Category: 2. Middle East

A top US diplomat for the Middle East yesterday outlined a series of demands that the Syrian leadership must meet in exchange for any potential sanctions relief, signaling Washington’s openness to re-engage if progress is made on key fronts, Anadolu reported.

Tim Lenderking, a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs under the Trump administration, detailed the US position during a webinar hosted by the National Council on…

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has voiced deep concern over the silence of some countries regarding Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza and denounced the reluctance of foreign ministers to issue statements of condemnation, Anadolu reported.

This came during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, yesterday, following a meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry in the capital, Ankara.

“The silence of others on…

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed 74 people and wounded 178 others in attacks in Al-Za’afah village in West Kordofan State in southern Sudan, the Sudan Doctors’ Network said, according to Anadolu.

The network, a civilian medical organisation, added in a statement that 12 children and nine women were among the victims.

The RSF, it added, “did not respect the most basic human rights, which criminalise the killing of unarmed…

Bulgaria will demand compensation for the relatives of a Bulgarian UN staffer killed in Gaza last month, the foreign minister said yesterday, the BTA news agency reported.

The remarks came after Israel confirmed that the 19 March explosion in the town of Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, which killed Marin Marinov, was caused by a shot fired by an Israeli tank.

“I would like once again to express my deepest condolences and sympathy to the family’s grief for their…

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said during a visit to Moscow today that Tehran would boost cooperation with Russia in agriculture and banking and remove barriers in all spheres of cooperation between the two countries, Reuters reports.

Russia has deepened ties with Iran since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine and signed a strategic partnership treaty with Tehran in January. Both countries are under Western sanctions.

Speaking on state TV…

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI yesterday gave the go-ahead for a rail expansion plan worth 96 billion dirhams ($10.3 billion), including the construction of a high-speed line to Marrakesh, the country’s main tourist hub, by 2030, state media reported according to Reuters.

Morocco’s preparations to co-host the World Cup in 2030, together with Spain and Portugal, has spurred the extension of the high-speed, intercity and urban rail networks.

The country also…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said yesterday he was ready to travel to Europe for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with France indicating European powers were also ready for dialogue if Tehran showed it was seriously engaged, Reuters reports.

Iran is looking to build on the momentum of nuclear negotiations with the United States that resume in Oman tomorrow and after talks with Russia and China earlier this week. Its reach out to the European…

Tunisian authorities dismantled temporary migrant camps in olive groves in the central eastern parts of the country yesterday, amid a rise in the number of “voluntary” returns of migrants to their home countries.

Units of the National Guard set fire to tents in the camps, which migrants from sub-Saharan African countries had erected.

Houssem Eddine Jebabli, spokesperson for the National Guard, stated that around 2,500 undocumented individuals were forced to…

The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters, saying the proposal was being lined up for announcement during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom next month.

The offered package comes after the administration of former President Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to finalise a defence pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned…