So far in March, the UAE exported 68,560.29 metric tons of aluminium to the U.S. before the tariffs kicked in, compared to 16,124.88 metric tons in all of March 2024. The exports in March are already at a nearly two-year high on a monthly basis (Read more at MSN).
The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad and some Hong Kong-flagged vessels that are part of a shadow fleet that helps disguise Iranian oil shipments, the Treasury Department said (Read more at Energy Now).
This move comes after a media blitz in which Boehler referred to Hamas as “nice guys” and said he didn’t “really care about” the concerns of Ron Dermer, Israel’s strategic affairs minister. He also stated that the United States was “not an agent of Israel.” A senior U.S. official said Adam Boehler will still work on other Mideast-related matters with Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East (Read more at JNS).
At the start of the year, the U.S. government tightened restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips, such as those made by Nvidia, while finding ways to block China's access to the advanced technology. Under the regulations, countries such as Japan, Britain, South Korea and the Netherlands would essentially be exempt from the rules while others, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, will face some caps (Read more at Market Screener).
“If we enter negotiations while the other side is imposing maximum pressure, we will be negotiating from a weak position and will achieve nothing,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. “The other side must be convinced that the policy of pressure is ineffective; only then can we sit at the negotiating table on equal terms” he added (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Most major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Thursday, helped by a cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation print, although uncertainty over tariffs persisted. Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council is usually guided by the Federal Reserve's decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar (Read more at Zawya).
During a meeting at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Trump hammered Democratic Party lawmakers for the response to his March 6 speech to a joint session of Congress. “Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned,” Trump said Wednesday. “He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.” (Read more at The Hill)
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem has welcomed United States President Donald Trump’s apparent retreat from his proposed permanent displacement of more than two million Palestinians from Gaza. The statement by the Hamas official came after Trump said on Wednesday that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza” in response to a question during a meeting in the White House with Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Read more at Aljazeera).
Türkiye's national oil company, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), has signed a joint venture agreement with U.S. oil producers Continental Resources and TransAtlantic Petroleum to develop shale fields in the country’s southeastern Diyarbakır province. ürkiye's national oil company, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), has signed a joint venture agreement with U.S. oil producers Continental Resources and TransAtlantic Petroleum to develop shale fields in the country’s southeastern Diyarbakır province (Read more at Daily Sabah).
The deal aims to stitch back together a country fractured by 14 years of war, paving the way for Kurdish-led forces, which hold a quarter of Syria, to merge with Damascus, along with regional Kurdish governing bodies. Key details of how this will happen have yet to be spelled out, however (Read more at Japan Times).
According to the New York Police Department, around 150 individuals dressed in civilian attire entered the Trump Tower – US President Donald Trump's New York residence and a property of the Trump Organization – shortly before noon. Once inside, they removed their outer layers to reveal red T-shirts bearing pro-Palestinian slogans and began a sit-in. Footage from the scene captured protesters seated in the lobby, clapping and chanting "Free Palestine." (Read more at Shine)
US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler traveled to Iraq last month to push for the release of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq nearly two years ago, three sources familiar with the matter said. Since taking office, Boehler has stepped up efforts to secure the release of Tsurkov, a Princeton University student who went missing in Iraq during a research trip in March 2023, publicly urging the Iraqi government to help her get home (Read more at Arabnews).
The Iraqi prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, Farhad Alaaeldin said most Iraqi power plants run on gas from Iran, with 43% of Iraq's electricity generated by the gas imported from its neighbour to the east. Still, the U.S. was encouraging Iraq to secure gas from other sources, Alaaeldin said (Read more at Reuters).
Consultations and coordination on the plan would continue with US special envoy Steve Witkoff as a “basis for the reconstruction efforts” in Gaza, according to a joint statement following a meeting of the foreign ministers in Doha (Read more at Starits Times).
While Araqchi and Gargash were meeting, Khamenei told a group of university students that Trump's offer for talks was "a deception", state media reported. "When we know they won't honour it, what's the point of negotiating? Therefore, the invitation to negotiate ... is a deception of public opinion," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media. Khamenei said he had not yet seen the letter (Read more at Yahoo News).
Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Tuesday, as investors fretted that a wide-ranging trade war could dent U.S. economic growth and lead to a recession. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index declined 1.3%, weighed down by a 1.6% slide in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.9% drop in Saudi National Bank (Read more at Zawya).
The Council on American Islamic Relations said it recorded the highest number of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab complaints, 8,658, in 2024, since it began publishing data in 1996. Most complaints were in the categories of employment discrimination (15.4 percent), immigration and asylum (14.8 percent), education discrimination (9.8 percent) and hate crimes (7.5 percent). (Read more at New Arab)
The program was created after the OHCHR urged a legislative and investigative approach into Iraq’s large quantity of missing persons. The OHCHR attributes the disproportionate number to torture and forced disappearances during the prior Ba’athist regime, the US invasion of Iraq, and ISIS activity within the country (Read more at Jurist News).
"It is unacceptable for us that they (the U.S.) give orders and make threats. I won’t even negotiate with you. Do whatever the hell you want", state media quoted Pezeshkian as saying (Read more at Reuters).
"The United States welcomes the recently announced agreement between the Syrian interim authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate the northeast into a unified Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, referring to the Kurdish-led, US-allied SDF force (Read more at Barrons).
A training (inert) Spike missile was used for the first time with the aircraft flown by a conventional army unit. The Spike offers over four times the range of the Hellfire missile at 32 kilometers (20 miles). Its seeker and wireless data link provide the operator with real-time video imagery and man-in-the-loop control throughout flight, with mid-flight retargeting and mission-abort (Read more at Defense Post).
The Proportion of Americans who sympathise with the Palestinians is at its highest since Gallup started collecting data. Only 46 percent of Americans polled said their sympathies are with the Israelis rather than the Palestinians during Israel’s current assault on Gaza. The second lowest approval rating was 51 percent in 2001, a year after the Second Intifada (Read more at Middle East Eye).
1.8 million famine-affected people are now being denied food. In warehouses across Africa, food shipped from the United States intended for the starving people of war-torn Sudan is sitting rotting, its fate unknown (Read more at Middle East Eye).
President says in post his administration ‘will not tolerate’ actions of protesters at Columbia and other US universities. Trump added: “Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country – never to return again (Read more at Guardian).
