US, Iran continue indirect contact in Doha as officials trade barbs over talks
The envoys' presence follows US President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday that Iran had requested a meeting in the Qatari...
Geostrategy
Iran claims retaliation against US as Hezbollah protests Israel-Lebanon agreement
Tehran warned of broader retaliation if attacked again as Washington defended its military action, while unrest spread to Beirut after...
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Israeli minister calls to annex Gaza if Hamas doesn’t surrender
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday called on the government to begin annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if...
- The far-right minister, who has vocally opposed striking a deal with Hamas to end the nearly two-year war, presented his plan to "win in Gaza by the end of the year."
- Under Smotrich's proposal, Hamas would be given an ultimatum to surrender, disarm and release the hostages still held in Gaza since the group's October 2023 attack.
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Israeli forces raid site near Syria capital after bombing it several times: state media
Israeli forces conducted an overnight airborne raid on a site near the Syrian capital after bombing it several times, Syrian...
- Israel has not confirmed the raid, but Defence Minister Israel Katz said its forces operate "in all combat zones" to ensure the country's security
- If verified, it would be the deepest such operation Israel has carried out inside Syria since an Islamist alliance seized power in Damascus in December
Geostrategy
UN chief condemns ‘endless’ Gaza horrors as Israel presses offensive
Israel, whose military is preparing to conquer Gaza City, is under mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its...
- The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people has been displaced at least once during the war.
- Massive clouds of smoke rose into the sky above Gaza City after Israeli bombardments of the outskirts of the territory's largest city.
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Iran says return of IAEA inspectors not full resumption of cooperation
Iran said Wednesday that the return of UN nuclear inspectors did not represent a full resumption of cooperation, which was...
- Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency began work at the key nuclear site of Bushehr in southwestern Iran, the nuclear watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi said
- "No final text has yet been approved on the new cooperation framework with the IAEA and views are being exchanged," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, quoted by state television
Geostrategy
Israel ups pressure on famine-struck Gaza City as Trump talks post-war plan
On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 38 people on Wednesday, including...
- Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its almost two-year campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine
- On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 38 people on Wednesday, including 16 in Gaza City
Geostrategy
Erdogan jubilant as ‘Steel Dome’ air defence system delivered to military, hails it a milestone
Last August, Turkey, a member of NATO, unveiled plans to build a multi-layered air defence system to protect its airspace,...
- "Today we are providing our army with the Dome system, consisting of 47 vehicles worth $460 million, which will inspire confidence in friends and fear in enemies," Erdogan said
- "This system will make the world of difference for Turkey's air defence. This is a turning point for Turkey," he said at a ceremony at the hqrs of Turkish defence giant Aselsan
Geostrategy
Mediator Qatar says ‘still waiting’ for Israeli response to Gaza truce proposal
Qatar and Egypt, along with the United States, have been mediating indirect ceasefire negotiations throughout the Gaza war, but despite...
- The latest proposal put forward by mediators involves an initial 60-day truce and staggered exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
- But Israel has appeared reluctant to budge from its demand that all the hostages being held at Gaza be freed at once.
Geostrategy
Amnesty urges war crimes probe into Israeli destruction in Lebanon
Amnesty International said Tuesday that the Israeli army's extensive destruction of civilian property in south Lebanon, including after a ceasefire...
- The November 27 truce largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that culminated in two months of open war
- The rights group's Erika Guevara Rosas said in the statement that the destruction had "rendered entire areas uninhabitable and ruined countless lives".
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Hezbollah chief rejects disarmament ahead of government talks with visiting US officials
Hezbollah's chief on Monday doubled down on his refusal to give up the group's weapons ahead of talks between Lebanese...
- Hezbollah was the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of "resistance" against Israel, and has always rejected the decision
- The move came after the balance of power in Lebanon shifted following more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that left the group badly weakened
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Israeli rights group accuses general of war crimes in West Bank
A leading Israeli rights organisation said Monday that it had requested a military investigation into a senior commander over suspected...
- The request comes days after Major General Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military in the West Bank, appeared in a video in which he called for encirclement of Palestinian villages
- In a letter to the military advocate-general, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) urged an inquiry into Bluth, citing his comments and actions
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US, Iran continue indirect contact in Doha as officials trade barbs over talks
The envoys' presence follows US President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday that Iran had requested a meeting in the Qatari...
Geostrategy
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Trump says ‘time running out’ as Iran threatens response to any attack “like never before”
In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump did not mention the protests but said Iran needed to negotiate a...
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Trump says Iran wants talks and ‘make a deal’ as US aircraft carrier deploys
A US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier was in Middle Eastern waters on Tuesday as Iran vowed...
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US deploys aircraft carrier as Iran warns against attack, says ready to hit back
A US naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier has deployed to Middle Eastern waters, the United States said Monday,...
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Next round of Russia, Ukraine talks to begin in Abu Dhabi on February 1: US official
A next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US to halt the war will continue in Abu Dhabi...
- This was the first time the warring sides have talked about a plan being pushed by Trump to end the nearly four-year war
- Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their first direct talks in months in Abu Dhabi even as Russia launched a barrage of drones
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US pitches glitzy New Gaza rebuild at Davos, drawing outrage amid ongoing humanitarian crisis
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said the so-called National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) had enlisted help from Israeli...
- Kushner said the so-called National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) had enlisted help from Israeli real estate developer Yakir Gabay
- Notably absent from Kushner's presentation was Egypt's President al-Sisi, whose country had spearheaded in 2025 a reconstruction plan for Gaza supported by Arab nations
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, six others accept Trump ‘Board of Peace’ invite: statement
Saudi Arabia and seven Muslim-majority countries including Gaza mediators Qatar and Turkey have agreed to join US President Donald Trump's "Board...
- Invites were sent to dozens of world leaders with a request for one billion dollars for a permanent seat on the board
- Although originally meant to oversee Gaza's rebuilding, the board's charter does not seem to limit its role to the Strip