Category: 2. Middle East

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Wednesday what it called its most extensive set of Iran-related sanctions since 2018, targeting a “vast shipping empire” involved in transporting oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia.  

Through a network of oil tankers, container ships and front companies, the Treasury Department alleges that Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani is able to exert control over a significant portion of Iran’s crude oil exports, most often to buyers in…

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that calls for the Iran-aligned militant group’s disarmament served only Israel, as the United States ramps up pressure for steps to remove its arsenal.

“Those who call for submitting arms practically demand submitting them to Israel … We will not submit to Israel,” Qassem said in a televised address.

Hezbollah emerged badly damaged from a war with Israel last year that eliminated most of the group’s…

, (Reuters) -Britain has said it will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes steps including alleviating the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and committing to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.

The announcement, coming after France declared that it will recognise a Palestinian state in September, has put renewed focus on the two-state solution to the conflict.

This is the idea of bringing peace through the establishment of a Palestinian…

Arab countries welcomed on Wednesday plans by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to recognise the State of Palestine this September if Israel fails to take “substantive steps” toward ending the war in Gaza and advancing peace, Anadolu reports.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry described the UK declaration as “an important development that aligns with international legitimacy and relevant Security Council resolutions, contributing to the enhancement of…

Gaza’s civil defence agency said 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in four separate incidents on Wednesday, three of them near aid distribution sites.

The territory has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and now, according to a UN-mandated report, its two-million-plus inhabitants are facing an unfolding famine.

Gaza’s civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Basal said six people were killed by Israeli fire near an aid distribution centre northwest of Rafah.

The Israeli…

In a bid to salvage the two-state solution long dismissed by Israel, Arab states have urged Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza. Seventeen countries, including Arab League members, Turkiye and the European Union, have issued a joint call for Hamas to step aside and cede governance of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, in what is seen as a last-ditch effort to preserve the two-state framework. 

The appeal, delivered at a UN session in New York yesterday, comes…

The World Health Organization’s chief said getting a continuous flow of medical supplies into Gaza was “critical”, as WHO trucks carrying aid headed for the border on Wednesday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency had moved 10 trucks from El-Arish in Egypt to Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip.

The trucks are carrying “essential medicines, laboratory and water testing supplies”, he said, with two additional trucks with medical supplies, along with 12…