President Donald Trump's hostage envoy Adam Boehler's direct meetings with Palestinian militant group Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza was a "one-off situation" and as of now "hasn't borne fruit," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. "That was a one-off situation in which our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so. He did so," he added (Read more at Reuters).
Baghdad is looking to Qatar and Oman as possible options. Baghdad currently receives up to 50 million cubic metres of gas per day from Iran depending on its needs under a five-year deal extension signed in March 2024. Iraq pays $4-5 billion per year to Iran for gas imports (Read more at Yahoo News)
In a statement posted on X, the country’s U.N. mission said: “If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration.” “However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has now been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place,” Iran’s mission said (Read more at Live5news).
Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian activist Saturday who played a prominent role in Columbia University’s protests against Israel, a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s pledge to detain and deport student activists. Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia until this past December, was inside his university-owned apartment Saturday night when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered and took him into custody (Read more at AP).
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Doha on Tuesday evening in an effort to broker a new hostage-release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The talks would be the first since President Trump took office and since the original agreement between Israel and Hamas that established a 42-day ceasefire in Gaza (Read more at Axios)
Boehler said his meetings with Hamas leaders in recent days were designed to pinpoint what the group's end game was with the goal of bringing hostilities to a close. He did not rule out additional encounters with the Palestinian militant group (Read more at Reuters).
“Michel is an outstanding businessman, a financial expert, and a leader with a remarkable career in Banking, Entrepreneurship, and International Trade,” Trump said on Truth Social. He succeeds Ambassador Lisa A. Johnson in this position. Born in Bsees, Aley district, Issa lived in Beirut in his early childhood then moved to France and studied economics at the University of Paris. He completed the prestigious postgraduate course at banking institutes while embarking on a twenty-year career at UBAF- Chase Manhattan Bank- Banque Indosuez and Credit Agricole (Read more at Yalibnan).
"Some bullying countries insist on talks not to resolve issues but to impose their demands...we will certainly not accept their demands", the Iranian leader said in a meeting with senior officials (Read more at Axios).
Other graffiti that read “Free Gaza” was spotted on part of a building at Trump Turnberry. On X, the activist group issued a threat to the president. “Whilst Trump attempts to treat Gaza as his property, he should know his own property is within reach,” the post said (Read more at News Nation Now).
"There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal," Trump said. He added, "I would rather negotiate a deal. I'm not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily," Trump said. "But the time is happening now, the time is coming up. Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran, and I've written them a letter, saying I hope you're going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily it's going to be a terrible thing for them." (Read more at ABCNews)
Israel's concerns over the Trump administration's secret negotiations with Hamas erupted in a contentious call Tuesday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-hand man and the U.S. official leading the talks. When Trump aides sounded out Israeli officials in early February about the possibility of engaging directly with Hamas, the Israelis advised them not to do it — particularly not without preconditions. Israel found out through other channels that the U.S. was moving ahead anyway (Read more at Axios).
The “Catch and Revoke” project, launched by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will see "AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts [and] marks a dramatic escalation in the US government's policing of foreign nationals' conduct and speech”. Rubio took to X on Thursday to announce measures against students, saying the US has “zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of US law”. According to reports, the State Department has already revoked the visa of one unidentified student (Read more at Middle East Eye).
If the war in Ukraine ends and Trump lifts sanctions on Russia, he could dent some of the Gulf states' economic activity. The United Arab Emirates and Russia were deepening ties before the Biden administration slapped sanctions on Russia. But after that, the UAE became a hub for re-exporting sanctioned goods (Read more at Middle East Eye).
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday said they agreed to strengthen dialogue and enhance collaboration in a meeting Wednesday focused on the two countries' economic partnership. "This is a critical time to shape a new strategic economic future for both countries, reinforcing American global leadership and Israel's role as a key economic partner," the two men said in a joint statement released by the Treasury (Read more at AOL).
Militant group accuses the US president of seeking to undermine deal with his ultimatum for release of hostages. The militant Islamist organisation said Trump’s threats constituted support for attempts by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to back out of the ceasefire agreement (Read more at Guardian).
Witkoff told reporters at the White House that gaining the release of Edan Alexander, the 21-year-old man from New Jersey believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, is a "top priority for us." Witkoff said he will travel to the Middle East next week with stops planned in four countries. Witkoff also said the U.S. does not believe Hamas has been forthright (Read more at Reuters).
“It may seem like he makes empty threats,” Boehler told anchor Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.” “Until he carries out the threat. And then it’s not so empty. And then you’re dead.” (Read more at Politico)
The U.S. is reviewing all existing sanctions waivers that provide Iran any degree of economic relief, and urging the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible (Read more at US News).
Israel and the US conducted a joint air force drill in the Eastern Mediterranean that included long-range bombers, as some analysts warned that the window for US President Donald Trump to engage Iran on a nuclear deal is closing. Israeli F-35 and F-15 jet fighters took part in drills in the Eastern Mediterranean alongside a US B-52, a long-range strategic bomber, the Israeli army said in a statement on Thursday. The US has long used B-52 bombers, which are capable of carrying bombs to strike Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, as a show of force against Tehran during times of tension (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The Kremlin said today that future talks between Russia and the United States would include discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, a subject it said had been “touched upon” in an initial round of US-Russia talks last month (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index dropped 0.4%. Also, Dubai's main share index fell 0.4%. Elsewhere, blue-chip developer Emaar Properties was down 0.4% and Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp retreated 1.2% (Read more at Market Screener).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "the Houthis' activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade. The United States will not tolerate any country engaging with terrorist organisations like the Houthis in the name of practising legitimate international business," (Read more at Straits Times)
President Trump told Hamas he will greenlight additional Israeli military strikes on Gaza unless the group releases its remaining hostages. Trump issued the ultimatum after a meeting with six hostages who were released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Among the remaining hostages are five Americans, including 21-year-old Edan Alexander who is believed to be alive (Read more at Axios).
It occurred over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war. The talks — held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler — are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997 (Read more at Axios).
If the Arab summit’s counter-proposal was intended to assert regional agency over Gaza’s future, the US-Israeli response left little doubt as to who still holds the reins. Will Arab states be able to withstand the relentless push of the American-Israeli agenda, which seeks to shape not just the geography of Gaza, but its very identity and political direction? (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The waiver suggests the Trump administration intends to try to strengthen Lebanon's military and the new government that took office in January. The aid is part of a broader Trump administration strategy to try to continue weakening Hezbollah, decreasing its influence in Lebanon and making sure the ceasefire with Israel holds (Read more at Axios).
