The Dutch Supreme Court has been advised to uphold an eight-month-old ban on the export of F-35 fighter jet components to Israel from a critical regional warehouse in the Netherlands. In February, the Hague Court of Appeal ordered the government to block the exports over concerns Israel was using them to violate international law in its war on Gaza, a decision the government appealed (Read more at Middle East Eye).
European and Iranian officials made little progress in meetings on Friday on whether they could engage in serious talks, including over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. A European official said there had been nothing of note in the meeting but that Tehran had shown an eagerness to explore how diplomacy could work in next few weeks (Read more at Reuters).
This is the second year in a row that pro-Palestinian protesters have used the nationally televised parade to call for a ceasefire in Gaza amid nearly 14 months of conflict following Palestinian militant group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. All of the demonstrators have been released as of Friday, according to the NYPD. (Read more at The Hill)
In an interview with Channel 12 News, Hochstein said that “the real issue was the linkage that Hezbollah had made between Lebanon and Gaza, and being able to break that linkage, delinking the two conflicts, was the key to solving this one.” “The Lebanese deal here opens an opportunity on the hostage deal,” he said. “They [Hamas] wake up this morning at 4 a.m. with Hezbollah, that used to be actively supportive of Hamas in the northern front, cutting a deal and ending that conflict.” (Read more at New York Post).
However, while ending the fighting was necessary to “start the peace” in the region, he added, “I am hopeful but not naïve. The difficulty of achieving normalization after Oct. 7 is extraordinary.” (Read more at JNS)
Israel has said it will appeal the ICC decision. Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said, “I tend to believe that in Washington, legislation is going to take place very shortly against the ICC and whoever cooperates with it” (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
The sale includes thousands of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits (JDAMs) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs. This comes just a day after a US-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon took effect. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently emphasized the importance of replenishing weapons stockpiles as part of the cease-fire rationale. “It is no secret that there have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries. These delays will be resolved soon,” Netanyahu said Tuesday night (Read more at Media Line).
It includes Halt to hostilities, Israeli troops withdrawing, Hezbollah pulling north, Lebanese army deploys, a monitoring mechanism, and unilateral Israeli strikes(Read more at Reuters).
The U.S. "will make another push, with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others, to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza," he said. Biden also wants the hostages released and to end the war without Hamas in power (Read more at Reuters).
The U.S. "will make another push, with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others, to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza," Biden said. He also wants the hostages released and to end the war without Hamas in power (Read more at Reuters).
This is why we gave up: Our Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) facilities are capable of carrying out this modernization on their own, so we deferred to them," Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said (Read more at Daily Sabah).
But there will not be U.S. combat troops in the area, a senior U.S. official told reporters on Tuesday. The official called the ceasefire deal showed Hamas militants that the conflict in Lebanon was delinked (Read more at USNews).
The world's top investment banks are on track to post the highest revenue in five years from trading Israel's bonds and currency thanks to the volatility caused by the 14-month long war in the Middle East. Banks are expected to post $475 million in fixed-income, currencies and commodities trading (FICC) revenue linked to Israel in 2024, a more than 10% increase from 2023 (Read more at MSN).
Biden, who made remarks at the White House shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote, said he had spoken to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Fighting would end on Wednesday at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), he said (Read more at USNews).
Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers and presidential envoy Amos Hochstein will serve as co-chairs of the truce enforcement and monitoring mechanism until a new civilian official is appointed. Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun received Jeffers at his office in Yarzeh (Read more at JNS).
Republican US Sen. Lindsey Graham threatened to sanction US allies if they enforce International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. "To any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we’re going to sanction you," Graham told Fox News in an interview late Friday (Read more at IRNA).
The deal by Aramco Digital, the wholly-owned technology subsidiary of the oil giant, would be its first major transaction in the telecommunications industry as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan, which focuses on technological advancements and economic diversification (Read more at Reuters).
The West Bank has been transformed by the rapid growth of Jewish settlements since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned at the head of a far-right nationalist coalition two years ago. During that time, an explosion in settler violence that has led to US sanctions. In recent weeks, Israeli flags have sprouted on hilltops claimed by some settlers in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley, adding to worries among many local Palestinians of greater control of those areas. Some settlers prayed for Trump’s victory before the election (Read more at Arabnews).
Various commentators suggest that Donald Trump will withdraw US forces from northeastern Syria. On 8 November, Robert F. Kennedy Jr told political commentator Tucker Carlson that Trump intends to pull American troops from the region to prevent them from becoming “cannon fodder”. Four days later, Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler stated in an interview, “Trump gave instructions to withdraw troops from Syria three times during his presidency.” He expressed confidence that Trump would prioritise this issue and remove US forces from Syria and the broader region (Read more at medyanews).
The U.S. agency is scrutinizing whether JPMorgan complied with all rules and regulations when it took on UAE-based hedge fund Ocean Leonid Investments as a client. U.S. federal law requires financial institutions to monitor for suspicious activity in an effort to prevent illicit funds from flowing through the country (Read more at USNews).
Rawhi Fattouh, 75, said last year that "Jerusalem belongs exclusively to the Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslims." Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to appoint a longtime confidante, Rawhi Fattouh, 75, as his successor “provides valuable clarity and strengthens governance,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said (Read more at JNS)
Turkey, a Black Sea neighbour of both Russia and Ukraine, also opposes Western sanctions against Moscow, with which it shares important defence, energy and tourism ties (Read more at MSN).
Senate votes defeating three resolutions show strong bipartisan support for Israel. Opponents cite threats to Israel from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Senator Sanders argues military aid violates U.S. law on human rights (Read more at Reuters).
"The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter. In coordination with partners, including Israel, we are discussing next steps." a National Security Council spokesperson (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı)
US Senator, Chris Van Hollen, has introduced legislation seeking to halt American weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates until the United States certifies that the UAE is not arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. “The UAE is an important partner in the Middle East, but the United States cannot sit idly by as it aids and abets the humanitarian disaster in Sudan – we must use our leverage to try to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution,” Van Hollen said in a statement (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration’s pointman on Israel and Lebanon, arrived as Hezbollah’s allies in the Lebanese government said the militant group had responded positively to the proposal, which would entail both its fighters and Israeli ground forces withdrawing from a U.N. buffer zone in southern Lebanon. However, there was no such optimism in the Gaza Strip, where the looting of nearly 100 aid trucks by armed men worsened an already severe food crisis (Reade more at Associated Press).
A phone call to President-elect Donald Trump, an appeal to Saudi Arabia, checking in with Tiffany Trump’s Lebanese American in-laws, or just hoping for the best. Palestinian officials are pursuing a hodgepodge of diplomatic overtures to secure a productive relationship with a new Trump administration, five years on from a falling-out with the last one (Read more at CSMonitor).
The Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, co-sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz, target six arms deals involving missiles, tank rounds, mortars, tactical vehicles and F-15 jets, with a vote expected Wednesday. Although the measures are unlikely to pass due to strong bipartisan support for Israel, the push highlights growing divisions within the Democratic Party, following recent elections where Republicans gained control of the White House and Congress. According to The Times of Israel, officials from the White House, State Department, and Pentagon have reached out to undecided Senators, urging them to oppose the legislation (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Tuesday, seeking to clinch a ceasefire agreement after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal, although with some comments. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group had given its own feedback on the truce draft and that it was shared with Hochstein. He said whether a ceasefire was reached now depended on Israel and whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was serious about one. Hezbollah stood ready to keep on fighting for a long time, he added (Read more at Yahoo News).
UN security council voted 14-1 in favor of resolution but it was not adopted because of the US veto. The resolution demanded “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the war between Israel and the Palestinian group, along with “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”. Robert Wood, deputy ambassador to the UN, said that the US position remained that there had “to be a linkage between a ceasefire and the release of hostages”. (Read more at Guardian)
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak says it’s possible the new U.S. administration may enter into interconnected talks with Putin about Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East (Read more at Politico).
Biden’s administration has been steadily arming Ukraine and Israel with its most sophisticated air defenses. The US Navy has been directly defending shipping in the Red Sea in the face of missile and drone attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen. The United States last month deployed to Israel a THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, and about 100 US troops to operate it. The THAAD is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems. The admission by Admiral Sam Paparo could draw the attention of members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, who are more skeptical of the war in Ukraine and who argue that President Joe Biden has failed to prepare for a potential conflict with China (Read more at Arab News).
A statement by the group said the sanctions "result from baseless slander directed at Amana by hostile and extremist elements". "Had the US administration bothered to verify the claims... it would have found them to be factually unfounded and refrained from taking action against us," the statement said (Read more at France 24).
Ahead of the Senate vote on Bernie Sanders’ resolution to block a shipment of US arms transfers to Israel, Scott Paul, Director of Peace and Security at Oxfam America, said: “We welcome Senator Sanders’ efforts to bring accountability to the Biden administration’s indefensible ongoing military support for the humanitarian nightmare unfolding in Gaza. President Biden has been unwilling to follow US law in order to save Palestinian lives, so we are depending on the Senate to do it with their vote on Wednesday (Read more at Oxfam America).
United States senators will vote Wednesday on whether the U.S. should halt $20 billion of arms sales to Israel. Bernie Sanders introduced the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval as the Biden administration has continued to violate U.S. laws that prohibit the transfer of weapons to governments committing human rights violations. Six senators have publicly backed the resolutions thus far: Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, Chris Van Hollen, and Bernie Sanders (Read more at Democracy Now).
"We don’t believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organisation should be living comfortably anywhere," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, adding that this especially applies in the Turkish capital — a "major city of one of our key allies and partners" (Read more at Euronews).
"We have made a lot of progress. Lebanon has a very positive view on this proposal," a Lebanese official said. Despite this progress, Israeli officials have yet to formally respond to the US truce plan. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed Monday that Washington has shared proposals with both the Lebanese and Israeli leadership (Read more at ISNA).
The Treasury Department said in a statement the sanctions targeted the group's representatives abroad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing and those involved in supporting fundraising efforts for the group and weapons smuggling into Gaza (Read more at Daily Observer).
"We have scheduled a meeting between senior officials here at the department and senior officials in the Israeli government in early December. It'll be the first meeting of that new channel," spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was launched in 2021. Under the program, governments, companies, and non-government organizations pledge funding for projects to reduce the climate impact of agriculture and to make farming more resilient to the impacts of global warming (Read more at Yahoo News).
The Amana settler group “a key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement and maintains ties to various persons previously sanctioned by the U.S. government and its partners for perpetrating violence in the West Bank,” the Treasury Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions. The sanctions block Americans from any transactions with Amana and freeze its U.S.-held assets. The United Kingdom and Canada have also imposed sanctions on Amana (Read more at NBCNews).
The Fed's decisions have a significant impact on monetary policy in the Gulf as most of the region's currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar. Most Gulf stock markets fell on Sunday after U.S economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials pointed to a slower pace of interest-rate cuts. Investors increased bets on the Fed leaving interest rates unchanged at its December meeting and dialled back expectations for easing in 2025 (Read more at ZAWYA).
“The decision came at the 11th hour by the outgoing US administration as a desperate attempt to make up for its failure to take concrete action against the main culprit prolonging the war in Sudan: the UAE,” a senior Sudanese diplomat (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The Republican lawmaker said that he has never been more worried about an Iranian nuclear breakout than right now. “It is in America’s interest to ensure the Iranian regime does not possess a nuclear weapon,” he said (Read more at JNS).
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday strongly denied a reported meeting between Tehran's United Nations envoy and U.S. billionaire Elon Musk (Read more at Ariana).
Hassan Abdel Salam, a former professor at the University of Minnesota said Trump’s staffing plans were not surprising, but had proven even more extreme that he had feared (Read more at Arabnews).
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday that New York-based insurer MetLife's (MET.N), opens new tab unit, American Life Insurance Co, agreed to settle its potential civil liability for over 2,300 apparent violations of sanctions against Iran. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a $178,421 settlement with the MetLife unit (Read more at Reuters).
"We write to express our deep concern about the rise in settler violence, settlement expansion, and measures adopted to weaken the Palestinian Authority and otherwise destabilise the West Bank," Nearly 90 Democratic lawmakers say in a letter to Biden. The letter, signed by 17 senators and 71 House members, said Israeli settlers have carried out over 1,270 recorded attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, averaging more than three violent attacks per day (Read more at TRTWorld).
Contact was reportedly at Trump-allied billionaire’s request and could be significant for dismal US-Iranian relations. It happened on Monday, a day before Donald Trump named the SpaceX founder as one of the heads of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The meeting was a discussion of how to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States (Read more at Guardian).
On display are some of the company’s flagship platforms, including the F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-130J Super Hercules airlifter, and the Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter. The company presented its portfolio to various high-level officials and representatives, including Air Commodore Said Al Abdali of the Royal Air Force of Oman and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Deputy King of the Kingdom of Bahrain (Read more at Defense Post).
Stricter targeting of Iranian oil could be tempered by China concerns. Trump will need to determine if sanctions can help achieve his goals. Foreign ports, refineries processing Iran exports could be targeted (Read more at Reuters).
Energy Minister Eli Cohen, in an interview with Reuters said it will create an opportunity for more peace deals with Arab neighbors. Cohen said that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has been appointing senior staff who "certainly support determined action against Iran" (Read more at AOL)
A delegation of former hostages and hostages’ relatives were visiting Rome for meetings including with the local Jewish community and Pope Francis. During a press conference, they told reporters a deal was swiftly needed to bring back all the captives and said Biden and Trump should work together (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Lisa Johnson, the US ambassador, met on Thursday with Berri, who maintains friendly relations with politicians across Lebanon's political spectrum including Hezbollah, to submit the written proposal. There were no details reported about what the proposal entails Read more at Middle East Eye).
