Category: 2. Middle East

Donald Trump plans to accept a luxury Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family for use as Air Force One and then continue flying in it after his tenure, despite strict rules on US presidential gifts, media reported Sunday.

Calling the plane a “flying palace,” ABC News, which first reported the story, said the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet would possibly be the most expensive gift ever received by the American government.

Qatar swiftly sought to downplay the uproar, saying reports describing the jet as…

MUSCAT, Oman — The Trump administration sounded cautiously upbeat after US and Iranian negotiators concluded their latest round of nuclear talks, agreeing to reconvene to hammer out the technical details of a potential deal. 

“We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future,” a senior US administration official said, adding that an agreement was reached “to continue working through technical elements.”

Iran’s reaction…

MUSCAT, Oman — The Trump administration sounded cautiously upbeat after US and Iranian negotiators concluded their latest round of nuclear talks on Sunday, agreeing to reconvene to hammer out the technical details of a potential deal. 

“We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future,” a senior US administration official said, adding that an agreement was reached “to continue working through technical elements.”

Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday said the country’s right to nuclear enrichment was “non-negotiable”, ahead of the fourth round of talks in Oman with the US over Tehran’s atomic programme.

The negotiations follow earlier rounds that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.

“Enrichment capability is one of the honours and achievements of the…

Iran and the United States kicked off the fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman Sunday amid a standoff over uranium enrichment, with Tehran calling it “non-negotiable”, while Washington has described it as a “red line”.

The negotiations follow earlier rounds that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.

“Enrichment capability is one of the honours…

Iran and the United States wrapped up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public standoff over enrichment, but with both sides confirming plans for future negotiations.

This was the fourth round of talks that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Both sides had reported progress in the previous three rounds, and on…

Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit next week, his son Eric was promoting his crypto firm in Dubai, while Don Jr prepared to talk about “Monetising MAGA” in Doha.

Last month, the Trump Organization struck its first luxury real estate deal in Qatar, and released details of a billion-dollar skyscraper in Dubai whose apartments can be bought in cryptocurrency.

In a monarchical region awash with petrodollars, the list of Trump-related ventures is long and growing. However, the…

Shahd Tahrawi was wounded in an Israeli strike on Gaza, Hossam Abd al-Rahman suffered burns in an explosion in Iraq and bombardment in Yemen has left Mohammed Zakaria in need of multiple surgeries.

They all met at the charitable Al-Mowasah hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman, which treats some of the many civilians wounded in conflicts across the Middle East.

“I feel sad when I look around me in this place” seeing “people like me, innocent, simple civilians” whose lives have been blighted…

A new documentary purports to name the Israeli soldier who killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, who was gunned down in the West Bank while reporting in 2022.

Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist known for her coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict, was shot dead in Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank while she worked, wearing a bulletproof vest marked “press.”

Al Jazeera and witnesses immediately blamed the Israeli army. Then Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said…

Hamas’s armed wing released a video on Saturday showing two Israeli hostages alive in the Gaza Strip, with one of the two men calling to end the 19-month-long war.

The pair were identified by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

The undated three-minute video footage released by Hamas’s Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades shows one of the hostages,…