Trump expressed an interest to work with Iran on both nuclear matters and Tehran's support for anti-U.S. proxies in the Middle East during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Trump administration officials also discussed communicating with Iran in a meeting with their Russian counterparts at a summit in Saudi Arabia last month (Read more at Newsweek)
The draft said the board would comprise key Arab countries, members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United States, Britain, the European Union and its member states, and others. The Egyptian draft does not tackle the issue of what actions could be taken if Hamas refuses to disarm or step aside from politics (Read more at Arabnews).
They discussed the state of the region, including the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the need to secure the release of all hostages, efforts to sustain assistance flows into Gaza, Syria’s political future, and the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. The Secretary also discussed the importance of permanently ending unlawful Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways (Read more at US Department of State Website).
U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Eli Sharabi and other Israeli freed hostages to a meeting at the White House after viewing portions of Sharabi’s testimony regarding his time in captivity. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. Sharabi, 52, who was released by Hamas on Feb. 8 after 491 days in captivity in Gaza, has become a leading voice among the freed hostages. His emotional account of his time in captivity has gained international attention (Read more at JNS).
Israel has agreed to a new U.S. proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of about half of the remaining hostages — both living and dead — but Hamas has so far refused to accept it, the Prime Minister's Office claimed in a statement. Hamas has in recent days said the original agreement needs to be implemented. According to the deal, the ceasefire would continue as long as negotiations on the second phase of the deal were taking place. But there are currently no active negotiations and the fighting in Gaza could resume as soon as Sunday (Read more at Axios).
They accused the United States of blocking a solution. Despite winning top prizes in Europe and the United States, the film has yet to reach a deal for U.S. distribution, Abraham told Deadline last month. Asked why he thought U.S. distributors had passed on the film, Abraham told Deadline: “I believe it’s clear that it’s for political reasons. I hope that it will change." He said they decided not to wait on the theatrical release and released it in almost 100 theaters independently (Read more at USNews).
The US State Department told Congress on Friday that it plans to sell nearly $3 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and $295 million worth of armored bulldozers that had been held up by the previous administration over human rights concerns that US President Donald Trump has largely eschewed. The prospective weapons sales were notified to US Congress on an emergency basis, meaning they will not be subject to review by the House and Senate’s foreign relations committees (Read more at Times of Israel).
Israel works to counter Turkey's growing influence in Syria by lobbying the United States to keep it weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases in the country. Syria's new leadership is in talks with Russia over the fate of the military bases. Some experts say that the new U.S. President Donald Trump could be more open to Russia staying in Syria than his predecessor, Joe Biden. According to the report, Biden's administration considered offering to ease the sanctions on Syria in exchange for closing Russia's two military bases (Read more at Kyivindipendent).
"We have been forced to suspend or cut back or drastically reduce many of our programmes and that includes nutrition programmes," UNICEF's deputy representative in Lebanon, Ettie Higgins said. "The assessment revealed a grim picture of children’s nutrition situation, particularly in the Baalbeck and Bekaa governorates, which remained densely populated when they were repeatedly targeted by air strikes", said Higgins (Read more at Reuters).
Trump was asked whether phase two would come to fruition. "We'll see what happens. Nobody really knows, but we'll see what happens," he said at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We have some pretty good talks going on." (Read more at Yahoo News)
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, said on Tuesday that removing Hamas from power in Gaza was a “red line” for the Trump administration as Israel and Hamas prepare for the next round of ceasefire negotiations. Speaking at the launch of the American Jewish Committee’s Center for a New Middle East in Washington, Witkoff told attendees that “Phase 2” of those negotiations could begin as soon as Sunday (Read more at Israel Today).
Qatar is holding off providing Syria's new rulers with funds to increase public sector pay due to uncertainty over whether the transfers would breach US sanctions. While the previous US administration issued a sanctions exemption on January 6 to allow transactions with Syria's governing institutions for six months, Qatar does not see this as enough to cover payments it would need to make via the central bank to finance the salary increase (Read more at Business Standard).
The Kremlin last year described relations as "below zero" under the administration of Joe Biden, who backed Ukraine with aid and weapons and imposed waves of sanctions on Russia to punish it for its invasion in 2022. The Russian team arrived in a black Mercedes van for the meeting at the gated residence of the U.S. consul general in Istanbul. Russian state TV said the talks were expected to last five to six hours (Read more at Reuters).
"Iran continues to try to find new ways to procure the key components it needs to bolster its UAV weapons program through new front companies and third-country suppliers," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, said China and Iran's cooperation was "reasonable and legal". "China has always firmly opposed the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises and citizens," he said (Read more at AOL).
Smotrich was invited by Bessent in a call two weeks ago. It would mark the first in-person talks between Smotrich, a fervent settler advocate at the helm of Israel’s settlement planning apparatus, and a Trump administration official — and it could have major implications for U.S. policy toward the settlements, which the international community largely considers illegal (Read more at ABC News).
Critics say the video, set to upbeat music with lyrics proclaiming “Trump Gaza is finally here,” portrays a vision of the region that erases its current destruction and suffering while proposing an American-led redevelopment project (Read more at Euronews).
Hunter College faculty and staff union condemns Kathy Hochul’s order to take down listing, calling it ‘overreach of authority’. In the job listing, Hunter College wrote that the institution is seeking “a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality”. (Read more at Guardian)
On 23 January, faculty and staff from the City University of New York’s Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union voted 73-70 in favour of a resolution to divest from Israeli companies and government bonds and recommended the teachers’ pension divest $100m from Israeli companies and bonds. However, less than a month after the resolution passed, union leadership organised a re-vote on the divestment resolution - which led to a 113-63 vote against it on 20 February (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Two Barnard College students were expelled for disrupting a class at Columbia University on the history of modern Israel, in what appear to be the first expulsions for pro-Palestinian activism on the campus since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks (Read more at NY Daily News).
Sources at the Pentagon on Monday said the two sides also discussed security measures against Iran. Asked if the US would help defend Saudi Arabia against an attack by Iran, Hegseth confirmed the two allies were discussing the issue (Read more at Arab Weekly).
The US sanctioned 30 persons and vessels for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products. Oil brokers in the UAE and Hong Kong and the head of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company were also targeted (Read more at News18).