It had been won by family members of troops killed and injured in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a lower court judge should have addressed questions of state law before ruling against Bank Markazi and Luxembourg intermediary Clearstream Banking, a unit of Deutsche Boerse. In a 3-0 decision, the panel also rejected a claim that a 2019 federal law designed to make it easier to seize Iranian assets held outside the United States waived Bank Markazi's sovereign immunity (Read more at Yahoo).
This strategic maneuver, approved by the Security Cabinet, reflects growing pressure on Israel, particularly as tensions rise over its military operations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly cautioned his colleagues about potential repercussions from President Biden's administration. His warnings highlighted the possibility of Biden taking steps against Israel during his last months in office, which fueled the urgency of these diplomatic outreach efforts to shore up support from the U.S. (Read more at Pinnacle Gazette).
The United States wants real and extended pauses in fighting in Gaza so assistance can get to people who need it, but the best way to help people would be to end the war, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. “Israel, by the standards it set itself, has accomplished the goals that it set for itself,” Blinken told reporters during a visit to Brussels. “This should be a time to end the war.” (Read more at NBCNews)
Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted two US destroyers with drones and missiles as they transited the Bab al-Mandab Strait, but the warships defeated the attacks, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Also, a claim from the Houthis that they also attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is not accurate (Read more at Defense Post).
Asif William Rahman is charged with two counts of wilfully transmitting classified information. The indictment does not provide details about the nature of the leak, but does say it occurred on or about October 17, Reuters reported. That was around the time that a pro-Iranian Telegram account called Middle East Spectator published what appeared to be a pair of documents produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that shared information about Israel's preparations for an attack on Iran. The intelligence in the documents was based on satellite imagery from October 15-16 (Read more at The National).
Donald Trump's re-election could boost emerging markets equities in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region because of a potentially stronger dollar, higher U.S. bond yields and global trade policy shifts, J.P.Morgan said on Tuesday (Read more at Reuters).
Tuesday's report, authored by eight international aid organizations, listed 19 measures of compliance with the U.S. demands. It said that Israel had failed to comply with 15 and only partially complied with four (Read more at Time).
In a statement congratulating Huckabee, the Republican Jewish Coalition praised him as "a long-time friend" of the group, focusing on his "abounding love of Israel" and promising his appointment would "strengthen the US-Israel relationship to even greater heights." (Read more at NBC News)
The outgoing Israeli ambassador in Washington told JNS that he is “deeply grateful” to the senator, who has “unwavering dedication” to the U.S.-Israeli bond. Herzog assumed the role in Washington in November 2021 under then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (Read more at JNS).
Ofir Akunis, the consul general of Israel in New York said “We will not be in Gaza once the hostages are released and once we are sure that there are no more terrorists or arsenal of terrorists.” (Read more at JNS)
There’s not enough acknowledgment that having American hostages in Gaza and having American citizens murdered in Israel … is a national security threat for the United States. Family members of those who have been held captive in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, told a gathering of largely American Jews on Monday that “the most Jewish thing you can do” is speak out on the need for a hostage deal (Read more at JNS).
There are a number of things that remain under discussion and they touch on safety issues. Among the US demands that Israel appears to have refused is allowing the entry of 50 to 100 commercial trucks a day. Restrictions on the entry of closed containers would also not be lifted due to security risks. Other demands, including the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza, have been implemented (Read more at Strait Times).
Isaac Herzog thanked Joe Biden for Washington's "steadfast support from the very beginning of the war." Biden spoke briefly, stressing that his administration’s “commitment to Israel is ironclad, and we share a deep friendship.” (Read more at JNS)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reviewed the steps that Jerusalem has taken to improve the “humanitarian situation inside Gaza.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken seemed to indicate that the requirements had been met (Read more at JNS).
"Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE," said President-elect Donald Trump. It is unclear what the role of Middle East special envoy will entail under Trump, as special envoys are not standard diplomats. President Joe Biden appointed two Middle East special envoys, Lise Grande and David Satterfield, who specifically focus on humanitarian issues in the region emerging from the war in the Gaza Strip. And Trump appointed longtime adviser and lawyer Jason Greenblatt as a special envoy to the Middle East to help with the negotiations of the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel and four Arab countries normalize diplomatic relations (Read more at Politico).
Israel's far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced on Monday that he hopes to push for Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank by 2025, believing US President-elect Donald Trump would back this move (Read more at Al Ahram).
Rep. Elissa Slotkin has always been very popular in the Jewish community because of her strong support for Israel, her background in intelligence services and because she shares the values of the Jewish community on many different issues (Read more at JNS).
Axios reported that Dermer passed messages from Netanyahu to Trump. He also briefed Trump on Israel's plans for Gaza, Lebanon and Iran for the next two months before Trump takes office (Read more at USNews).
“We are constantly reminding our American counterparts that they need to stop the cooperation they have with the terrorist organisation in Syria,” Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan (Read more at Middle East Monitor)
President Joe Biden's administration told Israel in an Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the longtime U.S. ally must take steps within 30 days on a series of measures or risk restrictions on American military aid. The United States this week will decide whether Israel has made progress toward improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and how Washington will respond, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said (Read more at AOL).
Iran's foreign ministry is aware of reports about the arrest of Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh in Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a U.S. government-funded broadcaster, was believed to have been detained by Iran for some months (Read more at Reuters).
US Central Command said nine targets were hit at two locations in Syria in response to an attack on US forces over the previous 24 hours. “These strikes will degrade the Iranian-backed groups’ ability to plan and launch future attacks,” CENTCOM said (Read more at Aljazeera).
Donald Trump intends to withdraw US troops from northern Syria to prevent them becoming “cannon fodder” in potential Turkish-Kurdish conflicts, according to revelations by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Tucker Carlson interview. Kennedy, expected to play a key role in Trump’s administration, said that during a recent flight, Trump had sketched a map of the Middle East, highlighting 500 US troops positioned along the Syria-Turkey border at a vulnerable outpost that had recently faced attacks. He quoted Trump’s direct command: “Get them out!” (Read more at Medyanews)
"We see eye-to-eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects, and on the dangers they reflect. We also see the great opportunities facing Israel, in the area of peace and its expansion, and in other areas," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
The facilities contained various weapons used to target military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to information provided by the Pentagon (Read more at Arabnews).
