middle east

Israel President Says He Dreams of ‘Driving Straight to Beirut’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday he hopes Israelis will one day be able to travel freely to Beirut, speaking to foreign diplomats in Jerusalem ahead of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon. Speaking to a gathering that included envoys from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Herzog said Israel was “eager” to help shape a ...

Maritime Incidents Underscore Fragility of Trump-Extended Iran Ceasefire

A series of maritime incidents occurred on Wednesday in and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, at the heart of the standoff between United States and Iran, highlighting the fragility of the truce unilaterally extended by Donald Trump with Iran. Just hours after the U.S. president announced the extension of the ceasefire, which has been in ...

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 ...

Israeli Strike on Lebanon's Bekaa Kills One

An Israeli strike on Lebanon's Bekaa region killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, despite an ongoing truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. "One person was killed and two others were wounded as a result of an attack carried out by an enemy drone at dawn on the outskirts of Al-Jabur in West ...

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 ...

Israel Says Exposed Iranian “Covert Terror Network” Targeting Officials and Strategic Sites

The Israeli government released a statement Monday announcing that its intelligence services have uncovered a secret Iranian-operated network responsible for planning attacks against Israeli officials and strategic infrastructure worldwide. According to a post on X by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has for the first ...

Iran Says 'No Decision' on Whether to Attend Next Round of U.S. Talks

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday it has yet to reach a decision on whether to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press ...

Syria Says Foiled Cross-Border Attack by Assad Remnants, Hezbollah

Syria's interior ministry said Sunday that security forces thwarted an alleged cross-border attack from the country's territory planned by remnants of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad and cells linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah. From March 2 until a 10-day ceasefire went into force on April 17, Hezbollah was battling Israel after drawing Lebanon into ...

Iran Arrests 4 Alleged Israeli Spies

Iran arrested four suspected Israeli spies, state media reported on Thursday. It came as U.S. officials discuss possible peace talks with Iran after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28 engulfed the Middle East in war. "The four agents linked to the Mossad were apprehended in Gilan governorate" in northern Iran, IRNA reported, ...

Mideast Prepares for More Fighting as Talks Fail

A sense of dread spread across the Middle East after talks between the US and Iran collapsed, as fears of renewed fighting rattled an already tense region with Donald Trump ordering a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Following more than 20 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, US Vice President JD Vance admitted the yawning ...

Israeli Minister Calls Iran Ceasefire a ‘Mistake,’ Questions Its Durability

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli has criticized the ceasefire with Iran as a “mistake,” casting doubt on its durability while defending Israel’s military gains in the conflict. Chikli, a member of the ruling Likud party, said, “I think it was a mistake to go to a ceasefire at this time,” arguing that adversaries like ...