and bigotry, is not how utterly and irredeemably illiterate and xenophobic the US president is. The question is the Islamophobic environment that has informed, sustained and enabled his racism. Through Muslim lenses Now consider those cameras Donald Trump says are in the sky watching over Iranian nuclear facilities, and all those Muhammads looking after them. Who invented those cameras? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Look closer at their lenses. The Arab Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham (circa 965-1040), known in the Latin West as Alhacen or Alhazen, was born in Basra in southern Iraq, hence he is also known as al-Basri. Islam and the West: The entire binary is false Read More » He is the father of modern optics, who revolutionised experimentation with lenses, mirrors, refraction and reflection. Plenty of Muhammads feature in his ancestry and scientific heritage. Now, Sir (Trump loves to be called "Sir"), before you look down at those Iranian sites with all those lenses that Ibn al-Haytham, a Muslim scientist, helped to invent, look at the stars around those cameras and you will see half of them are named after Arab or Muslim scientists and astrophysicists - among them plenty of Muhammads. While you are at it, look up the name of yet another Muhammad: Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973-1048). Astrophysicists from around the world have honoured his name and his immense scientific legacy in the solar system by naming a major lunar feature and a planet after the Persian polymath. Look into the moon now: a prominent 81km impact crater on the far side of the Moon, near the eastern limb, is also named after him. Jesus, you cannot get rid of them Muhammads. My Columbia colleague George Saliba spent a lifetime documenting the most detailed and scientific account of the impact of Muslim scientists on astrophysics. Look up one of his major books, Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance (MIT, 2007). Sane and reasonable people will learn how hundreds of stars got their Muslim names, many of them Muhammad. Paid to hate Look at the genealogy of that Islamophobia. Look at the roster of their ignoble names: Valentina Gomez, Sam Harris, Bill Maher, Laura Loomer, Bret Stephens, Dana Bash, Van Jones, Hillary Clinton, Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes, ad nauseam. If anywhere in the world other than the US you do not know who half of these people are, just count your blessings and move on with your life. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); You look at these contemptible names and ask yourselves: what are the two common denominators that hold them together? They are all genocidal Zionists who are as illiterate about Islam as Donald Trump is. They are all committed to the racist apartheid state of Israel, astoundingly ignorant of Islam, and cannot tell the difference between an Arabic, a Persian, a Turkish or an Urdu sentence if their miserable lives depended on it. And yet they are lucratively paid to spread their pathological fear and hatred of about two billion human beings. The next obvious question is why they have become so active in the aftermath of the US-Israeli war against Iran, into which they duped Donald Trump to join them. The answer is also similar. They are losing America, if they ever owned it. Look at the speed with which they are crawling out of the woodwork: Randy Fine, Andy Ogles, Tommy Tuberville, and then this new character Valentina Gomez, a far-right Republican candidate who is not too far from entering the US Congress with Aipac and ADL active support. Most notorious of them all is this Sam Harris character, who made a reputation for himself as a "neo-atheist". One hears of the so-called "neo-atheists" like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens or Sam Harris camouflaging their Muslim hatred (while endorsing genocidal Zionism) with a delusional sense of atheism. The cultured and literate world knows of two seminal poets, the Syrian Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri (953-1057) and the Persian Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), who made a sublimely humanist legacy of their atheism and agnosticism. If we can read al-Ma'arri and Omar Khayyam's poetry and bask in their humanist agnosticism, why should we bother with hatemongers like Harris? Our own house Before we get too carried away, let us also remember Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (made palatable to Trump as MBZ) and Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (made palatable to Jared Kushner as MBS). They too are Muhammads, right? And so are a whole gang of other corrupt and cowardly rulers from one end of the Muslim world to the next, whom Trump and his son-in-law Jared "Ivanka" Kushner actually love to rob blind of their wealth. They too are "Muslims". Right? Marking the particularities of Islamophobes in the US or elsewhere does not mean we Muslims are entirely blameless in our own midst, or innocent bystanders in world affairs. Who provided Jeffrey Epstein with a piece of Kiswah, the cloth hanging over the Kaaba? How many millions of Muslims, particularly in the Arab world, stood idly by as Palestinians were being slaughtered in their tens of thousands by Israel? Are people in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and elsewhere not Muslims? What did they do when genocidal Zionists were mass murdering Palestinians or Lebanese, or waged vicious war against Iran? Who stood up to the murderous Zionists? How many Muslim-majority countries joined Jared Kushner's "Abraham" Accord? How many Muslim countries give their territory as military bases to the US, and by extension to Israel, to carpet bomb Palestine, Lebanon and Iran - while stealing what is left of Palestine and moving into Syria too? How many Muslim leaders were customers of the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein? Who