Qatar then made the demand to Hamas leaders about 10 days ago. Three Hamas officials denied Qatar had told Hamas leaders they were no longer welcome in the country. The spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for confirmation or comment (Read more at Arabnews)
Under Joe Biden, Washington did not engage with the crisis in Sudan at a high level. Under Trump, it will likely be a pawn in a regional deal. Not long after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections was confirmed, Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced that he was looking forward to “developing relations between our two countries during his presidency for the benefit of both countries”. Burhan’s ally-turned-enemy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief better known as Hemeti, was not far behind, extending his congratulations through the paramilitary group’s media office (Read more at Middle East Eye).
“Now … a new scenario is fabricated … as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy,” Araqchi said in a post on X. He was referring to the alleged plot which Washington said was ordered by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards to assassinate Trump. “The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect,” Araqchi said (Read more at Iranpost).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mr Austin wrote to Israeli officials in October demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave. Failure to do so could impact US policy, the letter said (Read more at Straits Times).
US officials have said they will make a final push to reach deals on the conflicts, although it is unclear how much leverage they have over Israel and other actors in the region now focused on the incoming administration of former President Donald Trump. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke to counterparts in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to end Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, cited a statement by Abbas’ office saying he spoke with Trump over the phone, congratulating him on his election victory earlier this week. Trump told Abbas that he was committed to end the ongoing conflict in Gaza and to work with him and other relevant stakeholders “to promote peace in the region (Read more at Middle East Monitor)
He said it echoes dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted. The president said he has been in touch with Israeli and Dutch officials and that he appreciates “Dutch authorities’ commitment to holding the perpetrators accountable (Read more at The Hill).
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the need to stop the fighting in Sudan and the need to support efforts to form a civilian government during a Friday call with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the State Department said in a statement (Read more at CNBC).
Netanyahu tapped U.S.-born Yechiel Leiter to succeed Michael Herzog as its next ambassador in Washington. The move follows President-elect Trump’s decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election earlier this week. He got his Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Haifa. Leiter’s son, Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed last year during the Israel-Hamas war (Read more at The Hill).
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden did not visit Turkey during his term and Erdogan's planned White House visit early this year fell through with little explanation, underlining the cool relations. Trump's election victory this week was generally met with cheer in NATO-member Turkey, with markets rallying and some officials cautiously optimistic about prospects for new U.S. economic policies (Read more at Reuters).
He also suggested that the war in Ukraine could be resolved quickly if the U.S. administration adopts a solution-focused approach. "Mr. Trump cutting off the arms support provided to Israel could be a good start in order to stop the Israeli aggression in Palestinian and Lebanese lands," he said. (Read more at Duvar).
In the hours since former President Donald Trump won reelection, my phone has been ringing off the hook. Many calls came from counterparts across the Middle East whom I worked with as a Middle East envoy in the first Trump White House. Some were colleagues in Israel and the Gulf Arab states who helped negotiate the Abraham Accords peace deal. Others I have worked with since Trump left office. They all, without exception, are looking forward to Trump’s inauguration (Read more at USNews).
Trump's proposed import tariffs might strengthen the U.S. dollar through reduced spending on foreign goods, benefiting Gulf Cooperation Countries' (GCC) currencies. A stronger dollar from Trump's protectionist policies would also increase foreign investment in the GCC region. In addition, according to Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer, Century Financial, Trump is more likely to resolve regional conflict faster as compared to his counterpart, which is expected to promote further stability in the region (Read more at Investing.com).
The deal was widely expected and has been in the process of finalization throughout the year as Israel has been fighting a multi-front war against Iran-backed proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen. Israel used F-15s in its long-range strike on Yemen in July. The US has also deployed F-15s to the region amid Israel-Iran tensions, illustrating how the Boeing-made plane, which first flew in the 1970s, is increasingly relevant today (Read more at Breaking Defense).
The Gulf's oil and gas exporters generally follow the Fed's lead on rate moves as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar; only the Kuwaiti dinar is pegged to a basket of currencies, which includes the dollar (REad more at USNews).
Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on a particular U.S. administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi said on Thursday when asked about Donald Trump's election victory (Read more at MSN).
Lira and Turkish assets rally on Trump's victory. Investors see potential benefits for Turkey's economic program. Turkey's aggressive rate hikes cool inflation, boost reserves (Read more at Reuters).
“To us it does not matter at all who has won the American election, because our country and system relies on its inner strength and a great and honorable nation,” Pezeshkian said late on Wednesday, quoted by the state news agency IRNA (Read more at Arabnews).
Abdel Fattah El Sisi told US president-elect he looks forward to working together. In 2018, Mr Trump praised Egyptian leader El Sisi for doing “a fantastic job” and said the US was “very much behind” him. Egypt's pro-government media speaks of Mr Trump as a strong leader who treats the nation with respect and values Mr El Sisi's leadership (Read more at The National).
Most stock markets in the Gulf rose on Tuesday as markets waited for early indications of the outcome of a knife-edge U.S. election. Dubai's main share index <.TASI> rose 0.2%. The Qatari index <.QSI> finished 0.2% higher. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index <.TASI> edged 0.2% lower (Read more at ZAWYA).
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that Yoav Gallant, whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired as defense minister on Tuesday, has been a "trusted partner," and said it will continue to work closely with Israel's next defense minister (Read more at AOL).
Two thirds of Israelis think Trump better for Israel than Harris. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters celebrated Donald Trump's election as president, hailing what a leader of the Israeli settler movement called an ally who would support them "unconditionally" (Read more at Reuters).
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he might head to Iran in the coming days to discuss its disputed atomic programme and that he expected to work cooperatively with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Grossi had previously said he hoped to go to Tehran ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. vote as he seeks to resolve several long-standing issues that have dogged relations between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western power (Read more at Reuters).
Palestinians, locked in war with Israel for more than a year, expressed fear at Donald Trump’s return to the White House, while the leaders of the Hamas group and the Palestinian Authority urged him to act for peace (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Cracking down on OPEC-member Iran would support global oil prices, but the effect could also be offset by other Trump policies, from measures to expand domestic drilling, the imposition of tariffs on China that could depress economic activity, or an easing of relations with Russia that could unfetter its sanctioned crude shipments (Read more at MSN).
France's foreign minister will travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Wednesday seeking to press Israel to engage diplomatically to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon after the U.S. presidential election is over. "The United States plays an essential role in ending the Israeli-Arab conflict," Jean-Noel Barrot said on France 2 television when asked whether a win for former President Donald Trump could boost Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Read more at AOL).
Cairo's plan would have seen four Israeli hostages and 100 Palestinian terrorists released over a 10-day period after an initial 48-hour pause in fighting. Another proposal from Doha last week reportedly involved the release of 11 hostages in exchange for a one-month ceasefire, with priority given to living female captives. During talks in Doha at the end of last month, CIA Director Bill Burns reportedly proposed a 28-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for Hamas releasing eight hostages and Israel freeing dozens of Palestinian prisoners (Read more at JNS).
The United States and Saudi Arabia are discussing a potential security agreement that wouldn't involve a broader deal with Israel. The agreement under discussion is not a full defense treaty (Read more at USNews).
Taskin Torlak, 37, Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, was one of three US service members hurt May 23 while working on the temporary floating pier that Biden had announced with great fanfare during his State of the Union address in March. The other two service members suffered minor injuries and returned to work after the incident, which the Pentagon has said was not combat related (Read more at NewYork Post).
In phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Blinken "reviewed actions Israel has taken to date and urged further actions to substantially increase and sustain humanitarian aid – including food, medicine and other essential supplies – to civilians across all of Gaza.” Asked what consequences Israel might face if it does not meet the 30-day requirements, Miller declined to speculate, saying: "I do not know what the factual situation that we will face in that period will be." (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı)
Mikati said his government’s stance was clear on seeking a ceasefire from both sides and implementation of UN security council resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between the two foes in 2006. The US embassy in Beirut did not immediately respond to requests for comment (Read more at Guardian).
Dubbed "Prince of Polling," globally-acclaimed public opinion pollster John Zogby tells TRT World it would be an "accurate" assessment to suggest Gaza war might bolster Netanyahu in next election while potentially costing Harris in US. Arab Americans have been voting overwhelmingly Democrat since 2004 as a protest against then President George W. Bush's war in Iraq and the revelations at Abu Ghraib prison. She and the Democrats have really alienated Arab Americans and Muslims who could be decisive in those states (Read more at TRTWorld).
The supreme leader did not elaborate on the timing of the threatened attack, nor the scope. The U.S. military operates on bases throughout the Middle East, with some troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery in Israel. Any further attacks from either side could engulf the wider Middle East, already teetering over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon, into a wider regional conflict just ahead of the U.S. presidential election this Tuesday (Read more at NPR).
Israel is unwilling to go back to the status quo ante after its military offensive in Lebanon. Israel is unwilling to go back to the status quo ante after its military offensive in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US envoys Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, who were in Israel on a new push to secure ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza, that Israel’s acceptance of a ceasefire in Lebanon hinged on its ability to “counter threats” and return displaced people to the north (Read more at Arab Weekly).
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is sending bomber aircraft, fighter jets and more Navy warships to the Middle East to bolster the U.S. presence in the region. Austin's latest order, said Ryder, shows the “U.S. capability to deploy world-wide on short notice to meet evolving national security threats.” He said Austin “continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people.” (Read more at Military Times)
Israel's decision for a month's waiver extension on co-operation between Israeli and Palestinian banks covered a "very short term" and would create "another looming crisis" by Nov. 30, the United States warned on Thursday. The remarks came after a spokesman for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would sign the waiver to extend banks' co-operation for another month after the cabinet agreed (Read more at AOL).
The strikes followed a renewed but as yet fruitless bout of US-led diplomacy aimed at getting a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon to stop over a year of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed groups Hamas and Hezbollah (Read more at New York Post).
Potential US-Saudi agreements about trade and artificial intelligence are “not tied to any third parties” and “can progress probably quite quickly,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said. “Some of the more significant defence cooperation agreements are much more complicated. We would certainly welcome an opportunity to finish them before the (end of the Biden) administration’s term, but that’s reliant on other factors outside of our control,” he said (Read more at Arab Weekly).
The U.S. had drafted a 60-day truce proposal that would see Hezbollah pull back from Lebanon's southern border, both sides cease attacks and 10,000 Lebanese army troops deploy in the south. "It was totally unrealistic because of the onus it places on the Lebanese army to solve these problems," a Western diplomat told Reuters (Read more at USNews).
The comments follow news that US envoy Amos Hochstein left the region without making a stop in Beirut. He had been in Israel for talks. "We are working very hard and making progress on reaching understandings of what would be required for the effective implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701. This would be the basis of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis," Blinken said, referring to the 2006 mandate (Read more at Middle East Eye).
As much of the world's attention has focused on the war in Gaza, growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and land grabs in the occupied territory have raised concern among some of Israel's Western allies. Washington and others have imposed asset freezes and banking restrictions on violent settlers, outposts and groups and urged Israel to do more to stop attacks they say undermine efforts to end the conflict (Read more at Irish Examiner).
The fund aims to attract investors from the Gulf, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Abu Dhabi firms Realize and Neovision Wealth Management have unveiled an investment fund that acquires units of U.S. Treasury bill-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenizes them. Known as the Realize T-Bills Fund, the fund will acquire shares of Blackrock’s low-cost ishares and State Street’s SPDR ETFs (Read more at Bitcoin.com).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. envoys on Thursday that Israel's ability to counter threats to its security from Lebanon and return displaced people to the north were key elements of any ceasefire deal with Lebanon. He was speaking shortly after a Hezbollah attack on northern Israel's town of Metula killed five people. "The main issue is not the paperwork of this or that agreement, but Israel's ability and determination to enforce the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon," Netanyahu's office cited him as telling the two U.S. envoys (Read more at CBC).
The US Treasury Department announced sweeping sanctions against 275 individuals and entities in countries including India, China, Switzerland and Turkey aimed at “disrupting global evasion networks.” (Read more at Turkish Minute).
A new poll reveals deep partisan divisions among American voters regarding responsibility for the escalation of the Middle East conflict. About 60% of voters attribute “a lot” of responsibility for the war’s escalation to Hamas, Iran’s government and Hezbollah. Partisan differences emerge regarding Israel’s role, with approximately 60% of Democrats saying the Israeli government bears “a lot” of responsibility, compared to only about one-quarter of Republicans (Read more at JNS).
U.S. President Joe Biden dispatched Special Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, deputy assistant to the president and senior adviser for energy and investment. Senior Israeli and American officials said that an agreement could be reached within weeks (Read more at JNS).
The United States on Wednesday urged Israel to protect civilian lives and cultural sites in Lebanon after Israel began heavy airstrikes on the historic city of Baalbek and surrounding villages in the eastern Bekaa region. “We have made clear that the campaign they are conducting in Lebanon should not, cannot, must not look like the campaign that they have conducted in Gaza. We do not want to see that type of widespread damage,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said (Read more at Swissinfo).
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides leads the European Union nation closest to Gaza. The small Mediterranean island nation has played a critical role in efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza since the war between Hamas and Israel began more than a year ago. He said that Biden and White House officials briefed him on the latest stepped-up efforts by the U.S. administration and other mediators but declined to offer further details about the discussion (Read more at Associated Press).
