Hezbollah warns it would respond to Israeli ceasefire violations
The exchange came as regional tensions remained high and Iran intensified diplomatic efforts to secure a broader halt to hostilities,...
Geostrategy
Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill dozens
The strikes hit multiple areas, including parts of Beirut, with emergency teams struggling to reach casualties amid heavy congestion. The...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
US envoy Witkoff to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin at weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend,...
- Ukrainian officials said they recently sent Washington an updated plan building on Trump's original 28-point peace proposal to end the war
- Trump's plan, publicly revealed last month, was accused of echoing Moscow's key demands, including Ukraine giving up crucial territory to Russia
Geostrategy
Erdogan pushes Putin on ‘limited ceasefire’ at ports, energy facilities in Russia-Ukraine war
Speaking on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan, Erdogan told Putin that efforts to end the war were valuable,...
- Erdogan's remarks came on the heels of several attacks on Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv
- The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine, warning the strikes amounted to a "worrying escalation."
Geostrategy
Israel says Hamas ‘will be disarmed’ after group proposes weapons freeze
Israel said Thursday that Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza, after a top...
- Top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera that the militant group is open to a weapons "freeze", but rejects the demand for total disarmament
- Shosh Bedrosian, spokeswoman for the Israeli prime minister's office, said "Israel will continue to follow the 20-point plan. There will be no Hamas inside of the Gaza Strip."
Geostrategy
Hamas proposes weapons ‘freeze’ in return for long-term truce: leader to Al Jazeera
A top Hamas leader told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the militant group is open to a...
- "This is the idea we're discussing with the mediators, and I believe that with pragmatic American thinking... such a vision could be agreed," top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said
- As for the international peacekeeping force, Meshaal said the group was open to its deployment along Gaza's border with Israel, but was against its operation inside Gaza
Geostrategy
UNRWA chief denounces Israeli police’s seizure of agency’s Jerusalem assets
The compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been empty of UNRWA staff since January, when the law banning its operations...
- "Today in the early morning, Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem," Philippe Lazzarini said on X
- Lazzarini has been declared persona non grata by Israeli authorities, who banned his agency from operating inside the country early this year
Geostrategy
US-Israel-Qatar meeting seeks to salvage Gaza peace deal amid strain over Israeli strike on Doha
Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and...
- Two sources told US news outlet Axios it was "the highest level meeting between the countries since the deal to end the war in Gaza, for which Qatar served as a key mediator."
- Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and an unnamed senior Qatari official in attendance
Geostrategy
Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached...
- Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached no breakthrough on halting Europe's worst conflict since World War II
- The Kremlin said afterward it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region
Geostrategy
If Europe wants war with Russia, ‘we are ready,’ says Putin as he meets US envoys over Ukraine deal
Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed...
- The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war
- "They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war," he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine
Geostrategy
Trump warns Israel not to ‘interfere’ in Syria, days after deadly operation killed 13 people
"It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that...
- "It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria's evolution into a prosperous State,"
- Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invited him for another White House visit, Netanyahu's office said shortly after Trump issued the warning
Geostrategy
Trump says US freeze on asylum decisions will last ‘a long time’
US President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for "a long time"...
- "We don't want those people," Trump said. "You know why we don't want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn't be in our country."
- The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman wounded
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Hezbollah warns it would respond to Israeli ceasefire violations
The exchange came as regional tensions remained high and Iran intensified diplomatic efforts to secure a broader halt to hostilities,...
Geostrategy
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Trump signals second carrier deployment as US-Iran prepare to resume talks
In interviews with Israeli media, Trump warned of consequences if negotiations fail. “Either we reach a deal or we'll have...
Geostrategy
Iran signals potential dilution of highly enriched uranium if sanctions are lifted
Iran and the US resumed indirect nuclear talks on Monday in Muscat under Omani mediation, marking the first round of...
Geostrategy
Iran says US talks in Oman a ‘good beginning’ as fears of military confrontation grow
The discussions took place in Muscat, with the US delegation led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Iranian side...
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Opinion
The GCC must deploy its ‘strategic advantages’ to lead the transition
The models that once governed aid, CSR, employment, and economic engagement are shifting, and the GCC has an opportunity to...
- Across the region, business leaders are confronting a reality already transforming global markets.
- Instead of funding isolated projects, Gulf institutions can help build ecosystems such as agritech clusters, circular-economy value chains,
Geostrategy
Iran’s Khamenei likens protests to ‘coup’, warns of regional war
Iran's supreme leader on Sunday likened recent anti-government protests to a "coup", warning that any US attack on the Islamic...
- The Iranian authorities' deadly response to the protests sparked threats of intervention from US President Donald Trump
- "The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said
Geostrategy
Saudi-Pakistan mutual defence pact will not include Turkey: sources
The Pakistan-Saudi pact was signed just months after Pakistan and India fought an intense four-day conflict in May that killed...
- "This is a bilateral defensive relationship with Pakistan. We have common agreements with Turkey but the one with Pakistan will stay bilateral," the official said
- The defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, announced last year raised many questions, given that Islamabad possesses nuclear weapons