Middle East

Iran hosts Putin, Erdogan for talks overshadowed by Ukraine war

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s president will host his Russian and Turkish counterparts on Tuesday for talks on the Syrian war in a three-way summit overshadowed by fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The summit is the first hosted by Iran’s ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi since he took office last year, and the second trip abroad by Russia’s Vladimir Putin since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February. It comes days after US […]

Oil dispute sharpens Baghdad-Kurd tensions amid deadlock

by Tony Gamal-Gabriel Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq’s oil wealth is rekindling tensions between federal authorities and the autonomous Kurdish region, in a row that could compromise the lifeline industry and keep investors away, analysts say. The long-simmering dispute came to a head in February — at a time of political deadlock in Baghdad — when the federal supreme court ordered Kurdistan to hand over oil extracted from its territories to the federal […]

Iran, Russia, Turkey presidents to talk Syria war in Tehran

by Karim Abou Merhi with AFP bureaus Agence France-Presse TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — With the war in Ukraine still raging, Russian President Vladimir Putin travels Tuesday to Tehran for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Syria conflict. Russia, Turkey and Iran have in recent years met to discuss Syria as part of the so-called “Astana peace process” to end more than 11 years of conflict in the Arab country. All three are […]

The Red Sea islands caught between Egypt, Saudi and Israel

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — As US President Joe Biden visits the Middle East this week, one issue on the table will be the status of two small Red Sea islands that are uninhabited but of key strategic value. Resolving the tricky status that stems from their location and turbulent history would help build trust between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two US allies now taking gradual steps that Washington hopes could one day lead to diplomatic […]

Biden to meet with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on second day of Mideast tour

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US President Joe Biden will hold bilateral talks on Thursday with Israeli officials in Jerusalem, where the two allies are expected to declare a “united stand” on common foe Iran. Biden touched down in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for the first Middle East tour of his presidency, which will see him meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders before flying onwards to Saudi Arabia. Tehran will top the agenda of talks slated for […]

Biden heads to Middle East for first tour as president

by Aurélia End and Ben Simon Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US President Joe Biden lands in the Middle East on Wednesday for a trip that will see Israeli leaders urge tougher action against Iran, before a delicate stop in Saudi Arabia. The 79-year-old president’s visit to Jeddah on Friday will be the focus of the tour, after Biden branded Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist and US […]

Palestinians say US economic push no substitute for peace

by Gareth Browne Agence France-Presse RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP)  — Ahead of Joe Biden’s first visit to Jerusalem as US president, Washington’s ambassador said his team will “pound tables” to press Israeli officials into making concessions to the Palestinians. But ambassador Thomas Nides was talking about ensuring Palestinians have access to economic benefits such as 4G internet, not throwing American diplomatic muscle into reviving a peace process moribund since 2014. Biden’s first Middle East tour […]

Lebanon gas row tops agenda as Israel PM visits Paris

by Guillaume LAVALLÉE Agence France-Presse TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) –Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid makes his first foreign trip as premier on Tuesday to Paris, where he will ask President Emmanuel Macron to intervene in a gas dispute with Lebanon. Lapid took over the premiership on Friday following the collapse of Israel’s coalition government, which will see the country return to the polls in November for its fifth election in less than four years. The […]

Israeli parliament advances bill to dissolve, hold new elections

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — A panel of Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday approved draft legislation to dissolve parliament, a key legislative step that pushes Israel closer towards its fifth election in less than four years. Members of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s outgoing coalition and the opposition led by ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu have been sparring in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, since last week over a dissolution bill. The coalition said it wanted quick approval of the law […]

Israeli FM to visit Turkey amid threat of Iran attacks

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will visit Turkey next week, his office said Sunday, days after he urged Israelis to leave that country over threats of attacks by Iranian operatives. Sunday’s announcement came after Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke by telephone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and “thanked” him “for the efforts to thwart terrorist activities on Turkish soil”, according to a statement from the Israeli presidency. “President Herzog […]

Iran removal of monitoring cameras may scupper nuclear talks: IAEA

by Julia Zappei with Payam Doost Mohamadi in Tehran Agence France-Presse VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — The UN atomic energy watchdog said Thursday that Iran was removing 27 surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities, warning this could be a “fatal blow” to negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. Talks began in April last year to bring the United States back into that landmark agreement, after then president Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 and left it […]

At least 17 killed in train derailment in central Iran

by Payam DOOST MOHAMADI At least 17 people were killed and dozens injured Wednesday when a train derailed near the central Iranian city of Tabas after hitting an excavator beside the track, state media reported. The train was on its way from the northeastern city of Mashhad to the central city of Yazd with 348 passengers on board when it careered off the track in the desert at 5:30 am (0100 GMT). “Seventeen people are […]