Category: Middle East
Coverage of geopolitics, international relations, and current affairs from across the Middle East, including conflicts, alliances, energy politics, peace processes, and regional security issues.
-
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military has been instructed to expand its control to 70% of the Gaza Strip, as tensions persist despite the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Speaking at a conference, Netanyahu said Israeli forces currently control around 60% of Gaza. He stated: “We are now in 60%…
-
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday (27 May), US President Donald Trump said Iran “want very much to make a deal” as negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue, while warning the US could “finish the job” if talks fail. Trump said the administration was “not satisfied” with current proposals but…
-
US forces carried out new strikes in southern Iran on Monday (25 May), targeting missile sites and boats allegedly laying mines near Bandar Abbas, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). Officials described the action as self-defence. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt Tim Hawkins said the operations aimed to “protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces”.…
-
Israel has launched a new wave of air strikes across Lebanon, including the Bekaa Valley, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an intensified campaign against Hezbollah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strikes targeted Hezbollah positions, while Hezbollah reported carrying out 22 retaliatory drone and rocket attacks against Israeli military sites. In a video…
-
Iran has warned it could respond forcefully to any renewed US military action or naval blockade as negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue over Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security. Speaking in Tehran on Sunday (24 May), Mohsen Rezaei, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),…
-
US President Donald Trump said a proposed agreement involving the United States, Iran and several Middle Eastern countries had been “largely negotiated”, with final details still under discussion. In a Truth Social post published from the Oval Office, Trump said he held talks with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan…
-
Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, concluded a visit to Tehran on Saturday after meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. The discussions focused on efforts to revive stalled US-Iran negotiations following weeks of conflict that disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and affected…
-
Türkiye’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has vowed to challenge a court ruling that annulled its 2023 leadership congress and reinstated former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The decision removed current CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, prompting the party to describe the ruling as a “judicial coup”. Ozel said he would pursue legal appeals and…
-
Iran has announced the creation of a new authority amid continuing tensions with the United States over maritime activity in the Gulf region. The country’s Supreme National Security Council on Monday (18 May) said the new authority, called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), would provide “real-time updates” on operations and the latest developments in…
-
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described declining birth rates in Türkiye as a “disaster” and contraception as a “betrayal”, maintaining a long-running campaign for larger families. “Why not have at least four children, or five?” Mr. Erdoğan said recently. More births, he said, would empower Türkiye to “proceed into the future in a stronger fashion.”…
tut0ugh 