provided Jeffrey Epstein with a piece of Kiswah, the cloth hanging over the Kaaba? Who were the Muslim American leaders who would go to iftar with US presidents precisely when those presidents were providing arms to Israel to slaughter Palestinians? We Muslims have some serious housecleaning of our own to do too. A rising generation Look at the attack on Muslims in San Diego on 18 May. Who instigates so much hatred against Muslims, and why? The answer is simple. Genocidal Zionists are scared. They know Muslims are rising in power. We are outnumbering, outwitting and outsmarting them, and will soon outrun them - "them" meaning the Randy Fine type of characters - in populating the democratic institutions of this country. Don't be fooled: This war is not only US versus Iran, it's Israel against America Read More » It is the pro-Israel billionaire Miriam Adelson's gambling dollars against the bold and brilliant Muslims of the next generation of Americans. If you thought the congresswomen Rashida Tlaib or Ilhan Omar were too radical, you did not notice the rise of Zohran Mamdani in New York. Genocidal Zionists led a massive attack against him, and he defeated them all to become the mayor of our city. Now you just wait for the next generation, like Abdul El-Sayed, now running for the Senate in Michigan. If you do not know who the left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker is, and what he is up to in revolutionising the Democratic Party, you have not been reading the panicked pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on him. We are not tribal, though - we go wherever our democratic socialism takes us. Our senators, mayors, congresspersons and widely popular influencers are not committed to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, or the Egyptian or Iranian ruling elites the way genocidal Zionists are "Israel First" fanatics. We are ecumenical. Personally, I think of the Armenian sister Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks, as an honorary Muslim, or else proudly call myself Armenian in her company. Now, as for those Trump cameras watching over Iran, do you think the people who put their names on half of those stars around your cameras do not know you are looking at them? How do you know that what you think you are looking at is not staged to make a damn fool out of you, the way they made a damn fool out of the entirety of the Mossad intelligence apparatus, thinking they could change the regime in Iran "in four days"? Count those days again. Theirs and yours. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. War on Iran Opinion Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0
- Security03 Jun, 09:50
Kuwait airport hit by Iranian drones as US-Iran talks stall
The fragile ceasefire in the US Iran war was tested overnight as Tehran launched a series of drone and missile attacks on Kuwait, hitting and severely damaging its international airport. Kuwaiti authorities have insisted that missiles are being intercepted while the US has launched what it calls self-defensive strikes on the Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz in response. It comes as negotiations between Washington and Tehran appear to be stalling.
- Security03 Jun, 10:51
Middle East crisis live: Trump claims Iranian supreme leader is involved in US negotiations
US president says he would ‘like to meet’ Mojtaba Khamenei, who US officials have previously said was injured in attacks, and says Iran has said it will not have a nuclear weapon Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Donald Trump has claimed Iran has agreed it will not have a nuclear weapon and that the country’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is involved in negotiations with the US. One person was killed and several people were injured in an Iranian drone attack that targeted Kuwait’s airport, according to authorities and state media. Flights were suspended this morning but some later resumed after the country’s civil aviation authority said it assessed the damage at the airport. The attack came hours after US forces fired a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker attempting to break through the American blockade of the strait of Hormuz, and later said they repelled Iranian reprisal attacks in the region and attacked sites on Iran’s Qeshm Island. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it attacked the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain with missiles and drones in response to the strike on Qeshm, a claim the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) denied. Centcom said two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait “fell short or broke apart enroute”, and that three missiles targeting Bahrain were intercepted by US and Bahrain. US forces also said they shot down three one-way attack drones “launched by Iran toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters” but gave no further details. Israel kept up strikes on southern Lebanon, pressing its campaign against Hezbollah a day after Donald Trump asked Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Beirut to avert further escalation in the three-month-old war. Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire hit south Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, Lebanese state media reported. Israel’s military ordered residents of the city of Nabatieh, a major Hezbollah stronghold, to leave ahead of strikes. Lebanon’s government has said it would seek a full ceasefire in a new round of talks with Israeli officials in Washington that began on Tuesday, the latest in a series of face-to-face meetings Beirut has attended despite Hezbollah objections. Hezbollah said it fired artillery shells at Israeli troops near Beaufort and targeted Israeli military vehicles south of Nabatieh on Tuesday. It has not announced cross-border attacks since Monday. Continue reading...
