A Muslim imam from Dearborn, Michigan, who was scheduled to deliver a prayer at President Donald Trump’s inauguration has been pulled out of the event without explanation, following criticism from at least one American Jewish group (Read more at Tempo).
President-elect eyes Joe Kent, a right-wing former congressional candidate, to head the country's top counterterror agency. Kent has been publicly vocal about his views on foreign policy regarding the Middle East and has called on the US to withdraw its forces from the region. "We've gotta get serious, and we've gotta just get our troops out of there," Kent said in a podcast in response to a question about an attack on US forces at a base in Jordan (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Biden's Middle East record is likely to be remembered not so much for how conflicts ended on his watch but mainly for how they unfolded, seemingly beyond his ability to contain them. "The upside is Biden came to Israel's defense as a reliable ally," said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Democratic and Republican administrations. "The downside is he had little success constraining (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu in Gaza, and that's done serious reputational damage to the U.S." (Read more at USNews).
The university has agreed to review its anti-harassment policies and to provide training to staff and students on addressing discrimination and harassment based on ancestry and ethnicity. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights said Johns Hopkins University received 99 complaints of harassment based on shared ancestry from October 2023 through May 2024 (Read more at USNews).
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration slashed the prisoner population at Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba by nearly half on Monday, sending 11 detainees to Oman (Read more at AOL).
Carter’s presidency brought the groundbreaking Camp David Accords but faced challenges from Iran’s revolution and the Cold War (Read more at Media Line).
Emblematic of institutionalised Islamophobia, the detention centre has placed Muslims outside of the law and continues to be used by US authorities to threaten their lives and rights (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Elbridge Colby has said the US should stop focusing on the Middle East, and turn its military's attention to China. Colby did, however, emphasise that the US priorities in the region include ensuring Israel's security, preventing the Gulf states from becoming hostile and lastly preventing transnational terrorism. But he argued that all three could be pursued without the expansive physical footprint that the US employs in the Middle East (Read more at Middle East Eye).
If he is urging Israel to “finish the job” meaning the continued killing of Palestinians and raze what is left of Gaza to the ground, then Israel is definitely complying. Could "finish the job" also mean crossing borders into Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah, Iran's key paramilitary ally in the region? Well, a fragile ceasefire is in place in Lebanon with Hezbollah, and Iran is considerably weakened. In comments made to Israeli media in November, Trump advisor and evangelical leader Mike Evans said the directive to "finish the job" included instructions for Israel to attack Iran's oil facilities and strategic interests (Read more at TRTWorld).
U.S. intelligence agencies assessed in recent weeks that Hezbollah, even amid Israel's military campaign, had begun to recruit new fighters and was trying to find ways to rearm through domestic production and by smuggling materials through Syria, said a senior U.S. official, an Israeli official and two U.S. lawmakers briefed on the intelligence (Read more at AOL).
In recent months, Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, campaigned for Trump to drum up Lebanese and Arab American support, even as the U.S.-backed Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Boulos has powerful roots in both countries. His father and grandfather were both figures in Lebanese politics and his father-in-law was a key funder of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party aligned with Hezbollah (Read more at USNews).
When President-elect Donald Trump named a Middle East team for his second term, it struck some as a bit of déjà vu. The team includes a real estate mogul with no diplomatic experience, a conservative religious leader who views Israel in messianic terms, and an Israel hawk relishing the prospect of taking on the international community. It suggests he liked what he got out of the first team and wants the same, only more and bigger, from this one.” (Read more at CSMonitor)
Trump is already shaping the calculations of combatants in the Middle East and in Europe, as they seek to guess what he’ll want once back in the White House, jockeying to find favor beforehand. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards de-escalation in the Middle East,” Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security adviser said (Read more at Politico).
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).
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).
Trump's Middle East envoy epitomises the president-elect's disdain for policy wonks and international relations experts. Witkoff doesn’t speak much in public, but when he does, he is measured and deliberate. Appearing on Fox News in January, he said Trump’s “strong stance, his certitude in asserting that ‘all hell would break loose’ is moving people”, when asked about the ceasefire talks. With Trump saying he will use the hostage deal to expand the 2020 Abraham Accord agreements, Witkoff is likely set to delve deeper into the world of Gulf politics and the Israel-Palestine conflict (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The choices for key foreign policy and national security roles so far suggest a preference for an activist US policy in the region rather than an isolationist approach. However, it should not be ruled out that future US policy may still retain notable isolationist elements, driven in part by Trump’s own reluctance toward troop deployments and foreign interventions. All things considered, Trump’s victory appears to shift regional power dynamics in favor of Israel and Gulf countries and put Iran in a disadvantageous position (Read more at Foreign Policy Research Institute).
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).
"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).
While Muslims are familiar with Trump’s harsh rhetoric, they also recognize one unpredictable factor: perhaps, in a sudden move, Trump might end the war. This partial belief in Trump’s potential actions has led some Muslims to lean more toward his side. A think tank study in the U.S. found that 75%-80% of Muslims voted for Trump, while 75%-80% of Jewish voters supported the Democrats. In a sense, the Democratic Party, AIPAC and Jews lost (Read more at Daily Sabah).