State Department officials gathered the incidents from public and non-public sources, including media reporting, civil society groups and foreign government contacts. The mechanism, which was established in August 2023 to be applied to all countries that receive US arms, has three stages: incident analysis, policy impact assessment, and coordinated department action. None of the Gaza cases had yet reached the third stage of action. Options, the former official explained, could range from working with Israel’s government to help mitigate harm, to suspending existing arms export licences or withholding future approvals (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the UN said, ""The United States did not participate in this military operation. Rather, we encouraged the government of Israel to shape the operation as it did. Again, a targeted, proportional and direct response to degrade Iran's ability to threaten its neighbors, deter further attacks and reduce the risk of further escalation (Read more at YahooNews).
In a phone call with Gallant, Austin "reiterated the US commitment to a diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon that allows both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border, as well as a hostage release and cease-fire deal in Gaza," said spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder in a statement. Austin also reaffirmed Washington’s "ironclad support" for the defense of Israel and said the US is "well postured" to defend US personnel, allies and partners against attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies, Ryder added (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
The United States has asked Israel to explain a “horrifying” strike in northern Gaza, State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said on Tuesday, an attack on a residential building in which at least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing. Miller said he could not speak to the specific death toll, but the US was seeking more information. He said it was a “horrifying incident with a horrifying result.” Washington contacted Israeli officials and “made clear we want to know exactly what happened, how you could have a result that produces, according to reports, dozens of children dead, and we don’t yet know the answer to that question,” Miller said (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
Washington believes that Hamas is being led in Gaza by a council until its hierarchy is re-established after Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar, the terror group’s chief in the Strip, on Oct. 16, Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said. JNS asked why Washington isn’t pressuring Qatar to push Mashaal into a deal, given that the terror leader is a guest in the Gulf state. Miller cited the prior “tireless efforts” and “intense focus” of Qatari Prime Minister Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to try to seal an agreement. “They have a channel with Hamas that is productive for trying to reach this agreement,” Miller said. “The fact is it’s Hamas that holds the hostages, and so it’s Hamas with whom they have to negotiate.” (Read more at Jewish News Agency)
The warning came a day after Israel’s Knesset voted to ban the UN Palestinian Relief Agency (Unrwa) from operating in occupied Palestine, and Israel. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US was “deeply troubled” by the bill (Read more at Middle East Eye).
CIA director Bill Burns floated a deal for a 28-day Gaza ceasefire, the freeing of around eight hostages by Hamas and the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. Burns discussed the idea during a meeting on Sunday with Israeli and Qatari counterparts (Read more at Arabnews).
Despite Turkey’s longstanding membership in NATO, only 42 percent of respondents expressed favorable views of the alliance. However, this marks a substantial increase from just 21 percent in 2019, with analysts attributing the shift to Turkey’s evolving position following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Younger Turks under 35 are more open to Western powers, with 29 percent expressing favorable opinions of the United States, compared to just 7 percent among those 50 and older. US President Joe Biden garnered only 8 percent confidence among Turkish respondents (Read more at Turkish Minute).
US Presidential Candidate Dr. Jill Stein said “We have two greater evil candidates; there is no lesser evil .. We are at the tipping point. It feels like we’re closer now than ever before.” What’s unique about this ordeal is that social media users and independent media outlets based in the region have been broadcasting the war crimes taking place there on a day-to-day basis. For that reason, Netanyahu’s assaults on the surrounding civilian population are crucial to the upcoming elections since the violence in question has always been funded by US taxpayer dollars (Read more at Palestinechronicle).
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Tehran against responding to Israel's strikes on military sites in Iran and said he stressed in a call to his Israeli counterpart the opportunities to de-escalate tensions in the region (TRTWorld).
“No,” Harris said when asked if talks between Trump and Netanyahu could undermine what the current U.S. government is trying to achieve. “I do believe that it is critically important that we as the United States of America be an active participant in encouraging one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the ‘day after’ (in Gaza),” Harris told reporters (Read more at Swissinfo).
The official added there was no U.S. involvement in the Israeli operation (Read more at Swissinfo).
Blinken has also held talks this week to advance efforts to find a diplomatic solution in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground campaign and intensified air assault against Hezbollah over the past month that has displaced 1.2 million people (Read more at Swissinfo).
The meeting focused on strengthening the strategic relations between Qatar and the United States, as well as discussing the latest regional and international developments of mutual concern, particularly the situation in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Lebanon (Read more at Qatar Tribune).
F-16s from 480th Fighter Squadron based in Germany arrive in Central Command area of responsibility. CENTCOM did not specify the intended operational role of the F-16s but emphasised their mission to reinforce US presence in the region (Read more at TRTWorld).
President Joe Biden formally apologised on Friday for the U.S. government's role in running abusive Native American boarding schools for more than 150 years, and was heckled at the event over his support for Israel's war on Gaza. A pro-Palestinian protester shouted: "How can you apologize for a genocide while committing a genocide in Palestine?" The president replied, "There is a lot of innocent people being killed and it has to stop." (Read more at New Arab)
Kushner, who is married to Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka, has long faced criticism from Democratic figures regarding a $2 billion investment secured by his private equity fund, Affinity Partners. This funding from a Saudi Arabian fund led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was received six months after Kushner left his White House position in January 2021 (Read more at Newsweek).
Ayman Safadi, Jordan's Foreign Minister, used meetings between the US and Arab countries in London to warn that the Middle East "stands at the brink of a regional war". He said the "only path to save the region from that" was for Israel to stop its "aggressions" to the north and south. In strongly-worded comments, Mr Safadi said Israel's war on two fronts and "illegal measures" in the West Bank were "pushing the situation to an abyss". He said mediators trying to broker a ceasefire were trying to "get through the nightmare that the region continues to live in" (Read more at The National).
"The proposed sale will improve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing the strength of its homeland defense," it said in a statement (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
The Biden administration believes Sinwar was the main obstacle to an agreement, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the region this week hoping to achieve a breakthrough. Among the options is an Egyptian proposal for a two-week cease-fire in exchange for the release of six hostages. Still, it is not immediately clear who would be the decision-maker for any proposal brought forward to Hamas, which has yet to choose Sinwar’s successor (Read more at NBC News).
The United States and Qatar announced a resumption of negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said mediators were exploring new options after months of failing to seal a US-led plan (Read more at France 24).
Austin's messages related to an incident that occurred last Sunday when three Lebanese soldiers were killed in an Israeli strike on an army vehicle in southern Lebanon (Read more at RBC-Ukraine).
Blinken said Israel had succeeded in ensuring there could be no repeat of last year’s Oct. 7 assault and it should be looking to bring home the remaining 101 Israeli and foreign hostages and end the fighting. “Now is the time to turn those successes into an enduring strategic success,” he told reporters as he prepared to leave for Riyadh on the next stage of his visit to the Middle East. Blinken repeated that the US rejected any Israeli occupation of Gaza and said he had been assured by Netanyahu that Israel had no such plans. “It’s been US policy, it will remain US policy, and it’s also, to the best of my understanding, the policy of the Israeli government, that I heard from the prime minister, who is the authoritative word on these things,” he said (Read more at Taipei Times).
