Gulf

Iran Protests EU Support for UAE Over Disputed Islands

Iran summoned the ambassador of Hungary, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, to protest a joint EU-Gulf Cooperation Council statement on islands controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE, state media reported on Sunday. The statement, published after the first summit between the two regional blocs on Wednesday, said, "We ...

Threats and Diplomacy: Iran’s Dual Strategy on Israel

Awaiting Israel's promised retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, Iran has balanced threats of a fierce response to any Israeli attack with diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation into all-out regional war. Iran launched 200 missiles at its arch-foe on October 1 in response to an Israeli strike that killed Iranian general Abbas ...

Israeli-Iranian Conflict: The Strait of Hormuz as a Pressure Tactic

Iran may have to resort to a strategic tool: control of the Strait of Hormuz. According to several analyses, this tactic could be as devastating as a nuclear weapon. However, unlike a nuclear weapon, whose use would bring catastrophic consequences for Iran itself, the threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz serves as a form of "asymmetric ...

Brussels Summit on Middle East Tensions Brings Together Gulf and EU Leaders

Gulf leaders including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gather with EU heads of state and government in Brussels Wednesday for a summit aimed at averting a "general conflagration" in the Middle East. The 27-nation European Union is seeking to work more closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) -- which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, ...

Qatar Accuses Israel of Expanding Conflict to Implement "Pre-existing Plans"

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday accused Israel of choosing to expand the conflict in the Middle East and to implement "pre-existing plans" for the occupied West Bank and Lebanon. "The easiest and safest way to stop the escalation on the border with Lebanon would have been to stop the war of extermination on Gaza," the Emir ...

Beirut Welcomes Humanitarian Aid From Gulf States

Lebanon continues to receive much-needed humanitarian aid from several countries as it grapples with a worsening crisis and escalation of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia The second plane from Saudi Arabia's relief air bridge to Lebanon arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Monday, carrying 30 tons of ...

Hurricane Milton Makes Landfall in the US

Hurricane Milton crashed into the Florida coast Wednesday, packing furious winds and triggering life-threatening storm surges across a region still reeling from another massive storm two weeks before. The weather front made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key hit a densely populated area on the US state's western coast. Milton ...

Syria: How Many Divisions?

  The days when the Syrian army terrorized the Lebanese population and relentlessly bombarded the neighborhoods of Beirut and Zahlé instead of fighting Israel are long gone. The days when this army was part of an international coalition against Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War are long gone. Nothing in the Near East could happen ...

Iran and Bahrain Agree to Start Talks on Resuming Ties

Iran and Bahrain have agreed to launch negotiations on how to restore diplomatic relations that have been severed for nearly eight years, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Tiny Gulf monarchy Bahrain cut ties with Iran in 2016, following in the footsteps of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia after Riyadh's diplomatic missions in Iran were ...

Iran Says to Free Crew of Seized Portugal-Flagged Ship

Iran said Saturday it would release the crew members of a Portuguese-flagged ship that its forces seized this month in the Gulf. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took over the MSC Aries with 25 crew members on board near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13. Tehran later said the ship belonged to its arch-foe Israel and was being investigated ...

Record Rains Cause Transport Chaos in Dubai

Dubai's giant highways were clogged by flooding and airport passengers were urged to stay away on Wednesday as the glitzy financial center reeled from record rains. Huge tailbacks snaked along six-lane expressways after up to 254 millimetres of rain – about two years' worth – fell on the desert United Arab Emirates on ...

Heavy Floods Hit Dubai as Oman Death Toll Rises

Torrential rain flooded roads, homes and malls and briefly halted operations at Dubai's airport as storms lashed the Gulf on Tuesday, after leaving at least 18 dead in Oman. Dubai, the Middle East's financial center, was paralyzed by the heavy storms that caused widespread flooding around the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Flagship shopping ...