The trial began on Tuesday for a killing that marked one of the earliest and worst alleged hate crime incidents in the United States since the eruption of U.S. ally Israel's military assault on Gaza after an October 2023 attack by Hamas. The family's landlord, Joseph Czuba, 73, was charged with murder and hate crimes and had earlier pleaded not guilty (Read more at MSN).
Iran will not engage in direct talks with the United States on his country’s nuclear programme amid US President Donald Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” against it, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. His remarks came a day after the US imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, the Iran’s main source of income (Read more at Aljazeera).
The United States and Israel also shared the company of North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea. The General Assembly adopted a European Union-backed resolution, which calls for de-escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution. The vote was 93-18 with 65 abstentions (Read more at JNS).
A US-based human rights group has formally submitted a referral at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against former US President Joe Biden and members of his administration for their complicity in Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. In a statement on Monday, Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) called for a formal investigation into the actions of Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, and other US officials (Read more at Middle East Eye).
US National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said Sunday that the White House supports Israel's decision to delay releasing 620 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. President Donald Trump is prepared to support Israel in "whatever course of action it chooses regarding Hamas," Hughes said (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
prices edged higher on Monday as fresh US sanctions on Iran and a commitment to compensate for overproduction by Iraq added to concerns of near-term supply tightness, helping the market recover some of Friday's steep losses (Read more at Khaleej Times).
The United States imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry on Monday, hitting more than 30 brokers, tanker operators, and shipping companies for their role in selling and transporting Iranian petroleum, the Treasury Department said (Read more at Reuters).
Yemen’s Houthis launched surface-to-air missiles at an American fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone this week, but did not hit either. The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships off Yemen since November 2023 in support of Gaza’s Palestinian militants fighting Israel, disrupting global shipping (Read more at Arabnews).
The three-stage ceasefire which came into effect on January 19 is now nearing the end of its first phase. "We have to get an extension of phase one. I'll be going to the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that and we are hopeful that we have the proper time to begin phase two and finish it off and get more hostages released," President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said (Read more at Reuters).
The embassy stated, “Following the February 20 explosions on public buses, and out of an abundance of caution, the US Embassy is temporarily prohibiting US government employees and their family members from using public buses and the light rail across Israel for 14 days... the security environment is complex and can change quickly.” (Read more at Shafaq)
A group of American Christian leaders are publicly reaffirming the Jewish people’s right to the biblical heartland of Israel, ahead of a key U.S. decision on Israeli sovereignty over the territory. The declaration will be made public at the annual National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Dallas (Read more at JNS).
Attorney General Pam Bondi said anti-Israel student protesters who are in the United States on visas and threatening American students "need to be kicked out of the country." "All of our students deserve to be safe," Bondi said on Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington, D.C., while joining the stage with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (Read more at AOL).
Gilad Erdan, the former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, called on U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Qatar to take in all the residents of the Gaza Strip, instead of Jordan and Egypt (Read more at JNS).
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran. A speedy resumption of exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports, which Washington has pledged to cut to zero as part of Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran (Read more at AOL).
The leaders of Gulf Arab states are expected to strategize with their Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts Friday in an effort to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to redevelop the Gaza Strip under U.S. control and displace its Palestinian residents. The meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, is in preparation for a broader Arab League summit in Egypt on March 4 (Read more at Japan Times).
Attendees at the CPAC conference heard U.S. Vice President JD Vance tell hostage families that “our message is that President Trump loves you. He hasn’t forgotten your loved ones.” (Read more at JNS)
"When the president talks about this, it means he wants to shake up everyone's thinking and think about what is compelling and what is the best solution for the Palestinian and Gazan people who live there," US Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff added (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
It is part of the global freeze on US foreign aid. It comes at a critical time as the PA struggles to maintain stability in the occupied West Bank and prepare for a potential role in governing Gaza. While some international donors have stepped in to offset the shortfall, a Palestinian security training official revealed that certain programs have already been cancelled, and a planned security meeting with US officials regarding operations in Jenin has been postponed (Read more at New Arab).
Turkey has started to export masses of eggs to the US this month in response to an outbreak of bird flu across the Atlantic. The shipments began this month and will continue until July, under a preliminary agreement, he added (Read more at Euronews).
Hundreds of pro-Palestine people attended a demonstration organised by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation-Awda (Pal-Awda) on Tuesday in New York City's borough of Brooklyn to protest against a real estate event advertising land for sale in occupied Palestine, with protests turning violent (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The security assistance that has been suspended to the PA is from the State Department and Department of Defence. “Most of the PA’s aid doesn’t come from the State Department. It comes from the CIA. Last I heard, they haven’t changed their policy on the PA.” (Read more at Middle East Eye)
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham dismissed President Donald Trump's proposal to seize Gaza and force out the Palestinians, while Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal said he expects Arab states to put forward a workable alternative. Graham, a longtime ally of Trump and a key Republican in Congress with influence on foreign policy and national security matters, told reporters there was little appetite in the Senate "for America to take over Gaza in any way, shape or form." (Read more at AOL)
In an arrest report, police alleged that Brafman had “spontaneously stated that while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both” (Read more at Aljazeera).
The Trump administration welcomed on Wednesday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's decision to revoke the system of payments to families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails or to families of Palestinians who were killed or wounded during attacks against Israelis (Read more at Axios).
"Trump's plan regarding Gaza is the only one that can guarantee security for the residents of the south and the State of Israel after the lessons learned from the events of Oct. 7," said the Israeli defense minister (Read more at JNS).
“All options are on the table” to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump is “deadly serious when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch,” Waltz told Fox News Sunday when asked about a potential U.S. military action against Tehran’s nuclear project (Read more at JNS).
In the wake of the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to the Jewish state this week, Netanyahu noted that he had cultivated his ties with Republican leaders not in a partisan way, but in “a Zionist way.” (Read more at JNS)
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it conducted the strike Saturday in Northwest Syria targeting and killing a senior finance and logistics official in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate (Read more at France 24).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, during talks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that any deal on the future of war-torn Gaza must boost regional security, the US State Department said (Read more at France 24).
The comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem yesterday and said their countries were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its influence in the Middle East (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
He told Fox News that he had “very productive and constructive” calls on Sunday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt’s director of intelligence. Witkoff said they spoke about “the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand ... where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.” (Read more at Arabnews)
Iraq's central bank will ban five more local banks from engaging in U.S. dollar transactions, a move that comes after meetings with U.S. Treasury officials in efforts to combat money laundering, dollar smuggling and other violations (Read more at Market Screener).
