Category: 2. Middle East

The European commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management on Monday warned about the devastating impact of Israel’s relentless bombardment in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, calling for “decisive political action” to alleviate the suffering of the people, Anadolu reports.

“In Gaza, life is being erased,” Hadja Lahbib told reporters ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

“It’s true that words fall short in…

Turkiye and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) signed an agreement on Monday to establish a UNRWA office in the country, according to the agency, Anadolu reports.

The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the 51st Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Istanbul, “marks a milestone in the relationship between the agency and Turkiye and bears testimony to the country’s political and financial support to…

Russia is ready to help Iran in various ways amid the ongoing escalation in the Middle East but it depends on Tehran’s needs, the Kremlin said on Monday, Anadolu reports.

“It all depends on what Iran needs. We have offered our mediation efforts. This is specific. We have stated our position, this is also a very important manifestation, a form of support for the Iranian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in a press briefing.

Israel and…

WASHINGTON — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a retaliatory barrage of ballistic missiles across the Gulf toward the United States’ main air base in the region on Monday, in response to US naval and air strikes at three sensitive Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

Pentagon officials said initial indications were that no American personnel were hurt in the retaliatory strikes, which they said targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Military officials…

WASHINGTON — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a retaliatory barrage of ballistic missiles across the Gulf toward the United States’ main air base in the region on Monday, in response to US naval and air strikes at three sensitive Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

Pentagon officials said initial indications were that no American personnel were hurt in the retaliatory strikes, which they said targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Military officials…

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Monday called for immediate action from the EU, urging the suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement and a ban on arms sales to Israel, citing human rights concerns.

“This is the time for action, and if the Association Agreement is based on human rights, it’s the most normal thing that we suspend the Association Agreement immediately today, and that we move forward,” Albares told reporters ahead of a meeting…

Turkiye is making great efforts to prevent attacks by Israel and its supporters on Iran from spiraling into “a greater disaster,” said the nation’s president on Monday.

Turkiye never condones attacks on Iran’s sovereignty and the security of the region “no matter who they come from,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a trade union event in the capital Ankara.

“We make our opposition clear,” he added.

On Israel’s continuing attacks on Gaza, Erdogan said…

Activists on Monday blockaded the Belgian facilities of the firms Syensqo and OIP Sensor Systems, accusing the companies of being complicit in “Israel’s genocidal acts in Gaza,” Anadolu reports.

The demonstrations took place early Monday morning at around 07.45 am (0545GMT) as part of the “Stop Arming Israel” campaign, which calls for the enforcement of a military embargo against Israel and urges the Belgian government to impose sanctions, according to…

After eight members of her family, including her husband, were killed in a suicide bombing in a Damascus church, Laure Nasr demanded justice while Syria’s minority communities worried about their future.

“I want (Syrian interim President) Ahmed al-Sharaa to personally bring me justice,” a distraught Nasr said on Monday as she received mourners at her home.

“Isn’t he the president? Are we not a democratic state now?” she said, after Sunday’s attack, which came more than six months after…

After President Donald Trump bragged US strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, officials cautioned it was still too soon to assess the impact on the country’s nuclear programme.

Many questions remain after Sunday’s strikes, especially about the whereabouts of Iran’s sensitive stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent — a short step from the 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon.

– Where is Iran’s enriched uranium? –

The US attacks, carried out by B-2 stealth bombers,…