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).
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 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).
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).
Since leaving office in 2021, former President Donald Trump and several of his close allies have maintained a prominent presence in the oil-rich Gulf states. One of the most significant developments in Trump’s ongoing relationship with Gulf leaders came in September, when he hosted Qatar’s ruling emir and the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a key advisor during his time in office, has remained heavily involved in U.S.-Saudi relations. The Trump Organization has continued to explore new business opportunities in the Gulf region. Several other prominent figures from the Trump administration have maintained close business ties with Gulf nations (Read more at NewsX).
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)
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).
Americans should reflect on how the United States got ensnared in an earlier Israeli war there, and a tragic result of that involvement that occurred 41 years ago this week. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, which was the beginning of an occupation that would not end completely until 2000. One of the most horrifying low points was the massacre in September 1982 at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The Israel Defense Forces, fired illuminating flares so that the killing could continue through the night. A couple of weeks earlier, the United States under the Reagan administration had agreed to deploy US Marines. At least on the face of it, this deployment had a noble peacekeeping mission (Read more at New Arab).
"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).
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).
Ten years to the day after the formal launch of the U.S.-led operation against the Islamic State, the United States and its NATO allies gathered in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the future of a mission facing increasing headwinds. Niger kicked out the U.S. military from its counter-terrorism base in West Africa this summer. Afghanistan has been largely off-limits since the Taliban's 2021 takeover. And Iraq wants the Pentagon to start reducing its personnel and end coalition operations there (Read more at MSN).
According to the WSJ poll, Trump leads Harris in the seven swing states 50% to 39% on who is best able to handle Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump also has a 48% to 33% lead over Harris on who is better suited to handle the Israel-Hamas war (Read more at USNews).
The conflict in the Middle East was a central issue during Friday’s East Asia Summit in Laos, where Blinken said Washington was dedicated to using diplomacy to try to control the situation in the face of what he called an Iranian-led axis of resistance. “The intense focus of the United States, which has been the case going back a year... (is) preventing these conflicts from spreading. And we’re working on that every day,” Blinken told a press conference. Friday’s discussions included the war in Ukraine, Myanmar’s civil war, climate change, tensions in the Taiwan Strait and concern about confrontations in the South China Sea, a key conduit for at least $3 trillion in annual ship-borne trade (Read more at Arab News).
Washington's occasional condemnation of Israel over the war's civilian death toll has mostly been verbal with no substantive change in policy (Read more at Business Standard).
Oil fell by more than $1/bbl on Oct. 9 on rising U.S. crude inventories, while the risk of supply disruption from the Middle East conflict and Hurricane Milton in the U.S. curbed price declines (Read more at Hart Energy).
But he said more needed to be done to avoid a Middle East war. Asked by reporters in Washington on Thursday how confident he was that such a war could be averted, Biden said, “How confident are you it’s not going to rain? Look, I don’t believe there is going to be an all-out war. I think we can avoid it (Read more at Arabnews).
Iran's missile attack on Israel, and Washington's full backing of its ally on a response against Tehran, sent markets into a risk-off mode. Safe-haven currencies like Japan's yen and Swiss franc saw strong bids, along with oil and defense stocks. U.S. energy majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. Major oil and gas producers ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy gained between 1.5% and 1.9% while oilfield services firm SLB and Halliburton both rose about 2% each. Analysts expect the market to remain "jittery" as investors await Israel's retaliation and the resultant impact on supply (Read more at Zawya).
Oil prices rise on fears over Middle East supply disruptions. Israel vows retaliation against Iran over Tuesday's missile attack. US crude, gasoline inventories rose while distillate stocks fell last week. Israel's retaliation could include targeting Iranian oil production facilities among other strategic sites. An attack on Iran's oil infrastructure could provoke Tehran to respond with a strike on Saudi oil facilities, similar to one conducted in 2019 on crude processing facilities there, said Tamas Varga of oil brokerage PVM (Read more at Reuters).
The Army has sent at least one "robot dog" armed with an artificial intelligence-enabled gun turret to the Middle East for testing as a fresh counter-drone capability for U.S. service member. A U.S. Army Central spokesman told that the armed robot dog was one of several “non-counter-sUAS” systems tested alongside 15 counter-drone platforms at Red Sands during the September test and that the gun engaged several static ground targets (Read more at Military.com).
The new rule allows data centers from around the world to apply for a VEU status through which they can receive AI chips or other designated items under general authorization, rather than requiring their US suppliers to obtain multiple individual export licenses to ship to them. The move comes despite growing concerns among US policymakers that the Middle East could become a conduit for China to obtain American products (Read more at Forbes Middle East).
The additional forces would raise the total number of troops in the region to as many as 43,000. The increased presence will involve multiple fighter jet and attack aircraft squadrons. The additional personnel includes squadrons of F-15E, F-16, and F-22 fighter jets and A-10 attack aircraft, and the personnel needed to support them (Read more at Associated Press).
"The United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement (Read more at CNBC).
President Biden has spent nearly a year plotting and praying he could help prevent the war in Gaza from spreading. The rapidly expanding conflict between Israel and Hezbollah signals his power has reached its limit (Read more at Axios).
