Category: 2. Middle East

Israeli police released Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal on Tuesday, after detaining him a day earlier for “hurling rocks” following what activists described as an attack by settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Basel Adra, who worked with Ballal on the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land”, posted a photo of Ballal on X after his release with blood stains on his shirt.

“After I won the Oscar, I did not expect to be exposed to such attacks,” Ballal said in a video by…

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the country’s chief negotiator in the now-defunct Israel-Hamas ceasefire, met Tuesday in Washington with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, days after Egypt put forward a new proposal to temporarily end fighting in the Strip.

Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that the meeting took place in Washington on Tuesday. Contacted by Al-Monitor, a White House spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. 

Dermer arrived in Washington…

President Donald Trump and top US intelligence officials raced Tuesday to stem a growing scandal after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen’s Huthi rebels in a stunning security breach.

Trump brushed off the leak as a “glitch,” while the CIA director and the White House intelligence chief both claimed during a Senate hearing that no classified information was divulged in the conversation on the Signal messaging app.

The president also defended his…

Perennial World Cup participants Iran became the second Asian side to secure their place at next year’s global showpiece after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Uzbekistan in Tehran on Tuesday.

Iran, the second-highest ranked AFC side in the FIFA standings, needed only a point to join Japan in qualifying for the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Group A leaders were made to work hard at the Azadi Stadium by upward-trending Uzbekistan, with Mehdi Taremi scoring seven…

Iran became the second Asian side to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Uzbekistan in Tehran on Tuesday, handing organisers a likely diplomatic headache.

Iran, the second-highest ranked AFC side in the FIFA standings, needed only a point to join Japan in qualifying for the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Iran will, however, head to North America with relations strained as US President Donald Trump takes a hard line over…

US President Donald Trump downplayed a growing scandal Tuesday after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen, denying any classified information was shared and defending a top aide over the breach.

Trump said he would “look into” the use of the Signal app, and put on a united front at a meeting with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who inadvertently included The Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg in the conversation.

As Democrats scented blood…