Israel and the United States are both determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “aggression” in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb 16 following a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Read more at Strait Times).
It is not clear whether Trump is going to accept the release of only three hostages or call for the end of the ceasefire when his demand isn't met. Other than Dekel-Chen, Hamas is still holding five American hostages. One, Edan Alexander, is still alive (Read more at Axios).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Palestinians should be given the choice to leave Gaza. Speaking to Jewish American organisations gathered in Jerusalem, Netanyahu again praised US President Donald Trump's plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza. "Give them a choice. Not forcible eviction. Not ethnic cleansing," he said (Read more at Middle East Eye).
An aide close to Zelenskyy said that as of Saturday evening, Ukraine has still not been invited to the peace talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia (Read more at NBC News).
Erdogan said he expected President Trump to realize his election campaign promises of taking measures for peace, rather than creating new conflicts. The Turkish president said he saw no real signs of a ceasefire in Gaza despite a truce deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas (Read more at Diplomatic Insight).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intention from day one of his "revenge" attack on Gaza, launched 16 months ago, was either ethnic cleansing or genocide in Gaza. His ally in genocide for the next 15 months was former US President Joe Biden. His ally in ethnic cleansing is current US President Donald Trump (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Elon Musk's The Boring Company and Dubai's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) have signed an initial agreement to build the Dubai Loop, an underground high-speed transport network spanning 17km (Read more at Daily Maverick).
The draft ideas will be discussed at a regional meeting in Riyadh this month. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MbS, had warm relations with Trump during the first administration and he's central to Arab ties in the new Trump era. But the kingdom was angered by the U.S. president's Gaza idea, which nixes its demand for a clear path to Palestinian statehood in return for normalizing Saudi ties with Israel (Read more at Yahoo News).
USAID distributes billions of dollars of aid worldwide. Trump has ordered a freeze on most U.S. foreign aid. Aid cuts could destabilise Al-Hol, Roj camps. People suspected of IS affiliation are held at the camps (Read more at Reuters).
The ministry said it "commends the phone call" between Trump and Putin and the "possibility" of hosting a summit in the kingdom (Read more at Moscow Times).
"I don’t know what’s going to happen at 12 o’clock. If it was up to me, I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Anadolu Ajansı).
Russia shipped a diesel cargo to the Syrian Arab Republic onboard a tanker under US sanctions, the first known such direct supply to the Middle Eastern country in more than a decade. The Barbados-flagged vessel Prosperity was loaded with about 37,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulfur diesel. The tanker is anchored near the Syrian port of Banias (Read more Arab News).
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Feb. 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea. There are no reports of injuries, nor is there flooding, aboard the carrier, which carries a crew of 5,000 sailors, and the incident is under investigation. The aircraft carrier and its strike group had been operating in the Red Sea since mid-December as part of the mission to thwart Houthi militant attacks launched from Yemen at commercial vessels transiting the vital waterway (Read more at ABC News).
Any Arab citizen with a shred of personal dignity left must have felt deeply embarrassed upon watching the interaction unfold in the Oval Office on Tuesday, when Trump received King Abdullah of Jordan. To influence the US decision-making process on the Middle East, Arab monarchies must coordinate their strategies and speak with one voice. There is a golden rule to follow when Trump speaks: never take his words at face value. For him, everything and its opposite can be true; we are in a post-truth era. There is thus a thin ray of hope that he does not really mean what he says (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The trip will center on freeing American and all other hostages from Hamas captivity, advancing to Phase II of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and countering the destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime and its proxies (Read more at State Department Website).
The US says it has shouldered the burden of Syria camps for too long. The US urges countries to quickly repatriate nationals. Al-Hol camp is widely viewed as a breeding ground for extremism (Read more at Reuters).
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev were involved in negotiations over the release of U.S. teacher Marc Fogel from a Russian prison. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited Saudi Arabia in 2023, said last September that he was grateful to Mohammed bin Salman for his role in the previous exchange (Read more at AOL).
In remarks made during the World Government Summit in Dubai, the UAE ambassador to the US, Yousef Al-Otaiba acknowledged the complexity of the situation, stating, “But at the end of the day, we’re all in a solution-seeking business, we just don’t know where it’s going to land yet.” During the same summit, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan engaged in discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, emphasizing the importance of a two-state solution (Read more at Roya News).
US sanctions on Russia, and Iran tighten oil tanker availability. Iran floating storage at over one-year high, January exports up for 2nd month. Iran's crude discount shrinks to the narrowest in several years. Russian oil on water jumps after January 10 sanctions (Read more at Reuters).
Egypt has said Trump had extended an open invitation to Sisi to visit the White House earlier this month. Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, will not travel to Washington for talks at the White House as long as the agenda includes US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza. Jordan’s King Abdullah appeared uncomfortable during a meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, at which Trump discussed his Gaza plan (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Among other attendees poised to attend the Miami summit are TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, as well as Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the $925 billion Saudi Public Investment Fund, according to the FII website. The public website does not list Trump as an attendee (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Speaking alongside the Arab country's ruler in the White House, Trump signalled he would not budge on his idea that involves moving the Gaza Strip's shell-shocked residents. Trump has infuriated the Arab world by saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes under his proposal to redevelop the enclave. King Abdullah said later that he reiterated to Trump Jordan's "steadfast position" against the displacement of Palestinians (Read more at Business Standard).
Sitting alongside King Abdullah of Jordan in the Oval Office, in true Trumpian fashion, he still insisted he would take over the Gaza Strip using an unspecified “US authority.” “I think we have to keep in mind that there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries,” Abdullah said when prompted to speak by the president. “We're being invited by [Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman to discussions in Riyadh. I think the point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody? Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan.” The king praised Trump for his work on ensuring the ceasefire came to fruition and said as an immediate humanitarian gesture, Amman will accept 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or other pressing ailments for treatment (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Any act of aggression will have severe consequences, Iran's UN ambassador has asserted, in response to Trump's recent remarks to the New York Post (Read more at Almayadeen).
Egypt's foreign ministry said Abdelatty, in a meeting in Washington, stressed the importance of achieving "a just and lasting peace that ensures Palestinians’ rights, including the establishment of an independent state on their entire national territory”. A statement by the US State Department after the meeting did not explicitly mention Trump's plan but added that Rubio "reiterated the importance of close cooperation to advance post-conflict planning for the governance and security of Gaza" and said "Hamas can never govern Gaza again" (Read more at Middle East Eye).
“Trump says, 'We want to talk', and then he signs in a memorandum all the conspiracies to bring our revolution to its knees,” Mr Pezeshkian said, referring to Mr Trump's reinstatement of sanctions against Tehran this month. “If the US were sincere about negotiations, why did they sanction us?” he added, saying it was Israel, not Iran, destabilising the Middle East. "They spread propaganda that the country has been weak. We are strong. We never bow to the foreigners." (Read more at The National)
President Trump on Sunday said he was losing patience with the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas after seeing footage of the Palestinian terrorists releasing Israeli hostages over the weekend, whose appearance he compared to Holocaust survivors. “They look like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. “I don’t know how much longer we can take that … at some point we’re going to lose our patience.” (Read more at AOL)
US president says other countries in the Middle East could be tasked with rebuilding parts of the war-ravaged enclave (Read more at Aljazeera).
Trump made similar comments on his social media portal Truth Social, saying that wants Iran to “peacefully grow and prosper.” “Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” he posted (Read more at JNS).
The rial plunged to 892,500 to the dollar on the unofficial market on Saturday. Facing an official inflation rate of about 35%, Iranians seeking safe havens for their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies, gold or cryptocurrencies, suggesting further headwinds for the rial. The dollar has been gaining against the rial since trading around 690,000 rials at the time of Trump's re-election in November amid concerns that Trump would re-impose his "maximum pressure" policy against Iran with tougher sanctions and empower Israel to strike Iranian nuclear sites (Read more at USNews).
U.S. credit card giant American Express identified and closed 30 consumer accounts in 2024 that it said could have had ties to the Government of Iran. The accounts were only used for personal expenses, AmEx said in a regulatory filing on Friday. It also ended its relationship with a third-party ATM network provider, which was connected to an Iranian bank sanctioned by the U.S. government (Read more at Market Screener).
The Department of Defense announced that the State Department had approved a package for Israel worth an estimated $6.75 billion that included munitions, guidance kits and fuses with Boeing Co among the principal contractors. Democratic lawmakers requested that the sale be paused until he received more information (Read more at Ammon News).
President Donald Trump and officials close to him recently expressed interest in pulling U.S. troops out of Syria, leading Pentagon officials to begin drawing up plans for a full withdrawal in 30, 60 or 90 days (Read more at NBC News).
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has strongly condemned a new round of sanctions imposed by the United States on a dozen people and firms that Washington says facilitate Iranian oil shipments. Baghaei said the new sanctions were “entirely illegitimate” and “in contravention of international rules and regulations.” (Read more at IRNA)
“Negotiating with America will solve no problem. Proof? [Past] experience!” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “The Americans did not comply with that very agreement. The very same person who is now in office [in the United States] tore up the agreement,” he said. “The agreement was meant for America’s sanctions to be removed. They were not removed! America’s sanctions were not removed.” (Read more at IRNA)
Egypt said it had been in contact with Arab partners including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to firm up the region's rejection of any displacement of Palestinians after U.S. President Donald Trump said they should go from Gaza (Read more at AOL).
Hezbollah slammed the remarks by US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus as "blatant interference", as Lebanon's prime minister-designate struggles to form a government amid political pressure from the Iran-backed group. "We have set clear red lines in the United States that they (Hezbollah) won't be able to terrorise the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government," Ortagus said after meeting President Joseph Aoun (Read more at France 24).
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami warned of the potential consequences of such a move, emphasizing that “ISIS and other malicious actors are closely watching for an opportunity to exploit a U.S. withdrawal, aiming to regain their foothold and return to the 2014 situation.” (Read more at Kurdistan 24).
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of military-related design and construction services to Kuwait for an estimated cost of $1 billion, the Pentagon said (Read more USNews).
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Gaza currently is "not habitable" due to dangers such as unexploded weapons, and that people would have to live elsewhere while the area is rebuilt (Read more at Yahoo News).
US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians elsewhere brings to mind an earlier suggestion by his son-in-law Jared Kushner about the potential value of “waterfront property” in the enclave. Kushner, a former aide to Trump, suggested last year that Israel should remove the population out of the Gaza Strip while it “cleans up” the area (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
“On the question of Gaza, the definition of insanity is attempting to do the same thing over and over and over again,” Mr Hegseth said before the start of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon. “The president is willing to think outside the box, look for new and unique, dynamic ways to solve problems that have felt like they were intractable ... We’re prepared to look at all options.” (Read more at Straits Times).
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, at a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais, urged OPEC members to unite against possible US sanctions on the major oil producer after US President Donald Trump said he would seek to drive Tehran’s oil exports to zero (Read more at Aljazeera).
He will discuss raising funds with Abu Dhabi investment group MGX. Altman's Abu Dhabi stop comes at a key moment for the ChatGPT maker as established U.S. firms face a new challenge from cheaper Chinese alternative DeepSeek. The UAE, a wealthy oil producer and longtime security partner of the U.S., is in a race to become an AI leader amid rising competition from neighbouring Qatar and Saudi Arabia (Read more at Market Screener).
U.S. concerns about Iran developing nuclear weapons are not a complicated issue and can be resolved given Tehran's opposition to weapons of mass destruction, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said. "If the main concern is that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a complicated issue. Iran’s position is clear: it is a member of the Non Proliferation Treaty, and the Supreme Leader’s fatwa has already clarified our stance [against weapons of mass destruction]," Araqchi said (Read more at Reuters)
Israel's former public security minister and far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir said in a post on X that "encouraging" Gazans to migrate from the enclave was the only correct strategy at the end of the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt that policy "immediately". (Read more at AOL)
Russia’s RIA Novosti cited a senior Hamas official as saying, "In the past, we did not object to contact with the administration of (former US president Joe) Biden, Trump or any other US administration, and we are open to talks with all international parties." (Read more at Staits Times)
Hamas calls Trump’s idea a ‘recipe for generating chaos’ and says the people of Gaza will not allow their displacement. Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh said the PLO rejects all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland. While Trump claimed that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland, Saudi Arabia said it would not normalise ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state. “He’s totally lost it,” Murphy, a Democrat, said on X. “A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke.” “Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump’s call to expel Palestinians from their land is an absolute non-starter,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said (Read more at Aljazeera and France 24).