- Security03 Jun, 21:14
Iran says it hit US naval vessel, as it resumes talks with Washington
Iran says it hit US naval vessel, as it resumes talks with Washington MEE staff on Wed, 06/03/2026 - 19:14 Iranian strikes in response to US attacks killed one person and injured dozens on Wednesday People hold Hezbollah flags during a rally in Tehran, Iran, on 1 June 2026 (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters) Off Iran said it targeted a US military vessel hosting a "control and command" centre on Wednesday, as it approached Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman. US Central Command denied any such attack. Kuwait's airport also sustained significant damage in what was originally blamed on Iranian strikes, which Iran said was the result of a Patriot missile interceptor gone awry. US Central Command has described Iran's more than 30 ballistic missiles aimed at Kuwait on Wednesday as a "deliberate, calculated, and unjustified attack", after one person was killed, and some 60 others were wounded at Kuwait airport. Kuwait has been a frequent target for Tehran, which claims that the Gulf country has been used as a launchpad for US missiles against it. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee tore into US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the issue, as Rubio testified in Congress on Wednesday. "Did you warn the president that launching US strikes against Iran would result in retaliatory attacks on US allies, partners, and Americans living or working in the Middle East?" Gregory Meeks asked multiple times, demanding that Rubio give him a yes or no answer. "We were prepared for any response," Rubio said. Kuwait, which has arrested and deported those who have filmed missile activity, maintains that it has not allowed Washington to use its bases for the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February. Back at the negotiating table (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But while hostilities appear to be escalating again after a fragile ceasefire brokered by Pakistan went into effect in early April, Iran has now acknowledged it is back at the negotiating table with the US. Iranian state media indicated that officials had walked away earlier this week due to Israel's relentless bombardment of Lebanon, owing to Tehran's relationship with its key ally, Hezbollah. Iran says Patriot missile interceptor hit Kuwait airport, US denies Read More » But on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Lebanese broadcaster al-Mayadeen that contacts with Washington have not been cut off, but no progress has been made in the negotiations. Texts have been exchanged between the two sides, Araghchi said. The negotiations, according to US President Donald Trump, must be premised on an end to nuclear activity as well as Iran's ballistic missile programme, which is a red line for Tehran. "What Iran was trying to do was build a conventional shield of drones and missiles and navy and capabilities," Rubio told lawmakers. "The president was not going to allow them to build a conventional shield behind which they can develop their nuclear programme." Operation Epic Fury, Rubio testified, has been wound down entirely. He said he would not call the current exchanges of fire with Iran a "war". "Epic Fury achieved its purpose in degrading that conventional shield, and it has brought them to the negotiation table, and hopefully will lead to the point where Iran will give up its enrichment ambitions," he said. Iran's Fars news agency, citing a source within the Iranian negotiating team, reported on Wednesday that any memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran must go through a four-stage mechanism, indicating that results may take time. Trump, on the other hand, has indicated in several press gaggles that a deal with Iran could be imminent. Iran has made it clear that any agreement that does not shield Lebanon from further Israeli attacks will not be considered. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Lebanese and Israeli officials met in Washington for the third round of talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, after Trump announced on Monday that he'd had a call with Hezbollah representatives who stated they would abide by a ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would only abide by a ceasefire when it comes to Beirut, suggesting that strikes and ground troops in south Lebanon remain on his agenda. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security04 Jun, 12:41
Iranian press review: Iran’s inaction over Israel’s war in Lebanon questioned by critics
Iranian press review: Iran’s inaction over Israel’s war in Lebanon questioned by critics MEE correspondent on Thu, 06/04/2026 - 12:03 Meanwhile, a man receives a harsh sentence for anti-establishment protest footage, a writer argues that the war burst Dubai’s bubble, and a wave of espionage-related arrests sparks concern The aftermath of Israeli air strikes in the Burj al-Chamali area near the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon, 2 June 2026 (Kawnat Haju/AFP) Off Iranian establishment criticises 'silence' on Lebanon Iran’s inaction over Israel’s escalating war on Lebanon has drawn criticism from figures within the Iranian establishment. Iran had made ending Israeli attacks on Lebanon one of the main conditions for its ongoing ceasefire with the US. However, as the Israeli onslaught in Lebanon intensified in recent days, some media figures criticised what they described as Iran’s limited response, which was confined to condemnation and threats. The Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published comments by some of its experts on the issue, warning that continued lack of action could also be dangerous for Iran. Ali Abdi, a hardline analyst, was among those who argued that Iran’s inaction could weaken its “popular support” in Lebanon. He also foresaw that failing to respond to Israel’s continued killing in Lebanon could harm Iran’s position in the Strait of Hormuz and its ability to confront a US naval blockade. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Warning against the loss of territory held by groups that Iran refers to as the “Axis of Resistance”, a regional alliance opposed to Israel and US influence, he wrote: “We should not lose areas for fear of another war. If we lose areas of resistance today, tomorrow we will hear the sound of [the enemies’] jets in Tehran and the blockade will tighten.” Seyyedeh Fatemeh Mousavi was another media figure who criticised the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington as “days of silence”. Referring to Iran’s missile capabilities, she called for an end to that silence, writing: “Today, oppressed Lebanon is, more than ever, the victim of days spent in silence. Oppressed Lebanon is still waiting for the resistance front to recognise that negotiation is a trick and to break the silence with missiles.” Ten-year prison sentence for protest video An Iranian man has been sentenced to a decade in prison for recording a video of a protester defiantly sitting in the path of riot police motorbikes during demonstrations that took place in December 2025. Massoud Piyaho went to prison on Tuesday to start his sentence, local media reported. In Tehran, exhausted Iranians are caught between war and the shadow of war Read More » The video was recorded in the early days of demonstrations that began in Tehran following the sudden collapse of the rial and spread across Iranian cities. Since the protests were crushed by authorities, officials say 3,117 people have been killed, although human rights groups argue that figure should be doubled. Although Piyaho shared the video with only a few close people, it quickly spread through Farsi-language social media. Different versions of the footage were later recreated using AI as photos and videos and published by international media outlets. Following the circulation of these images and videos, the protester featured in the footage became known as “Tehran’s Tank Man”, a reference to the iconic image of a lone man standing in front of tanks during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China. Piyaho’s lawyer, Hassan Aghakhani, said his client received the heavy sentence under harsher espionage penalties introduced following Israel’s attack on Iran in June 2025. War on Iran burst the Dubai bubble, says author The role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as one of the US and Israel's main allies in the war on Iran has triggered a wave of criticism in Iranian media. The criticism intensified after reports revealed Abu Dhabi's direct military involvement in the attacks on Iran. In one article, conservative documentary filmmaker and author Reza Ostadi compared Dubai to a balloon that burst as a result of the recent war. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Ostadi described his experience in the UAE as living in a police state. He portrayed Dubai as “a highly secure city where we could feel the presence of police and security forces even in the elevators of apartment buildings”. He also wrote about the impact of the recent war on expatriates living in Dubai, describing Iranian drone attacks on the city as a factor that “collapsed its fake luxury and artificial splendour”. “The city that had pretended for the past 20 years to be a second home for the world’s wealthy is now collapsing,” Ostadi wrote. “As its expatriate residents fled, the historical reality of this fake city was being revealed.” Lawyer questions wave of espionage arrests Reports that thousands of people have been arrested in Iran on espionage charges since the start of the war have prompted growing criticism from lawyers, activists and commentators, with some questioning both the scale of the arrests and the circumstances behind them. In response to the report that over 6,500 people had been arrested on accusations of spying for Israel and the US, Iranian lawyer Ali Mojtahedzadeh said such figures reflected a failure of the security apparatus rather than its strength. Israeli claims about an Iran 'threat' were always a lie. Now we have proof Read More » Assuming the official figures are accurate, Mojtahedzadeh wrote: “If we accept that such a large amount of anti-security activity has taken place in the country in recent weeks and months, the first question is how these networks were formed, how they grew, and why they were not identified before reaching a crisis stage.” He also questioned the conditions that could lead such a large number of Iranians to cooperate with the country's enemies. “Even if all these arrests are accurate and documented, one more important question still remains: what conditions make people in such large numbers act against the interests of their country?” he said. Mojtahedzadeh argued that the rise in security-related cases should not be viewed only as a security issue. He said it also reflects a weakening of social ties and warned that focusing only on punishment would not address the underlying causes of the problem. “If these roots are ignored, short-term measures may remove some individuals, but they will not solve the problem,” he concluded. *Iranian press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by MEE. Iranian Press Review News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security04 Jun, 18:20
Lawmakers vote to curb Trump war on Iran ahead of similar effort on Lebanon
Lawmakers vote to curb Trump war on Iran ahead of similar effort on Lebanon Yasmine El-Sabawi on Thu, 06/04/2026 - 17:20 The move is a significant bipartisan rebuke, but remains symbolic US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib speaks during an event marking the one-year anniversary of the 'Block the Bombs Act', on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on 4 June 2026 (Kylie Cooper/Reuters) Off The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 215-208 to curb President Donald Trump's war-making authority on Iran until he seeks congressional approval. Four Republicans voted with Democrats to pass the measure, including Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, who will depart the lower chamber in January after he was defeated last month in the most expensive Republican primary ever by a candidate with backing from pro-Israel lobbying groups. It's worth noting that more than a dozen Republicans were absent from the House on Wednesday, meaning they did not vote at all. The move still stands as a significant bipartisan rebuke of Trump's largely unpopular joint war with Israel on Iran, but will have to now be taken up by the Senate, where it has a good chance of getting through, given the Senate had previously advanced a similar resolution. But as he did in 2019, when lawmakers in both chambers decided to invoke the War Powers Act and demand he seek their authorisation for US participation in the Saudi war on Yemen, Trump will almost certainly veto the measure when it lands on his desk. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Back then, lawmakers were unable to override that veto with a two-thirds majority. "Trump's war has failed to accomplish the Trump administration’s stated goals with respect to Iran. If anything, it has pushed a diplomatic resolution of Iran’s nuclear program further away," Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement following the vote. "The war has undermined the credibility of US negotiations and allowed Iran to demonstrate its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Americans are paying 50 percent more at the gas pump since the war began and footing the bill for billions per week in costs for a war they overwhelmingly oppose." The president of the National Iranian American Council, Jamal Abdi, called the successful vote a "clear and unmistakable" signal from the majority of US lawmakers. "President Trump needs to stop dithering and bring this disastrous war to a close before more harm is done. Otherwise, more harm to the nation and more political blowback will follow," he said in a statement. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Lebanon Key to Iran agreeing to any deal for nuclear concessions and the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz - as Trump demands - is a ceasefire in Lebanon. On Thursday, Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib will be forcing a vote on her war powers resolution to end US participation in what she called "the genocidal war on Lebanon", given Washington's logistical and intelligence support to Israel, including the sale of weapons. Lebanon-Israel ceasefire plans in doubt following Hezbollah's rejection Read More » "Since early March, Israel’s military has murdered more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, including 128 paramedics and healthcare workers. The Israeli military has focused on bombing ambulances, medical facilities, and homes - forcibly displacing 20 percent of the population," she said in a statement. "These are all war crimes." This comes as the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee on Thursday examines next year's US military budget, which has come under scrutiny for a proposal that would effectively merge US and Israeli weapons development projects, technology, and research efforts. A New Policy, a think tank with a lobbying arm founded by two former Biden administration officials who resigned over US support of Israel's war on Gaza, said last week it "strongly opposes" section 224 of the budget. "This approach exposes sensitive US capabilities to counterintelligence risk, normalizes technologies developed in contexts of occupation and civilian harm, disadvantages US defense companies' ability to compete with Israeli competitors, deepens US legal and reputational exposure without clear strategic necessity, and aims to hide continuing US military support to Israel from Congressional and public transparency." It's unlikely, however, that Republican lawmakers who do not wish to run afoul of Trump would take into consideration back-to-back successful war powers resolutions when it comes to long-term military support for Israel. Former President Joe Biden once said that if Israel did not exist, the US would have to create it, suggesting that Israel carries out US interests in the region. What the law says The 1973 War Powers Act allows any lawmaker to introduce a resolution to withdraw US armed forces from a conflict not authorised by Congress. The legislative branch, which acts as the country’s purse, is supposed to be the one that declares war - not the executive branch. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "There are some things about the Constitution [that] are not clear [but] this point is crystal, crystal clear," Chris Edelson, a constitutional scholar at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, previously told Middle East Eye. Since the 9/11 attacks in particular, the foggy nature of the so-called "war on terror" has enabled the White House to call the shots, especially as Washington has carried out air strikes in countries from Somalia to Pakistan without an official declaration of war. The 1973 statute notably does make room for the president to take 60 days of military action before either formally ending hostilities, seeking authorisation from Congress, or requesting a 30-day extension. Edelson argued, however, that it is too "ambiguously worded" to be a law that supersedes the Constitution itself. On 30 April, some three weeks after Pakistan brokered a ceasefire between the US and Iran, a US administration official told Reuters: "For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28, have terminated." It followed remarks at a Senate hearing by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who indicated that the 60-day war window for the president is automatically frozen when a ceasefire is called. Democrats, and some Republicans, rejected that assessment. Over the last week alone, the US launched three rounds of air strikes on Iran, which prompted a response against Washington's Gulf partners, culminating in an attack on Kuwait on Wednesday that destroyed an airport terminal, killed an Indian national, and wounded more than 60 other people. War on Iran Washington News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security04 Jun, 22:40
Rubio condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait
Rubio condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday condemned Iran's "outrageous" attack this week on a Kuwait airport that killed one person and wounded dozens. Meeting Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in Washington, Rubio "condemned Iran's outrageous and unacceptable attacks targeting Kuwait International Airport and other parts of the country and expressed condolences for those killed and injured in that attack," according to a State Department readout.
