By Maha El Dahan, Timour Azhari and Humeyra Pamuk DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Jan 23 - Washington has threatened senior Iraqi politicians with sanctions targeting the Iraqi state — including potentially its critical supply of oil revenue sourced via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York —
DUBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - An influential Iranian cleric warned on Friday that Iran may target U.S.-linked investments in the region in retaliation for any U.S. attack on the Islamic Republic, Iranian news agencies reported. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the
By Alexander Cornwell TEL AVIV, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border's expected
Poor security at a camp in Syria housing thousands of suspected relatives of Islamic State group jihadists has prevented UN agency staff from entering, days after Kurdish forces withdrew and the army deployed at the site. Two former employees at the Al-Hol desert camp told AFP
Europeans were among 150 senior Islamic State group detainees transferred this week by the US military from Kurdish custody in Syria to Iraq, whose premier urged EU countries to repatriate their nationals. They were among an estimated 7,000 jihadists due to be moved across the
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A training centre for hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank could be closed within days by Israeli authorities, jeopardising the education of students, the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said on Friday. The Kalandia
According to diplomatic sources, Netanyahu believes that at some point Israel will receive a green light from the Trump administration to resume fighting in Gaza, though his coalition partners do not seem reassured.
LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that NATO troops stayed off the front line in Afghanistan were "deeply disappointing", a British minister said on Friday, noting that many European soldiers had died supporting American-led operations.
When the Israeli Bedouin village of Tarabin al-Sana backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party in the last elections, they expected their lives would improve. Three years later, the small community in the Negev has been left stunned after a two-week crackdown during which
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Syria's Interior Ministry said on Friday it had taken over al-Aktan prison in the city of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, a facility that was formerly under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The prison has been holding detainees linked
MOSCOW, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Russian Admiral Igor Kostyukov is set to head Moscow's team at trilateral security talks with the U.S. and Ukraine on Friday in Abu Dhabi, as part of efforts to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What do we know about Kostyukov? CAREER IN
By Anna Pruchnicka KYIV, Jan 23 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that the vital question of territory in Ukraine's war with Russia would be discussed at U.S.-brokered trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday. Kyiv is under mounting U.S.
Iran's foreign minister on Friday launched a furious tirade against Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president commented in Davos that the deadly crackdown on protests in the Islamic republic showed that if authorities "kill enough people" they stay in power. Zelensky,
By Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Friday to discuss the "alarming violence" used in Iran against protesters, while a group of states will call on United Nations' investigators to
Jan 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear sites last June before inspectors are allowed to visit those facilities, Iranian media on Friday quoted the country's atomic chief as saying. Mohammad Eslami said
MADRID, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Spain will not take part in the Board of Peace initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump to tackle global conflicts, saying the decision was consistent with its belief in multilateralism and the United Nations system. "We appreciate the
U.S. officials said an aircraft carrier and several destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, with additional air-defense systems under consideration. Warships began moving from the Asia-Pacific after the Iranian regime's crackdown on protesters
A possible American military strike against Tehran raises many questions. It's still not clear when or if it will happen, how it will affect Israel and whether it can end the ayatollahs' regime
By Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil WASHINGTON/OTTAWA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew on Thursday an invitation for Canada to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts. Trump's aboutface follows Canadian Prime Minister Mark
The U.S. president's coalition is largely made up of authoritarian countries – members who declared that their only goal is to find a solution to the crisis in Gaza and promote the two-state solution. Kushner made it clear to Israel and Hamas: The era of the status quo is over
The USS Abraham Lincoln and escort ships are deploying to the Middle East amid stalled UN inspections of Iran's nuclear material and the recent decline of nationwide anti-regime protests after a deadly crackdown. President Trump said the U.S. seeks to avoid further military
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Washington welcomed Iraq's initiative to detain Islamic State members in secure facilities in Iraq while also urging nations to repatriate their citizens in these
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets will arrive in the Middle East region in the coming days, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, even as U.S. President Donald Trump voices hopes of avoiding new military action against
Egypt lost some $13 billion worth of Suez Canal fees over two years due to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, according to estimates from Egyptian officials.
After a year of tearing down global norms and withdrawing from UN bodies, US President Donald Trump is trying his hand at international institution building with his self-styled "Board of Peace" -- to wide skepticism. Unlike the United Nations, where every member has a say and
Hundreds of red-eyed and exhausted people, including many journalists, crowded into the grounds of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in Gaza on Thursday to pay tribute to three fallen colleagues. The three, including a regular AFP contributor, were killed by an Israeli strike the
President Donald Trump’s plan for a Gaza Strip lined with beachfront resorts and glitzy high-rises hinges on Hamas' disarmament.
Hostilities between the Syrian government and the Kurdish administration in the northeast have slowed the IAEA’s monitoring of the country’s nuclear facilities, Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Al-Monitor from Davos.
Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are navigating tense negotiations following clashes and a temporary ceasefire in northeastern Syria.
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
The repatriation of Iraqis accused of Islamic State ties from Syria has reignited security concerns in Iraq.
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.