By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Forty-six Afghan soldiers sought refuge in Pakistan after losing control of military positions across the border following advances by Taliban insurgents, Pakistan’s army said on Monday. Hundreds of Afghan army soldiers and civil officials have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan in recent weeks after Taliban offensives in […]
By Matt Spetalnick, Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is expected to soon announce initial steps as part of the Biden administration’s review of Cuba policy and in response to Havana’s crackdown on the biggest street protests in decades, State Department officials said on Monday. The senior officials’ comments further […]
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. investigator on human rights in Iran has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and the role played by President-elect Ebrahim Raisi as Tehran deputy prosecutor. Javaid Rehman, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said that […]
The United States said on Sunday it carried out another round of air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, this time in response to drone attacks by the militia against US personnel and facilities in Iraq. In a statement, the US military said it targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations […]
US law enforcement seized the websites of two Iranian state-controlled news groups, Press TV and Al-Alam, and of the Al-Masirah TV channel of Yemen’s Huthis, statements posted on the websites showed Tuesday. Each site displayed a single page with a statement that it “has been seized by the United States Government” and making reference to […]
Politico is reporting that Iran state-run news has been taken down, apparently by the United States. “The U.S. seized roughly three dozen websites, the majority of which are linked to Iranian disinformation efforts, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case had not yet been officially announced by the American […]
The US national security advisor said Sunday that even with the election of an ultra-right president in Iran, the “ultimate decision” on recommitting to the 2015 nuclear deal lies with that country’s supreme leader. “Whether the president is Person A or Person B is less relevant than whether their system is prepared to make commitments […]
Ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi has been elected Iran’s new president with more than 61.95 percent of the vote, electoral officials announced on Saturday. Voter turnout was estimated at 48.8 percent, the lowest ever recorded for a presidential election after reformists called for a boycott. Ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi unsuccessfully challenged moderate reformist President Hassan Rouhani in […]
Israel awoke Monday with Jewish nationalist Naftali Bennett at the head of a precarious coalition government that faces stark challenges, after 12 years under right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu. The watershed moment in Israeli politics saw an ideologically disparate eight-party bloc, ranging from right to left to Arab Islamic conservatives, band together to unseat the bombastic veteran […]
Russia is making waves ahead the upcoming summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. “Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will give Tehran an unprecedented ability to track potential military targets across the Middle East and beyond, according to current and former U.S. and Middle Eastern officials briefed on […]
US President Joe Biden and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will hold their first summit next month in Geneva, both sides said Tuesday, setting the stage for a new chapter in their fraught relationship. The meeting in the Swiss city will be on June 16, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. “The leaders will discuss […]
US Secretary of State meets Russian counterpart in Iceland – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) receives Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prior to their meeting. – Ron Przysucha/US Department of State /dpa The Kremlin said on Thursday that it saw “positive signals” towards a possible summit between the presidents of Russia and the United […]
Iran has promised the Palestinian Hamas movement its support in the fight against Israel in the Gaza conflict. In a telephone conversation with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the commander of the al-Quds Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, General Esmail Qa’ani, assured Hamas of his full support on Saturday, Iranian state media reported. For his […]
President Joe Biden is nearing a foreign policy victory in the Middle East, according to a new report. “The United States and Iran could each come back into compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal within weeks, a senior State Department official said on Thursday, on the eve of what could be a final round of […]
Benjamin Netanyahu’s deadline for forming a new Israeli government expired early on Wednesday, with the country’s longest-serving prime minister having failed to break more than two years of political deadlock. There was also no guarantee that, after the conservative incumbent was unable to assemble a new coalition, parties outside his caretaker government could bridge their […]
A senior White House official on Sunday denied reports from Tehran that an agreement had been reached with Iran for the release of four Americans detained there. “I can tell you, unfortunately, that report is untrue,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “There is no agreement to release […]
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran will free four Americans accused of spying in exchange for four Iranians held in the United States and the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds, a pro-Iranian Lebanese TV channel reported on Sunday, citing unnamed Iranian officials. Iranian state television, citing an official, confirmed the Al Mayadeen report. The White […]
Iran’s “significant” and “lethal” support for Houthi rebels is the latest threat to ongoing peace efforts in Yemen, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said on Wednesday. Calling for an end to the escalating battle in the Marib region, Lenderking pointed a finger at Iran and its role in providing training to the Houthis […]
By Gabriel Crossley and Yew Lun Tian BEIJING (Reuters) – China is shoring up ties with autocratic partners like Russia and Iran, as well as economically dependent regional countries, while using sanctions and threats to try to fracture the alliances the United States is building against it. Worryingly for Beijing, diplomats and analysts say, the […]
(Reuters) -Iran on Saturday named a man it wants arrested in connection with a recent explosion and power outage at its main Natanz nuclear plant, as talks got underway in Vienna to try to save Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. “Reza Karimi, the perpetrator of this sabotage… has been identified” by Iran’s intelligence […]
(Reuters) – The speaker of Iran’s parliament said on Friday that Tehran had successfully enriched 60% uranium. “I am proud to announce that at 00:40 … Iranian scientists were able to produce 60% enriched uranium,” Mohammad Qalibaf said on Twitter. (dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)
North Korea could resume nuclear tests this year as a way to force President Joe Biden’s administration to enter into dialogue, US intelligence experts said in a report released Tuesday. “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilizing actions to reshape the regional security environment and drive wedges […]
The United States offered “very serious” ideas to Iran on how to revive a nuclear deal during talks in Vienna but is waiting for Iran to show the same “seriousness,” a US official said Friday. “The United States team put forward a very serious idea and demonstrated a seriousness of purpose on coming back into […]
Israel briefly came to a standstill on Thursday with the morning bustle halted for two minutes at 10:00 am (0700 GMT) as sirens blared to honour the victims of the Holocaust. In an annual ritual, pedestrians froze in place and drivers stopped and stood in silence beside their vehicles, honouring the six million Jews killed […]
(Reinstates dropped word ‘than’ in first para) DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran has made 55 kg of uranium enriched to up to 20% – the point at which it is highly enriched – indicating quicker production than the 10 kg a month rate required by an Iranian law that created the process in January, Iranian authorities said […]
US and Iranian officials said initial indirect talks in Vienna on Tuesday aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal were “constructive”, with negotiations set to continue this week as US President Joe Biden looks for ways to revive the agreement. “We do see this as a constructive and certainly welcome step,” US State Department spokesman […]
(Reuters) – Iran’s government wants the United States to lift all sanctions on its country and rejects any “step-by-step” easing of the restrictions, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported on Saturday. The two countries said on Friday they would hold indirect talks in Vienna from next week as part of broader negotiations to revive the […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior U.S. and Israel officials focused on concerns about Iran during the first virtual meeting of a bilateral strategic group on Thursday, the White House said, an issue on which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has differences with the new Biden administration. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his […]
The Biden administration hasn’t wasted time in making a significant shift in US policy toward the Middle East. Over the past week, the US has launched reprisal strikes against Iranian targets in Syria and released damning intelligence overtly linking the crown prince of Saudi Arabia to the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Both decisions represent […]
By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation rejected by Tehran. The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that […]