- Security05 Jun, 11:59
Israel sent troops to 'Azerbaijan, UAE, Iraq and Somaliland' during Iran war
Israel sent troops to 'Azerbaijan, UAE, Iraq and Somaliland' during Iran war MEE staff on Fri, 06/05/2026 - 11:49 CNN reports Israeli special forces operated near the Iranian border, with covert sites established across the region Israeli army soldiers patrol around a position along Israel's southern boundary with the Gaza Strip on 13 June 2024 (Jack Guez/AFP) Off Israel deployed special forces to Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Somaliland during its war with Iran, according to a CNN report published on Friday. Citing four sources familiar with the matter, CNN said Mossad agents and elite Israeli military units, including an airborne rescue unit of the Israel Air Force, were sent to southern Azerbaijan, near the Iranian border and around 100km from the city of Tabriz at its closest point. The personnel reportedly carried out drone operations and intelligence-gathering missions. One of the operations launched from Azerbaijani territory was said to be the killing of Rahman Moghaddam, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) special intelligence operations division, on 4 March, according to one source cited by CNN. Drones struck Nakhchivan International Airport and a nearby village in Azerbaijan the following day. Baku blamed Iran for the attack, an allegation Tehran denied. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); CNN added that Israel maintained a network of covert sites and operational bases across the region, including in Iraq, the UAE and Somaliland. According to the report, some of the facilities were established with the knowledge of host authorities, while others may not have been. The Azerbaijani embassy in Washington rejected the allegations, telling CNN it dismissed "unfounded claims" that Azerbaijani territory had been used for operations against third countries. Somaliland used as base CNN further reported that Somaliland, the self-declared republic in northern Somalia that lacks international recognition, hosted covert Israeli positions. In December, Israel became the first UN member state to recognise Somaliland as an independent country. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); There was no immediate response from Somaliland authorities to the report. Iraqi farmer killed to hide evidence of two Israeli bases in country: Report Read More » The claims follow reports last month by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times that Israel had established two secret facilities in Iraq during the conflict. Separately, Axios and the Financial Times reported that Israel deployed troops, an Iron Dome battery and other air defence systems to the UAE during the war. CNN also reported that Israel had prepared a covert operation along the Azerbaijan-Iran border during protests in Iran in January. According to the sources, the mission was designed to pave the way for future operations by establishing surveillance capabilities in the area. Special forces and stealth aircraft were later used to install intelligence-gathering equipment in the area, which was reportedly employed to spy on Iranian military movements and facilities. Israel maintains close strategic ties with both Azerbaijan and the UAE. Its relationship with Baku spans energy, defence and cybersecurity, while cooperation with Abu Dhabi includes economic, intelligence and security partnerships. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security06 Jun, 08:56
Iran’s nightly pro-government rallies reveal both unity and deep divisions
Iran’s nightly pro-government rallies reveal both unity and deep divisions MEE correspondent on Sat, 06/06/2026 - 09:45 Demonstrations, diplomacy and war anxieties shape the mood on Iranian streets A woman holds a portrait of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally against the US and Israel in Tehran on 29 May 2026 (AFP) Off Standing among a crowd gathered in central Tehran late one night in May, Mohsen, 34, appeared visibly frustrated as he spoke. “Why should we stay home?” he said. “So they can attack again, send their soldiers in and turn Iran into another Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya?” Since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February, Mohsen said he has attended as many of the nightly rallies in support of the Iranian government as possible. To him, the anti-US and anti-Israel gatherings show that at least part of the country views the conflict less as a political struggle and more as a matter of national survival. “Of course we come out every night,” he told Middle East Eye. “We want them to understand that we will never allow foreigners onto this land.” The rallies started around the middle of March. Since then, groups of people have been gathering almost every night in major squares across Iran. They wave Iranian flags, chant against the United States and Israel and stay in the streets for hours. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The demonstrations continued despite a nationwide internet shutdown and continued after restrictions were partially lifted. Authorities have not hidden their support for the rallies. In Tehran especially, streets leading to gathering points are often blocked off. Police forces are present every night. Loudspeakers and stages are set up before crowds arrive. State media describe the demonstrations as spontaneous public movements. But critics see something else. Hessam, a 36-year-old Tehran resident, said he went to several rallies himself after constantly seeing footage of them on television. “I wanted to see what was really happening there,” he said. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); According to him, many of the people attending are the same groups that usually appear during crackdowns on protests. “A lot of them are Basij members, religious hard-liners or Revolutionary Guard supporters,” he said. “Now they walk through the streets every night shouting slogans while everyone else has to deal with the noise and disruption.” Hessam believes that if government opponents were ever given the same freedom to gather publicly, the crowds would be much larger. Between patriotism and political anger Not everyone attending the rallies, however, appears to be closely tied to the state. For some Iranians, the fear of a broader war with the United States and Israel has complicated old political divisions. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Mona, a 41-year-old woman from Tehran, said she has spent years criticising the government, especially over domestic issues. Still, she added, war changes how many people think. In Tehran, exhausted Iranians are caught between war and the shadow of war Read More » “You should not take family disputes outside the house,” she said. “People may disagree with me, but I think there is a difference between a government that created problems for its own people and foreign countries that may want to destroy the country altogether.” Mona has attended the rallies about 10 times. “Foreign powers leave destruction behind and move on,” she said. “A dictator may pressure people and create suffering, but in the end he is still Iranian. He would not want to see the country destroyed.” She added that many people around her also look at the wider region and feel uneasy about where another war could lead. “Look at Gaza, Lebanon or Syria,” she says. “People see what happened there.” 'Streets, streets, streets' In recent weeks, Iranian officials have repeatedly praised the rallies. In a written statement published on 9 April, Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, called on supporters to remain active in public spaces and said ongoing negotiations with Washington should not be seen as a reason to leave the streets. “The presence of the people in the streets has created a new epic,” he wrote. “Negotiations may continue, but people should not think their presence in the streets is no longer necessary.” The message was widely seen as an attempt to sustain public mobilisation even as diplomatic contacts with the United States continued behind the scenes. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker and Iran’s lead negotiator in talks with Washington, has also encouraged supporters to continue gathering. On 11 March, he wrote in a post on X: “Dear people of Iran, your presence in the streets has confused the enemy. This humble soldier has three requests: streets, streets, streets.” For supporters of the rallies, that message still matters. 'They have taken away our peace' Hossein, a 25-year-old engineering student, said he has lost count of how many nights he has spent at the gatherings. “It's become part of our routine,” he said. “Even during the Nowruz holidays, when we travelled outside Tehran, we still joined the rallies there.” Hossein sees participation as both a national and religious duty. 'We want them to understand that we will never allow foreigners onto this land' - Mohsen, Tehran resident “We are still in a wartime situation,” he said. “Some people lost limbs or gave their lives defending the country. I cannot carry weapons or operate missiles, but at least I can show support for them.” Others see the rallies very differently. Masoud, a 62-year-old resident of central Tehran, says months of nightly gatherings have exhausted people living nearby. “They have taken away our peace,” he said. “Every night it’s the same thing. Loudspeakers, shouting, blocked streets. A group of people gather outside while the rest of us cannot sleep or live normally.” “We are human too,” he adds. “Do we not deserve some peace and quiet? What did we do wrong that we should lose sleep every night because of this?” Growing tensions over negotiations The demonstrations have also exposed divisions inside Iran’s conservative camp, especially over negotiations with the United States. Although Khamenei has publicly supported Ghalibaf’s diplomatic efforts, hard-line factions continue attacking any form of engagement with Washington. Mahdi, a 29-year-old member of Basij, a volunteer paramilitary militia, from western Tehran, said he is deeply opposed to the talks. “Our martyred leader repeatedly said negotiations with America were forbidden,” he said, referring to former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war. Iran has won the war. Trump and Netanyahu now face a reckoning Read More » Like others in the principlist camp, Mahdi believes the rallies should also send a message to Iranian officials involved in diplomacy. “If Ghalibaf wants the same fate as [former president Hassan] Rouhani and [former foreign minister Mohammad Javad] Zarif, he can continue these negotiations,” he said. “But Hezbollah youth will not allow our leader’s path to be forgotten.” (In Iran, “Hezbollah” is a term used by hard-line activists and supporters of the establishment to describe themselves.) In recent weeks, these divisions have become harder to hide, even inside the conservative camp itself. In a message published on 28 May, Mojtaba Khamenei praised Ghalibaf while also warning political factions against deepening internal divisions. “More than ever, unity must be protected,” he wrote. “Do not turn disagreements into conflict and division.” Many in Tehran interpreted the message as a warning aimed at principlists who still believe confrontation with the US and Israel should continue through military escalation rather than diplomacy. War on Iran Tehran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
- Security07 Jun, 06:16
US Muslim rights group condemns Israeli attacks that killed 7 Palestinians
The Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced Israeli forces on Saturday for killing a seven-month-old infant in the occupied West Bank and six displaced civilians sheltering in a Gaza tent, urging Washington to halt military support for Tel Aviv.