An Iranian hacking group is actively scouting U.S. election-related websites and American media outlets as Election Day nears, with activity suggesting preparations for more "direct influence operations," according to a Microsoft blog (Read more at AOL).
In each call, US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin said he cites the need for Israel to be more precise during military operations against Palestinian group, Hamas, to limit civilian casualties, and cites the need to get humanitarian assistance to the civilian population. “Failure to do that will create a generation of Palestinians that really will continue to resist cooperating with Israel in the future. So you’re actually increasing the numbers of insurgents … if you fail to do that,” Austin said. “It’s a strategic imperative in my view.” (Read more at Middle East Monitor)
“We will continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they are looking at,” Austin told reporters in Rome (Read more at Arabnews).
Smoke, apparently from an intercepted projectile, could be seen in the sky above the hotel where Blinken was staying. A loudspeaker inside the building told everyone to stay inside. A second administration official said the rocket had been fired by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group. The all clear from the citywide alert came approximately 10 minutes after the sirens started (Read more at NBC News).
"The market continues to wait for Israel's response to Iran's missile attack," ING analysts said on Wednesday, adding the price strength on Tuesday was possibly due to the lack of outcome from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's latest visit to Israel (Read more at Yahoo Finance).
Prosecutors have said that the defendants had plotted to lure Alinejad out of her house by asking her for flowers from her garden then gun her down. U.S. prosecutors have previously charged other suspects in the case, including one man in 2022 and two more in January 2023. Tuesday's filing did not name the alleged victim, but one of the previously charged suspects in the case was arrested for having a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, Reuters reported (Read more at ArianaNews).
"Foreign actors, particularly Russia, Iran and China, remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans' confidence in the U.S. democratic system. These activities are consistent with what these actors perceive to be in their interests, even as their tactics continue to evolve," said one official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Read more at MSN).
The proposal, which was previewed in March, implements an executive order issued earlier this year by President Joe Biden which aims to keep foreign adversaries from using accessible American financial and genomic data and health data for cyber attacks, espionage and blackmail (Read more at Business Standard).
Austin declined to say whether the system was operational, but added: “We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we’re on pace with our expectations.” “At the end of the day, that’s an Israeli decision, and whether or not the Israelis believe it’s proportional and how the Iranians perceive it, I mean those may be two different things,” he said (Read more at Arab Weekly)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that Israel has so far taken insufficient steps to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and he asked it to work to improve the situation. Blinken held "extended conversations" about the humanitarian situation in Gaza with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli leaders, who committed to act upon the U.S. requests (Read more at USNews).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said there was a need for a security and political change in Lebanon that would allow displaced Israelis to return safely to their homes. Netanyahu met with Blinken for 2-1/2 hours on Tuesday and the meeting was friendly and productive, according to a statement from the prime minister's office (Read more at MSN).
The decision by the US Court of Appeals in Manhattan could remove legal obstacle to the longstanding case proceeding to trial. Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled Halkbank wasn’t shielded from prosecution by a US statute granting immunity to governments for official acts (Read more at MSN).
Police have arrested an unknown number of pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Minnesota after a group of students briefly occupied an administrative building in protest against Israel's genocide in Gaza, organisers said. The Monday afternoon protest prompted an alert from school officials: "Protestors have entered Morrill Hall on the East Bank, causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building," the alert said (Read more at TRTWorld).
They discussed security and economic stability in the West Bank as well as the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to improve its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. The U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo noted the Palestinian Authority’s progress on strengthening its CFT regime to further support these relationships, including by completing key milestones related to the assessment of AML/CFT risks within its jurisdiction and bolstering effective compliance with international standards (Read more at US Treasury).
"The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran ... as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security," Iran's U.N. mission said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council (Read more at USNews).
Nine members of Force 100 investigated over allegations of sexual assaulting prisoner at Sde Teiman detention camp that could lead to it being barred from receiving assistance. The investigation – a rare occurrence on the part of the US with regard to Israel – could result in the unit being penalised under a landmark peace of legislation known as the Leahy law, which prohibits the state and defence departments from rendering assistance to foreign security force units facing credible accusations of human rights abuses (Read more at Guardian).
After holding talks in Beirut on Monday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Hochstein suggested that ceasefire efforts are focused on the implementation of a United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. Hochstein added that additional steps must be taken to make sure that 1701 is enforced “fairly, accurately, transparently, so that everybody knows the path that we’re on” (Read more at Aljazeera).
Qatar was once the top LNG supplier to Japan and South Korea, but buyers are showing preference for supplies from the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. These suppliers all offer shorter-term contracts and unlike Qatar do not restrict the cargoes' final destination. This gives buyers flexibility to sell cargoes elsewhere in the future if they no longer need the cargoes. US sellers, ADNOC and Oman generally offer LNG volumes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, which allows buyers to resell cargoes. Deals are usually linked to US natural gas prices at the Henry Hub benchmark, which tend to be cheaper than contracts linked to oil (Read more at Business Standard).
Trump said: “If I were president, that war would have never started. You wouldn’t have all those dead people... (and) demolished cities and areas. (We) wouldn’t have had Oct. 7.” He criticized Joe Biden and his administration’s foreign policy failures for the wars on multiple fronts (Read more at Arabnews).
Two demands are revealed: Israel wants freedom for its air force to operate in Lebanon’s airspace and for the Israeli military to be allowed to carry out “active enforcement” in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. One US official said neither Lebanon nor the international community would likely agree to conditions that would “dramatically undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty” (Read more at Arabnews).
"We'd like to see Israel scale back on some of the strikes it's taking, especially in and around Beirut. And we'd like to see things transition to some sort of negotiation that will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes," said the Pentagon chief at the G7 defense meeting in Naples, Italy (Read more at RBC-Ukraine).
Harris dodged a question on whether Arab American and Muslim anger over US support for Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza and more recently in Lebanon could cost her the election in the battleground state of Michigan, but said she would continue speaking out about the tragic loss of innocent lives (Read more at Arabnews).
The documents marked top secret first appeared online via a channel on Telegram based in Tehran, claiming they had been leaked by someone in the U.S. intelligence community, then later the U.S. Defense Department. The information appeared entirely gathered through the use of satellite image analysis. The documents are attributed to the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, and note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike. They were sharable within the “Five Eyes,” which are the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia (Read more at Associated Press).
Trump, speaking later to reporters in Philadelphia, said he had had "a very nice call" with Netanyahu on Saturday. The Israeli leader had asked his opinion about what to do with Iran, he said. Israel is pondering its military reaction to recent Iranian missile strikes. "He was asking what I thought. And I just said, you do what you have to do," Trump said (Read more at USNews).
