USA

U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Leader of Iraqi Armed Group

The US State Department is offering up to $10 million for information on the leader of the Tehran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), which Washington designates as a terrorist organization. US officials said in a social media post Thursday they were seeking information on KSS leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, also known ...

President Aoun Says He Seeks Washington Visit

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday expressed hope of traveling to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump as Beirut intensifies diplomatic efforts to extend the fragile ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel and launch formal negotiations to end hostilities with Israel. The statement came at the close of a Lebanese cabinet session ...

Trump Orders U.S. Navy to Destroy Vessels Laying Mines in Hormuz

President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed the United States would destroy any vessel laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as he ratchets up pressure on Iran to reopen the crucial sea passage. "I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be... that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait ...

Iran Executes Another 'Political Prisoner,' NGO Says

Iran on Thursday hanged a man convicted of membership in a banned opposition group, the judiciary said, with an NGO describing him as the latest "political prisoner" to be executed in an unprecedented trend. Sultan Ali Shirzadi Fakhr was hanged on charges of membership of the People's Mujahedin (MEK) and "collaboration with the Israeli regime's ...

Iran Hangs Former Nuclear Employee on Spying Charges: NGOs

Iran hanged a man on Wednesday convicted of links to Israel's Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said, with two NGOs based outside the country saying he worked for the Iranian atomic energy organization. The execution of Mehdi Farid was the latest in a number of hangings of high-profile convicts in an accelerating trend that has alarmed rights ...

Israel FM Calls on Lebanon to 'Work Together' with Israel Against Hezbollah

Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday urged Beirut to make joint efforts with Israel to counter Hezbollah on the eve of talks between the two countries set to resume in Washington. It will be the second preparatory meeting paving the way for direct negotiations. "Tomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington, DC. ...

U.S. Reportedly Blocked $500m Cash Shipment to Iraq Over Pro-Iran Attacks

The United States blocked a plane carrying nearly $500 million in banknotes from delivering the cash to Iraq, US media reported on Tuesday, piling pressure on Baghdad to fight Iran-backed militant groups. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has suspended cash shipments to Iraq and frozen funding for security programs following ...

NATO 'Will Always Defend' Turkey: Chief Says

NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Wednesday the alliance would do "what's necessary to defend" its members, including Turkey, after intercepting four missiles fired from Iran and heading into Turkish airspace over the past weeks. A member of the U.S.-led defense alliance, Turkey, which borders Iran, has been largely spared the sort of retaliation ...

UN Maritime Agency Urges Help for Seafarers Stranded in Hormuz

The head of the UN maritime agency appealed on Tuesday for help for thousands of seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz as the Middle East war paralyzes the vital shipping route. Around 20,000 seafarers and 2,000 ships have been stranded in the waterway since U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that triggered the war, according to the ...

IDF Delivers Aid to Christian Border Towns in South Lebanon

Humitarian supplies were deposited by the Israeli Army near several Christian southern Lebanese border towns on Saturday, including Rmeish, Ain Ebel, and Debel, in a cross-border arrangement organized to avoid direct contact with Lebanese citizens, local officials told This Is Beirut. Ayoub Khreish, mayor of Ain Ebel, a border town currently on ...

Israel Says Applying Diplomatic, Military Pressure to Disarm Hezbollah

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that his country's campaign in Lebanon relied on both military and diplomatic pressure to disarm Iran-allied Hezbollah. "The overarching goal of the campaign in Lebanon is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities (of Israel), through a combination of military and ...