- Security07 Jun, 02:40
US, Iran trade blows as Gulf allies targeted
• Iran launches fresh missile, drone attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain • Kuwait says new attack ‘dangerous escalation’; Bahrain denounces ‘blatant aggression’ • Falling debris causes ‘material damage’ in Kuwait • Centcom says four attack drones downed near Hormuz; Iranian coastal radar sites also hit • Trump says Iran has ‘22pc’ of missiles left • US okays sale of $2bn in anti-drone weapons to Kuwait KUWAIT CITY: Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait early on Saturday, while the United States said it struck Iranian coastal radar sites after intercepting missiles and drones aimed at Gulf allies and the Strait of Hormuz, further straining a fragile ceasefire. Bahrain and Kuwait intercepted seven Iranian missiles, while Bahrain also destroyed several drones, officials said. It was the second attack on both Gulf states since Wednesday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted “enemy bases” with missiles after the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran and downed drones headed towards the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, denounced the attacks against its territory and neighbouring Kuwait as “blatant aggression” and “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of both countries”. In Bahrain’s capital Manama, an AFP journalist reported hearing three explosions, while the interior ministry said air raid sirens had sounded across the country. Later, Bahrain’s military said its air defences had “successfully intercepted and destroyed three missiles and several drones”. Kuwait also condemned the attacks, calling them a “direct threat” to the lives of citizens and residents and a “dangerous escalation” at a time when the international community was making efforts to stop combat operations. In Kuwait, an AFP journalist reported hearing repeated blasts near the country’s international airport, which had been struck on Wednesday in an attack blamed on Iran that killed one person. “We woke up to a huge explosion. The explosions were very loud,” Reem, an Egyptian mother of two, said, referring to the Saturday attacks. “My children were terrified, and I couldn’t calm them down,” she said. Kuwait’s military said it had “engaged seven hostile ballistic missiles” in Kuwaiti airspace. It added that some interceptions over residential areas caused falling debris, resulting in material damage but no casualties. In the hours after the barrages, Kuwait’s aviation authority announced the resumption of air traffic, saying 11 Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways flights had been diverted during an airspace closure caused by the Iranian attack. Qatar, Egypt and Jordan joined Bahrain and Kuwait in condemning the attacks, calling them violations of sovereignty and international law. In a statement, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for de-escalation and stressed the necessity of sparing the region the consequences of “unjustified attacks”. Egypt also strongly condemned the “heinous Iranian attack that targeted Kuwait and Bahrain”, terming them a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the two countries and “a dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability” of the entire region. The Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement that the attacks constitute a blatant breach of international law and the United Nations Charter. US strikes Iranian sites US Central Command said six of the seven ballistic missiles fired towards Kuwait and Bahrain were downed, while the seventh “did not reach its intended target”. Centcom also said US forces downed four one-way attack drones before they could threaten maritime traffic near the Strait of Hormuz. US forces then struck Iranian coastal radar sites to prevent further attacks. No US personnel were harmed, Centcom said. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US attack on coastal radar installations in the Gulf, calling it a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire in place since April. It described the strikes as an attack “on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic republic” and denounced Washington’s “hostile and provocative behaviour”. Trump says Iran still has missiles US President Donald Trump claimed Iran still had “21, 22 per cent” of its missiles left after Tehran fired dozens across the region. “They still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say, percentage-wise, maybe 21, 22pc of their missiles,” Trump told NBC News. The estimate is higher than the 18pc he gave in May. Trump has often claimed to have completely destroyed Iran’s war-fighting capacity. Weeks of complex talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war. However, Trump said Iran had “got no choice” except to reach an agreement. “They’re strong, they’re proud, there are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do,” he said. Meanwhile, the United States also announced its approval of a $1.98 billion arms sale to Kuwait, one of the Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes during the Middle East war. In a statement, the US State Department said it would allow purchases of counter-drone technology from defence company Anduril, which was founded by a supporter of President Trump. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-Nato ally that has been an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the statement said. Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2026
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140 olay4 sa önce - Ortak aktörcanlı
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