Category: 2. Middle East

US President Donald Trump appeared to catch Tehran off guard on Monday when he announced “direct talks” between the arch-foes over Iran’s nuclear programme, having previously threatened to bomb the Islamic republic.

Despite previously having expressed major reservations over the talks, Tehran has agreed to participate but through an intermediary.

– What does Iran want? –

The priority for the Islamic republic is the lifting of biting sanctions that have placed a stranglehold on the energy-rich…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that Gaza had become “a killing field,” blaming Israel for blocking aid and failing in its “unequivocal obligations” to meet the needs of the Palestinian territory’s residents.

“More than an entire month has passed without a drop of aid into Gaza. No food. No fuel. No medicine. No commercial supplies. As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened,” Guterres said in remarks to journalists.

Pointing to the Geneva…

Israel’s supreme court on Tuesday gave the cabinet and attorney general’s office a deadline to find a solution to the government’s hotly-contested decision to sack domestic security chief Ronen Bar.

Following an hours-long hearing which was briefly interrupted with protests from government supporters and critics, Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit told the two sides to find a compromise.

“Since we saw some sparks of willingness here… we are giving you until after Passover (which ends on…

The Taliban government accused Pakistan on Tuesday of violently expelling Afghans after Islamabad cancelled hundreds of thousands of residence permits, pressuring families across the border.

Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be cancelled — the second phase of a deportation programme which has already expelled around 800,000 undocumented Afghans.

“The mistreatment of them (Afghans) by neighbouring countries is unacceptable and intolerable,”…

Israel’s supreme court on Tuesday gave the cabinet and attorney general’s office a deadline to find a solution to the government’s hotly-contested decision to sack domestic security chief Ronen Bar.

Following an hours-long hearing which was briefly interrupted with protests from government supporters and critics, Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit told the two sides to find a compromise.

“Since we saw some sparks of willingness here… we are giving you until after Passover (after April 19)…

Pro-Turkey Syrian groups have scaled down their military presence in an historically Kurdish-majority area of the country’s north which they have controlled since 2018, a Syrian defence ministry official said on Tuesday.

The move follows an agreement signed last month between Syria’s new authorities and Kurdish officials that provides for the return of displaced Kurds, including tens of thousands who fled the Afrin region in 2018.

The pro-Ankara groups have “reduced their military presence and…

Israel’s top court held a hearing on Tuesday on the hotly contested decision to sack domestic security chief Ronen Bar, with protests from government supporters and critics briefly interrupting the proceedings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last month that his government had unanimously approved a motion to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, citing “lack of trust” and requiring Bar to leave his post by April 10.

The hearing on Tuesday followed petitions…