Middle East

Hungary's Orban to Meet Trump in Face of Russia Oil Sanctions

This is Beirut 07/11 11:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump European Union Viktor Orban Russia Oil Hungary

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is due to meet Donald Trump in Washington on Friday for the first time since his ally was re-elected US president, as he seeks a waiver on American sanctions on Russian oil. The United States hit Russia's two biggest oil producers with sanctions last month, the first such measures ...

US Facing Travel Chaos as Flights Cut Due to Government Shutdown

This is Beirut 07/11 10:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump US Congress Airports Shutdown

Travelers across the United States were left scrambling to rebook flights as the government shutdown heaps pressure on the country's air traffic control system, prompting hundreds of Friday flight cancellations at major American airports. Airlines starting Friday will begin implementing up to a 10 percent reduction in flights for 40 high-traffic ...

Explosions Heard Near Sudan Capital

This is Beirut 07/11 10:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Sudan Khartoum Explosion

Explosions were heard near the army-controlled Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday, witnesses told AFP, a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they agreed to a humanitarian truce. Following the RSF's capture of El-Fasher, the army's last major stronghold in western Darfur, less than two weeks ago, the paramilitaries appear to be ...

North Korea Fires Unidentified Ballistic Missile

This is Beirut 07/11 10:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine United States North Korea Japan

North Korea fired a ballistic missile Friday, Seoul's military said, around a week after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine. Analysts have said Seoul's plan to construct one of the atomic-driven vessels would likely draw an aggressive response from Pyongyang. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of ...

Leaders Turn up the Heat on Fossil Fuels at Amazon Climate Summit

This is Beirut 07/11 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump United Nations COP30 Brazil Belem Oil

World leaders will meet for a second day of climate talks in the Brazilian Amazon on Friday after fiery speeches and renewed criticism of Big Oil marked the opening session. Dozens of ministers and several heads of state and government, including those of Spain, Germany and Namibia, will meet in Belem just before the United Nations' (UN) annual ...

Trump Hails Central Asia's 'Unbelievable Potential' at Summit

This is Beirut 07/11 09:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Asia Washington Central Asia

US President Donald Trump hosted all five Central Asian leaders on Thursday for the first time, a few months after they held separate summits with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping. The West has upped its interest in the resource-rich region, where Moscow's traditional influence has been questioned since the Kremlin's Ukraine ...

Trump says 'Open' to Considering Lifting Iran Sanctions

This is Beirut 07/11 09:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Middle East Tehran Sanctions

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran has asked for heavy US sanctions against Tehran to be lifted -- and that he is open to having a discussion about it. "Frankly, Iran has been asking if the sanctions could be lifted. Iran has got very heavy US sanctions, and it makes it really hard," Trump said during a dinner with Central Asian ...

Three Dead in Latest US Strike on Suspected Drug Vessel

This is Beirut 07/11 09:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Drug Cartel Caribbean

US forces on Thursday struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington's controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70. The United States began carrying out such strikes in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean ...

New U.S. Sanctions Target Hezbollah Financial Intermediaries

This is Beirut 07/11 09:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah United States Washington sanctions Iran

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday new sanctions against several individuals accused of transferring tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hezbollah in 2025 through Lebanese money exchange houses. According to the Treasury, these networks exploit Lebanon’s largely cash-based and informal financial system to fund the ...

Op-edHas the Countdown for Collapse Started in Iran?

Salam El Zaatari 07/11 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Iran Tehran Moscow Beijing

A seismic shift appears to be underway in the Middle East. The tremors so far are faint but detectable, hinting at an upcoming eruption along the region’s geopolitical fault lines. Iran's ruling clerical regime is showing signs of great vulnerability, not just those pointing to potential unrest but also to the beginnings of a systemic collapse. ...

Kazakhstan to Join Abraham Accords as Trump Pushes Mideast Peace

This is Beirut 07/11 08:56 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Kazakhstan Abraham Accords

Kazakhstan said Thursday it will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and mainly Muslim nations, in a largely symbolic move aimed at boosting US President Donald Trump's push for Middle East peace. The central Asian republic has had diplomatic ties with Israel for decades, unlike the four Arab states that normalized relations with Israel ...

UN Lifts Sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa Ahead of Historic White House Visit

This is Beirut 06/11 22:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Sanctions United Nations United States

The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a US resolution on Thursday to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ahead of his White House visit next week. "(The Council) decides that Ahmed al-Sharaa...and (Interior Minister) Anas Hasan Khattab are delisted from the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List," said the ...