Experts question whether Iran would stay on the sidelines if Lebanon's Hezbollah's existence were threatened and say US troops could also find themselves targeted throughout the Middle East, if a regional war breaks out. The United States is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East given escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Pentagon said on Monday, declining to specify the precise number or mission of the deployed forces (Read more at Daily Star).
The Gulf region’s oil and gas exporters tend to follow the US Fed’s lead on rate moves as most regional currencies are pegged to the US dollar; only the Kuwaiti dinar is pegged to a basket of currencies, which includes the dollar (Read more at Arab Weekly).
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said, “I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility ... In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell.” The spokesperson added that the US felt as of now the conflict was contained to Gaza (Read more at Arabnews).
Theodore Roosevelt has departed and begun its transit to Indo-Pacific command area of operations, says spokesman. One of two US aircraft carriers deployed to the Middle East to deter Iran from attacking Israel departed the region. US forces in the region include, but aren’t limited to, an amphibious ready group and marine expeditionary unit, multiple destroyers, fighter aircraft and carrier strike group presence (Read more at Anadolu Agency).
Muslims targeted in the war on terror have found no mechanism to address crimes perpetrated against them, much less any frame that acknowledges their victimisation. If someone is killed by the US in a combat zone - US laws effectively preclude noncitizens from the eligibility to make a claim or receive any compensation for wrongful deaths that occur outside of the country. In rare cases where the US military kills civilians, a commander can opt to pay what are called solatia or condolence payments. These payments are not only minuscule - ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars - but they are also expressly made without the military acknowledging any wrongdoing (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Trump accused Harris of being weak on foreign policy and of hating Israel and Arabs. He offered no specific solutions for the Israel-Hamas conflict, however, instead claiming the war in Gaza would not have happened under his leadership. Trump added, Harris hates Arabs, claiming that “the whole place (the Middle East) is going to get blown up.” Harris affirmed her support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and its proxies, while acknowledging the heavy civilian toll on Palestinians in Gaza. Gaza, however, may not be a deciding issue in the election, even among Arab Americans (Read more at Arabnews).
The Lincoln is to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt at a time of heightened fears of regional conflict. “The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, is accompanied by Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9,” it added (Read more at Arab Weekly).
In a joint statement released by the White House on Monday, the leaders of all five countries said they endorsed a call from the United States, Qatar and Egypt for a renewal of talks for a Gaza ceasefire to conclude a deal as soon as possible (Read more at Business Standard).
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT Carrier Strike Group. Additionally, Austin ordered the USS Georgia (SSGN 729) guided missile submarine to the Central Command region (Read more at TRTWorld).
The deployment is part of force posture changes in the region to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or its proxies (Read more at Defense Post).
In his opening speech at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping restated China’s backing of a two-state solution and pledged 500 million yuan ($69 million) in humanitarian aid for Gazans. The longer the war, the easier for China to pursue this objective (Read more at Arab Weekly).
The counter-drone system works by overwhelming a hostile drone’s control frequency, forcing it to abandon its mission and return to its operator. The weapons can perform up to three hours of jamming and more than 10 hours of drone detection (Read more at Defense News).
Though the exact location was not disclosed, sharp eyes online revealed that the photos were taken from the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. Interestingly, the base serves as the home for the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing and previously housed the US Air Force’s RQ-4 Global Hawk drones. It is believed to be connected to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (Read more at Defense Post).
It came days before Iran launched a volley of drones and missiles on Israel. Delivery is expected in 30 days. The system is available in mobile and palletized versions to protect critical infrastructure, such as power, water, information systems/data centers, and moving targets (Read more Defense Post).
US has a formal vision of a deal between Israel and the leading power in the Arab and Muslim world, Saudi Arabia.The Saudis share Israel’s concerns about the Iranians and their regional proxy armies. Last weekend’s coordinated response to the Iranian attack will also have brought home the potential benefits to Saudi Arabia. A more formal U.S. security guarantee and access to top-of-the-line American warplanes are also major attractions for the Saudis in a deal with Israel (Read more at CSMonitor).
Israel's killing thousands of Gaza citizens became a reminder of how invisible they sometimes feel in America. For example, Schools rarely allow students to choose their racial identity as Arab American on information forms. Biden's early support for Israel's assault on Palestinians in Gaza was simply a tipping point for many Arab Americans who helped him achieve a critical win the state in 2020 (Read more at Axios).
Machine-learning algorithms that can teach themselves to identify objects helped to narrow down targets for more than 85 US air strikes on February 2. AI systems have also helped identify rocket launchers in Yemen and surface vessels in the Red Sea (Read more at theNational).
But an official told ABC News that the White House and the intelligence community remains unconvinced that the response will persist, even as some State Department officials say it may take a generation to rebuild U.S. standing in some countries (Read more at ABCNews).
An American soldier standing guard at Tower 22 in the Jordanian desert cannot simultaneously watch over the NATO border in Estonia, the demilitarized zone on the Korean peninsula or Philippine shoals in the South China Sea (Read more at Bloomberg).
