Middle East

Trump Says Hopes for Iran Deal After Khamenei Warns of Regional War

This is Beirut 01/02 20:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was hopeful of agreeing to a deal with Iran after the country's supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war. Following the Iranian authorities' deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump has threatened military action and ...

Iran's Khamenei Warns of 'Regional War' if U.S. Attacks

This is Beirut 01/02 12:35 - Reading : less than a minute

Iran UnitedStates USIran Gulf IranProtests

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned on Sunday of a "regional war" if the United States attacked following heavy military deployments by Washington in the Gulf. "The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency. Khamenei also ...

Explosion Reported at Building in Iran Gulf City, Cause Unknown: State Media

This is Beirut 31/01 15:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Gulf Explosion BandarAbbas

An explosion took place on Saturday at a building in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf Coast, state media reported, though the cause of the blast was as yet unknown. State television said the explosion occurred at an eight-story building, "destroying two floors, several vehicles, and shops" in the area of Moallem Boulevard in the ...

Iran Army Chief Warns U.S., Israel Against Attack, Says Forces on High Alert

This is Beirut 31/01 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran UnitedStates Trump Isreal

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against an attack, saying his country's forces were on high alert following Washington's heavy military deployments in the Gulf. He also insisted the Islamic republic's nuclear expertise could not be eliminated, after Trump said he expected Tehran to seek a deal to ...

U.S. Approves Major Arms Deals to Israel, Saudi

This is Beirut 31/01 09:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel SaudiArabia USA Trump ArmsSales Security

The United States on Friday approved multibillion-dollar weapons sales to both Israel and Saudi Arabia, at a point of high tensions with Iran. The State Department said it green-lighted a $3.8 billion sale of 30 Apache attack helicopters to Israel, which has agreed to a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. "The United States is committed to the security ...

Trump Expects Iran to Seek Deal to Avoid U.S. Strikes

This is Beirut 31/01 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Tehran Iran IranProtests

President Donald Trump predicted on Friday that Iran would seek to negotiate a deal rather than face American military action, despite Tehran warning that its arsenal of missiles would never be up for discussion. "I can say this, they do want to make a deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Asked if he had given Iran a deadline to enter ...

Israel to Partially Reopen Gaza's Rafah Crossing on Sunday

This is Beirut 30/01 23:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Israel Gaza Hamas

Israel announced it would reopen the crucial Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday after months of urging from the UN, humanitarian organisations and ordinary Palestinians -- but only for the "limited movement of people". Earlier on Friday, the Islamist movement Hamas had called for the "immediate transition to the second phase" of the ...

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Areas Near Sidon, Including Nabih Berri’s Hometown

This is Beirut 30/01 20:20 - Reading : less than a minute

Israel Lebanon Hezbollah Airstrikes

Israeli airstrikes were reported near Mseileh, al-Najjariya, al-Dawoudiya and Wadi Azza in the Sidon district of southern Lebanon on Friday night. According to the IDF, the strikes aimed to destroy Hezbollah engineering equipment. There are also reports on Friday of low-flying Israeli aircraft over the villages of Zahrani. Mseileh is ...

U.S. Sanctions Senior IRGC Officials Over Crackdown on Iranian Protesters

This is Beirut 30/01 19:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran United States Sanctions

The U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned six officials from the IRGC over their role in the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrators on Friday. Among those listed are Minister of the Interior Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, leader of the IRGC intelligence organization Majid Khademi, and four provincial IRGC commanders. This ...

UN Says Yemen's Houthis Seized Telecoms Equipment, Vehicles

This is Beirut 30/01 18:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Yemen Houthis

Yemen's Houthi rebels have confiscated telecommunications equipment and vehicles from unstaffed United Nations offices in Sanaa, the world body said in a statement Friday, decrying potential disruptions to its humanitarian work. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted UN agencies and detained dozens of its staff as part of a crackdown on alleged ...

Iran Says Europe to 'Suffer Consequences of Foolish Act' After Guards Terror Listing

This is Beirut 30/01 13:30 - Reading : less than a minute

Europe European Union

Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei warned on Friday that European countries would face consequences after the EU listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. "There is no doubt that the hostile action of the Europeans, who labelled the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, will not ...

Syria–Kurds Reach Integration Deal After Weeks of Fighting

This is Beirut 30/01 13:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Kurds SDF

Syria’s government and Kurdish forces on Friday reached a broad agreement to gradually integrate Kurdish military units and administrative structures into the central state, following weeks of clashes that ended in a ceasefire. The deal, confirmed by both the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian state television, comes ...