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has issued a warning to the United States after President Joe Biden said he knows “how and when” Israel would attack Iran. “Anybody with knowledge or understanding of ‘how and when Israel was going to attack Iran’, and/or providing the means and backing for such folly, should logically be held accountable for any possible causality,” Araghchi said on his X account (Read more at IRNA).
"There's an opportunity in my view and my colleagues agree that we can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that ends the conflict for a while. That ends the conflict, in other words, that stops the back and forth," Biden said. Biden also said he has an understanding of how and when Israel was going to retaliate against missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate (Read more at USNews).
He praised the Israeli leader as doing a good job while attacking President Joe Biden's administration. "He's called me. I haven't spoken to him. I'm going to speak to him probably now," Trump said. "Biden is trying to hold him back….and he probably should be doing the opposite actually." (Read more at USNews)
Signatories include former Congress members Donna Shalala and Toby Moffett, former President Barack Obama's former transportation secretary Ray LaHood, academics, CEOs and investors (Read more at MSN).
It was through access and overflight for US aircraft in northern Australia. An Australian official said the "support is consistent with our long-standing alliance commitment and close cooperation, demonstrating the interoperability of our militaries" (Read more at ABC)
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death marks a moment of relief for Israelis while providing the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without the group in power. “I will be speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.,” Biden said (Read more at Qatar Tribune).
The action targeted three individuals linked to Hezbollah's finance arm and four Lebanon-based companies registered to conceal ties to the group. The US also sanctioned three individuals involved in the production and sale of the amphetamine known as captagon, who it said have funded the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its allies, including Hezbollah (Read more at News Arab).
“The U.S. has been saying to Israel that they have to improve humanitarian support to Gaza, but they gave one month delay. One month delay at the current pace of people being killed. It’s too many people,” Josep Borrell told reporters ahead of a European Union leaders’ summit (Read more at The Print).
The strikes hit “hardened” underground facilities used to store weapons components of the kind used by the Houthis to target civilian and military vessels in the region, Austin said. “This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified,” Austin added (Read more at Aljazeera).
"The Secretary encouraged the Government of Israel to continue taking steps to address the dire humanitarian situation, noting the recent action by Israel to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza," the Pentagon said in a statement. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin wrote to Israeli officials on Sunday demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave, or face potential restrictions on U.S. military aid. The Pentagon summary after the Wednesday call did not mention the letter (Read more at Reuters).
Miller told a regular press briefing that Sinwar had been the "chief obstacle" to reaching an end to the war. "That obstacle has obviously been removed. Can’t predict that that means whoever replaces (Sinwar) will agree to a ceasefire, but it does remove what has been in recent months the chief obstacle to getting one," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller (Read more at USNews).
Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said “We’ve had a small number of special operations forces that have been advising the Israelis on hostage recovery efforts. That included working side by side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza who’ve been holding people, include Americans, hostage since Oct. 7 last year,” (Read more at The Hill).
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the Security Council on Wednesday at a meeting convened by France UK and Algeria that such a policy “would not just be horrific and unacceptable” but also had “implications under international and US law”. The sudden surge in pressure is in part a response to growing fears that Israel may be trying to force Palestinians to leave northern Gaza using starvation, but also reflects a new assertive line being pushed by the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, worried her election prospects will be damaged if the administration is seen to have presided over an enforced mass exodus (Read more at Guardian).
Washington supports limited incursions by Israel to attack and degrade Hezbollah, but the US opposes a broad bombing campaign on Beirut and attacks that don’t avoid civilian harm, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the strike that destroyed the municipal headquarters in the southern Lebanon town of Nabatieh and killed 16 people including the mayor hit civilians meeting to coordinate relief efforts. Miller said if Israel intentionally targeted such a meeting that would be “unacceptable,” but said the circumstances would need to be verified. (Read more at Arabnews).
Two U.S. officials who resigned last year in protest over President Joe Biden's policy on the Gaza war have launched a lobbying organization and a political action committee to advocate for a revamp of Washington's long-standing stance on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. Their PAC, called "A New Policy", would support candidates whose position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict center on aligning U.S. policies with human rights and equality and would ensure U.S. arms transfers to all countries in the Middle East including Israel comply with both U.S. and international law (Read more at Reuters).
The US & Canada have made coordinated designations of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. Samidoun is said to be a sham charity that fundraises for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organisation (Read more at Global Sanctions).
“There are specific strikes that it would be appropriate for Israel to carry out. But when it comes to the scope and nature of the bombing campaign that we saw in Beirut for the past few weeks, it’s something that we made clear to the government of Israel we had concerns with and we were opposed to,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said (Read more at Swissinfo).
Israel is highly dependent on U.S. military aid as it fights a war on several fronts and has been under intense scrutiny as warnings emerge again about the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza. Israeli authorities closed crossings into Gaza earlier this month, halting deliveries of food and essential supplies to 400,000 Palestinians before some trucks were able to enter again (Read more at Axios).
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati also assured that efforts are underway to de-escalate tensions and to "remove any pretext for Israel to attack Beirut airport, ports, and land border crossings." (Read more at BreakingNews)
The Federal Aviation Administration is extending the prohibition against flying below certain altitudes through October 2027 citing risks from Iranian-aligned militia groups' activities and third-party military operations. The restrictions also apply to foreign operators operating as code share flights for US carriers. Last month, the US Transportation Department fined Air Canada $250,000 for operating flights in 2022 and 2023 in prohibited Iraqi airspace (Read more at NDTV).
"The battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but for operations security reasons we will not discuss timelines" The Pentagon said (Read more at Reuters).
The November 5 US elections will mark the first time AAPAC has chosen not to endorse a candidate since the group's 1998 inception. It usually endorses Democrats (Read more at Rappler).
Netanyahu had told the Biden administration that he was willing to strike military rather than oil or nuclear facilities in Iran, suggesting a more limited counterstrike aimed at preventing a full-scale war. The retaliatory action would be calibrated to avoid the perception of "political interference in the US elections," the Washington Post quoted one official as saying (Read more at Irish Examiner).
USAid officials attend meetings at site where Palestinians say they were subjected to rape, electrocution and beatings. Established after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and the subsequent war on Gaza, the Sde Teiman base became a makeshift centre to hold Palestinian detainees. Since October 2023, more than 4,000 Palestinians from Gaza have been detained by the Israeli military there, often held without charge or evidence of wrongdoing (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday said indirect talks with the US through its intermediary Oman have stopped as Tehran "does not see a basis" for them amid wars and heightened tension in the region (Read more at The National).
Awarding Boeing a $1.5-billion contract in 2018, Kuwait ordered 28 F/A-18 Super Hornets to replace its F/A-18C/D fighter jets. The retired planes will now be sold to Malaysia if a deal is reached and Washington approves the sale. A multi-role combat aircraft, the F/A-18C/D is used for defensive and offensive operations and is capable of carrying precision-guided and unguided bombs (Read more at Defense Post).
