Neither the Shah's son Reza Pahlavi nor the Mojahedin-led opposition enjoy meaningful influence inside Iran – unlike the Kurds. Any real and credible alternative to the rule of the Mullahs in Tehran will have to pass through Kurdistan and its political movements
US President Donald Trump headed home from Davos on Thursday after unveiling his new Board of Peace and once again casting himself as a global peacemaker, despite widespread scepticism over a plan that aims to rewrite the world order. Trump officials also unveiled ambitious
DAMASCUS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. envoy called for a truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces to be upheld, urging steps to build trust after Damascus captured swathes of the northeast in a push to reassert central authority. Tensions between President Ahmed
It remains unclear how such an arrangement could be implemented, since any contribution from frozen assets would require formal unblocking by the US government.
MADRID, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Spain's High Court on Thursday closed its investigation into the use of Israeli cyber-intelligence firm NSO Group's "Pegasus" software to spy on Spanish politicians, citing a lack of cooperation from Israeli authorities. The investigation was launched
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Washington that the force had its "finger on the trigger" in the wake of mass protests, as US President Donald Trump said the Islamic republic still appeared interested in talks. Trump has repeatedly left open the
By Steve Holland, Rami Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi DAVOS, Switzerland/JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday announced plans for a "New Gaza" rebuilt from scratch to include residential towers, data centres and seaside resorts, part of President
Jan 22 (Reuters) - Syrian Kurdish forces have lost control of big parts of the country this month as government troops under President Ahmed al-Sharaa seek to bring their security forces and territory under the authority of the central state. The losses are the latest setback
US officials on Thursday presented their vision for a "New Gaza" that would turn the shattered Palestinian territory into a glitzy resort of skyscrapers by the sea, saying the transformation could emerge in three years. The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on
Jan 22 (Reuters) - Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said on Thursday it would begin legal proceedings against Islamic State detainees transferred from Syria after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria triggered concerns over prison security. The U.S.
The shortage in basics such as beef, poultry and hygiene products, caused by Israel's decision to ban the entry of these products, has been quickly filled by illegal importers, who have created an entire industry of trading in permits – sometimes while the army turns a blind eye
GAZA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - As Israel moved the blocks marking its armistice line with Hamas deeper into one Gaza neighbourhood in December, it destroyed dozens of buildings and displaced Palestinians in violation of a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal, according to satellite imagery
U.S. President Donald Trump said Hamas 'were literally born with weapons in their hands – they have to give up weapons. If they won't do it, it will be the end of them.' He added that Iran 'wants to talk, and we will talk'
President Donald Trump pledged Gaza will be "beautifully rebuilt” as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, laid out a multi-year redevelopment and demilitarization plan.
Morad Hassan, a Palestinian actor living in Israel, talks about playing an IDF reservist in a Jewish theater production, why he refuses to take on typical Arab roles like 'the terrorist,' and the importance of nurturing a space for Palestinian creativity in the heart of Israel
DAVOS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Rafah crossing with Egypt, Gaza's main gateway, which has been largely shut during the Israel-Hamas war, will reopen next week, Palestinian technocratic committee leader Ali Shaath said on Thursday. (Reporting by Steven Holland;Editing by Alison
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Israel and the US against "miscalculations" in the wake of mass protests, saying the force had its "finger on the trigger". US President Donald Trump has repeatedly left open the option of new military action
As Trump divides the world to those with him and those against him, it is enough to look at his disagreements with European countries to get the impression that Gaza and Palestine are marginal issues for the U.S. president, and that Israel's influence is limited
By Steve Holland DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will on Thursday launch his Board of Peace, originally intended to help end the devastating Gaza war but which he now sees having a wider role that Europe and some others fear will rival or
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Herzog backed regime change in Iran, saying the Islamic Republic is in 'quite a fragile situation,' and wondering, 'where is Susan Sarandon, where is Cynthia Nixon? Why aren't they protesting outside Iranian embassies?'
The Israeli president said the rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia “should be the future vision of the Middle East.”
Young protesters shot in the back, shotgun pellets fired in a doctor's face, wounded people afraid to go to hospital: "Every family has been affected" by the deadly crackdown on Iran's recent wave of demonstrations, said one protester. Speaking to AFP in Istanbul, this
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would meet on Thursday with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been tasked with finding a solution to Russia's nearly four-year-old war with Ukraine. Putin, quoted by Russian news
U.S. troops and their partner forces detained more than 300 IS operatives in Syria and killed over 20 last year, the U.S. military said
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted his invitation to join Trump's Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a statement that Putin quickly countered, saying
Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed during protests that first erupted in late December, but activists said the actual toll risked being many times higher due to a crackdown that suppressed the demonstrations. Demonstrations and strikes initially
Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed during protests that first erupted in late December, but activists said the actual toll risked being many times higher due to a crackdown that suppressed the demonstrations. Demonstrations and strikes initially
(Refiles to add dropped apostrophe in headline) By Samia Nakhoul DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's Board of Peace, seen by some as a rival to the United Nations, has caught officials at some of the countries invited off guard, with several saying they felt