Middle East
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The Pentagon said it was “strengthening” its force posture in the Middle East, deploying a guided missile submarine and hastening the transit of a carrier strike group to the region amid soaring fears that an Iranian retaliatory attack will widen the ongoing Hamas-Israel war. Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Sunday night…
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed the “serious regional escalation in the past few days” during a phone call on Friday. The escalation was attributed to Israel’s “extremist policies” and “adopted assassination approach,” according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. The two ministers emphasized…
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One of the few things working in Iran’s favor after the humiliating news that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital overnight is that the regime controls most of the information the world gets to see. What Iran has said so far is that Haniyeh died after being hit by an “airborne guided projectile” in Tehran where he…
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A helicopter carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials crashed in the mountainous north-west reaches of Iran on Sunday May 19, sparking a rescue operation in thick fog and driving rain. On Monday, search and rescue teams reached the crash site and “found no signs of the helicopter’s occupants being…
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The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called on influential international parties to intervene and press for defusing the tension in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah. In a statement, the ministry condemned the Israeli military operation in the city that resulted in Israeli control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.…
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Iran’s president has arrived in the Pakistani capital for a three-day visit. Major highways in Islamabad have been blocked as part of security measures for Ebrahim Raisi’s arrival, while the government declared a public holiday in Karachi. The visit, which Pakistan’s foreign office said will run until Wednesday, comes as the two Muslim neighbours seek…
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‘The Iranians are very scared’ Iran is issuing “conflicting statements” and the “Iranians are very scared”, an Israeli-American journalist has said. Caroline Glick added: “And I think that is a good thing. “I think that on the one hand, they say nothing. On the other hand, they say it was Mossad. “And then on the…
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Iran’s attack on Israel was a “declaration of war”, Israel’s president has told Sky News. Isaac Herzog said it was “about time the world faces this empire of evil in Tehran”. World leaders need to “make it clear” to the Iranian regime that its behaviour is “unacceptable”, Mr Herzog added. “We should be looking lucidly…
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Many of us went to bed last night worried about what we would wake up to. Iran was attacking the country it calls Little Satan and wants wiped off the map, sending hundreds of drones and missiles. The attack was neutralised. Nearly all the missiles and drones were intercepted and did not reach their target. But…
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Our security and defence experts are analysing last night’s US and UK strikes against Iran-backed militia groups. One of the security and defence analysts said there seems to be a “fundamental contradiction” when it comes to what the UK is doing and saying. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has said this round of strikes does not…
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Jordanian border guards have briefly detained four Israelis who mistakenly crossed the border, Jordanian state TV is reporting. The four are understood to have crossed by mistake on Thursday, according to the reports citing a military source. They were later returned to the Israeli authorities via the official channels.
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It’s not surprising the British and Americans have had another go at striking the Houthis in Yemen. But it’s just not necessarily all that clever. Allied naval vessels have been threatened, the argument goes in London and Washington, the commercial shipping of other countries hit or hijacked. It is essential something is done about it,…
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This year has seen human devastation reach an “unprecedented scale” and the “intense trauma” from the Israel-Hamas war will likely impact people for decades, a Red Cross aid worker has said. The desperate situation brought about by conflict, earthquakes and floods across various parts of the globe can leave “deep trauma and psychological impacts on…
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More Houthis attacks in the Red Sea will have “major global economic consequences”, a maritime security analyst has said. Ian Ralby told Sky News that the Yemen-based group’s “taste of global relevance” may inspire them “to be more aggressive and more hostile”. He said the Red Sea accounts for 10% of global energy supply and…
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Israel is conducting a number of operations across the enclave – north and south, with Hamas’s armed wing also providing updates on its attempts to quell Israeli advances. The north Israel says it is targeting specific areas in the north it says are historic Hamas strongholds. This includes the Jabalia refugee camp, which has seen the…
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America’s chief diplomat is engaged on a frantic bout of shuttle diplomacy across the Middle East with currently little to show for it. Antony Blinken has taken in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Amman, Baghdad and Ankara, but diplomatically speaking seems still to be on the road to nowhere. He has three tasks in hand – none of…
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