Australia's prime minister restated Australia's "longstanding" support for a two-state solution but repeatedly refused to offer a view on Mr Trump's remarks. "I'm not going to, as Australia's prime minister, give a daily commentary on statements by the US president. My job is to support Australia's position," he told reporters at Parliament House on Wednesday (Read more at ABC News).
"Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas. As @POTUS shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again," Rubio said on X. "Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people." While Trump had floated suggestions of Palestinian displacement since Jan. 25, statements issued since by Rubio's State Department on its websites after the top U.S. diplomat's subsequent calls with regional leaders did not explicitly mention Trump's suggestion (Read more at AOL).
Since Trump's return to the White House a little more than two weeks ago, his "America First" approach seems to have morphed into "America More," with the president fixated on acquiring new territory even after campaigning on pledges to keep the nation out of foreign entanglements and "forever wars.” He has raised the possibility of the country taking back the Panama Canal, proposed the U.S. wrest Greenland from Denmark and repeatedly suggested that Canada should be absorbed as the 51st U.S. state. Reuters/Ipsos polling shows little public support for these ideas, even in Trump's Republican Party (Read more at Japan Times).
Palestinians have long been haunted by what they call the"Nakba", or catastrophe when 700,000 of them were dispossessed from their homes during the war that surrounded the creation of Israel in 1948 (Read more at AOL).
President Donald Trump’s moves to freeze spending on foreign aid and overhaul, maybe even end, the U.S. Agency for International Development has been lauded in Iranian state media. The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country’s Shiite theocracy — pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to help democracy worldwide (Read more at AP).
President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” (Read more at AP)
Some of the strongest criticism came from Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator who said “The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians. I thought we voted for America First,” (Read more at Guardian)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave's population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no U.S. troops would be needed on the ground. (Read more at USNews)
Johnson called Trump's proposal "a bold move – certainly far bolder than what's been done before" and said "we'll stand with the president on his initiative." He added, "I think you have to do something to eradicate the threat to Israel. Here's the problem. If you leave Gaza in its current form, there's always a risk of another October seventh" (Read more at NPR)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Republican's clear plan to help rebuild the war-torn strip saying it will "change history". He also said how America "will do a job with it" if they own the Gaza Strip and take full responsibility for dismantling it safely after years of torment for the people of Palestine (The U.S. Sun).
“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” he added. “Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative. … If they had an alternative, they’d much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that’s safe.” (Read more at The Hill)
As he signed the memo, Trump described it as very tough and said he was torn on whether to make the move. He said he was open to a deal with Iran and expressed a willingness to talk to the Iranian leader (Read more at Armen Press).
Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official sent a joint letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza, instead demanding Palestinians be involved in the reconstruction process. Trump's repeated comments about moving Palestinians from Gaza alarmed many Arab countries who see that as a threat to the stability of Egypt and Jordan (Read more at Axios).
The United Nations and the UNRWA have not commented on the development, however, the decision is poised to coincide with the visit of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US who has earlier accused UNRWA of running anti-Israel incitement and its staff of being “involved in terrorist activities against Israel.” (Read more at Indian Express)
The US Justice Department formed a multi-agency task force on Feb 3 to fight anti-Semitism, with its first priority “rooting out” anti-Semitic harassment in schools and universities. The Department of Education said it was investigating five universities for allegations of anti-Semitic harassment (Read more at Strait Times).
Sharaa, declared Syria’s interim head of state last week, also noted that US troops were in Syria without government approval, adding that any such presence should be agreed with the state. He described US sanctions still imposed on Syria as “the gravest risk” to the country. “I believe that President Trump seeks peace in the area, and it is a top priority to lift the sanctions. The United States of America does not have any interest in maintaining the suffering of the Syrian people,” Sharaa said (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
The planned weapons sales include 4,700 1,000-pound bombs, worth more than $700 million, and armored bulldozers built by Caterpillar, worth more than $300 million (Read more at MSN).
During his trip, Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza, hostages held by Hamas, and the confrontation with Iran and its regional allies (Read more at MSN).
But some Russian diplomats and intelligence officials reportedly oppose holding the summit there due to the countries’ close ties with the U.S. military and intelligence services. While Saudi Arabia and the UAE have not joined Western sanctions or criticized Russia’s invasion, their leaders have maintained diplomatic ties with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Neither country is a member of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 over alleged war crimes. Putin visited both Saudi Arabia and the UAE later that year. Russia has already ruled out NATO member Turkey as a potential summit venue, citing its role in failed peace talks held in Istanbul in March 2022 (Read more at Moscow Times).
The decision comes as negotiations on the second phase of the deal set to begin Monday. Additionally, Netanyahu reportedly canceled a planned meeting with Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and other senior negotiators, instead sending his military secretary, Roman Gofman, to inform them of the delay (Read more at Anadolu Agency).
Jordan’s King Abdullah II will meet with US President Donald Trump on February 11 at the White House. The visit comes as Trump’s controversial call for the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt continues to face strong opposition across the region. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi reaffirmed Amman’s opposition to any displacement of Palestinians, saying on January 26 that the country’s position remains “firm and unwavering.” (Read more at Media Line)
The release includes U.S. and Israeli dual citizen Keith Siegel, 65, Yarden Bibas, 35, and Ofer Kalderon, 54. Kalderon also holds French citizenship. The three men were handed over Saturday morning to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, who transferred them to Israeli troops for the drive across the border into Israel. Bibas and Kalderon were handed over in Khan Younis, in Gaza's south; Seigel in Gaza City in the enclave's north (Read more at NPR).
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said that in an interview with Fox News on Friday, warning of Turkey’s expansionist ambitions. Speaking to Caitlin McFall of Fox News, Dendias voiced concerns over Turkey’s geopolitical actions in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas, suggesting that some in Turkey aspire to restore Ottoman-era influence over parts of Greece, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Caucasus. He described this as a challenge to NATO stability and international law (Read more at Turkish Minute).
Foreign ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League said Trump’s proposed move would threaten stability in the region, spread conflict and undermine prospects for peace (Read more at Aljazeera).
Sisi expressed confidence that Trump could bring peace to the region. He invited Trump to visit Egypt. Egypt said the two leaders had a positive dialogue that stressed the importance of fully implementing the first and second phases of the ceasefire. The White House statement on the call did not refer to the ceasefire (Read more at Global South World).
Members of the the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence quizzed the former four-term Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii about her week-long, 2017 trip to Syria and Lebanon, as she seeks to become U.S. director of national intelligence. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) asked Gabbard why she met with Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, who threatened the United States and Europe with suicide bombers in 2011 if they attacked Syria or Lebanon. Gabbard said she was unaware of the grand mufti’s threat until Heinrich asked her about it on Thursday. “I made it a point to meet with different religious leaders, both Muslim leaders as well as various Christian and Catholic leaders who were there in the region,” Gabbard testified. “I did that both in Syria and in Lebanon to hear from them about what their concerns or thoughts were with regard to the war that was being raged at the time.” (Read more at JNS)
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir, a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate (Read more at Centcom).
The unusually direct US intervention in Lebanon's sectarian politics appears aimed at capitalizing on shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East. U.S. officials have passed on messages to Salam and to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun - who enjoyed U.S. support as army commander and was elected president in early January - that Hezbollah should not be included in the next cabinet (Read more at Daily Observer).
Several parties called for the demonstration, most notably the Union of Arab Tribes, headed by Egyptian businessman Ibrahim al-Organi, who is reportedly close to Egyptian intelligence services (Read more at New Arab).
Iran will respond immediately and decisively if its nuclear sites are attacked, which would lead to an “all-out war in the region”, Tehran’s Foreign Minister said. Araqchi suggested that the United States could free blocked Iranian funds as a first confidence-building step between the two hostile countries (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
New information suggests the money went to Mozambique's Gaza Province. On his second day in office, Trump signed an executive order suspending all foreign aid programmes, slamming the previous Biden administration for funding what he claimed was unnecessary assistance (Read more at New Arab).
Trump has conditioned the pullout on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan restoring ties with Israel. Turkey has long opposed the US military presence in Syria due to Washington’s support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The US has recently doubled its troop presence in Syria, increasing the numbers from 900 to around 2,000, following the December 8 ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Read more at Turkish Minute).
The PA’s plan envisions the Gaza Strip ruled by a committee whose majority is from outside of the enclave. The plan was presented on Tuesday to Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Riyadh by Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official who has been floated as a successor to octogenarian Palestinian President Mohammad Abbas (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The Trump administration wants to see the ceasefire continue and Gaza stabilized so it can move forward with its ambitious plans for the Middle East, which include getting a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel and trying to get a deal with Iran on its nuclear program (Read more at Axios).
US president's sanctions reversals, arms shipments and appointment of hawks will likely undermine the ceasefire and empower Israel's hardliners. Figures such as the Christian Zionist extremist and new ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee; new Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth; and nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik, will be pleased to see this largesse extended to their Israeli allies (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Currently, UNRWA does not receive any aid from the United States, so there is no direct impact from the recent decisions concerning the United Nations system for UNRWA. U.S. aid to UNRWA was suspended last year and until March 2025, following an agreement between U.S. lawmakers. This decision follows Israel's accusation that 12 of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip participated in the deadly attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 (Read more at LOrient Today).
In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump said the federal government would use “all available and appropriate legal tools” to prosecute and remove perpetrators of “unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence”. “Jewish students have faced an unrelenting barrage of discrimination; denial of access to campus common areas and facilities, including libraries and classrooms; and intimidation, harassment, and physical threats and assault,” Trump’s order said. Under US immigration law, foreign nationals can be deemed “inadmissible aliens” under a range of scenarios apart from being convicted of a crime (Read more at Aljazeera).
Israeli news organizations reported that the country's military took Witkoff to inspect the Netzarim Corridor, which it created during the war to split the Gaza Strip in two (Read more at NPR).
Trump on Saturday floated a plan to "clean out" Gaza, where Israel's war has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, in comments that echoed long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes. The suggestion by Trump was not mentioned in the U.S. State Department statement released on Tuesday after the call between Rubio and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (Read more at AOL).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become the first foreign leader to meet with President Donald Trump during his second term. “I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries,” Trump wrote in a letter to Netanyahu (Read more at NBC News).
the Trump administration floated a similar withdrawal plan in 2018-2019, though it did not fully materialize. Observers note that the security landscape in Syria has changed since that time, with regime change in Syria eliminating the Russian and Iranian presence. A US departure from eastern Syria could reshape alliances, affect Kurdish-held areas and open the door for possible moves by Turkish-backed forces (Read more at Turkish Minute).
The Democratic former US senator Bob Menendez was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday to 11 years in prison over his 2024 conviction for taking bribes, including receiving gold bars in exchange for doing favors for Egypt and for New Jersey businessmen (Read more at Guardian).
It also includes related elements of logistics and program support for an estimated cost of $625 million. The Government of Egypt has requested to buy equipment and services including four (4) Component Based Total Ship System, 21st Century (COMBATSS-21) combat management systems to modernize its four fast missile craft (FMC) (Read more at Global Defense Aerospace Post).
The U.S. military transferred around 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland this week in order to deliver them to Ukraine. This is the most significant delivery of weapons from Israel to Ukraine since the Russian invasion almost three years ago (Read more at Axios).
Democrats in the United States Senate have blocked the passage of a bill. The vote on Tuesday saw the bill gain 54 votes in favour and 45 opposed, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance to a final vote. But many of the Democrats who voted against the measure still accused the court of taking unfair actions against Israel by issuing warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant (Read more at Aljazeera).
The US envoy to the UN has said that they support Israel’s “sovereign decision” to shutter UNRWA in Jerusalem and that the agency is “exaggerating” the impact of an Israeli ban that experts and UN officials have said would have catastrophic impacts on humanitarian support for Palestinians (Source: MTV).
Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, took part in a phone call on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the continuation of their joint mediation efforts in Gaza, the Qatari foreign ministry said. The men expressed hope that a ceasefire deal reaches its second phase and turns into a permanent ceasefire (Read more at Reuters).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he had had a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss bilateral matters. "We also discussed maintaining close contact with partners, particularly the United States and President Trump," he said on X (Source: Yahoo News).
“The Secretary and King Abdullah discussed implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the release of hostages, and creating a pathway for security and stability in the region,” the State Department said in a statement. Trump’s weekend remarks were not mentioned in the statement. “Secretary Rubio thanked Jordan for supporting the ceasefire through its integral role in providing humanitarian assistance through the Jordan Corridor,” the State Department added (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
He called it "ethnic cleansing" and a "war crime" and called on others to censure Trump for making the suggestion. Trump's comments received little outrage from leading progressives and puzzled some of his Republican allies (Read more at Middle East Eye).
