Category: Middle East
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Syrians on Monday (Dec. 8) marked one year since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, as the country continues its slow recovery after more than a decade of war. Celebrations were held in Umayyad Square in Damascus, with military parades and public gatherings planned nationwide. President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the rebel offensive that forced Assad…
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz underlined their commitment to strong bilateral ties during Merz’s first official visit to Israel, despite clear differences over Gaza and the two-state solution. Netanyahu said Israel and Hamas were expected to enter the second phase of the ceasefire “very shortly”, pending the return of the…
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Negotiations to consolidate the U.S.-backed truce in Gaza are at a “critical moment”, according to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. Speaking at the Doha Forum, he said mediators are pushing to advance the next phase of the ceasefire, though full stability remains elusive. “We are at a critical moment. It’s not yet…
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy has carried out ballistic and cruise missile launches during a two-day exercise in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, signalling what officials described as strengthened readiness against foreign threats. The drills included Qadr-series cruise and ballistic missiles and simultaneous drone strikes on simulated targets. Iran also highlighted expanded…
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Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) advanced across Hadramout this week, escalating tensions with forces loyal to the internationally recognised government and tribal groups aligned with Saudi Arabia. The clashes highlighted widening strategic differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which backs the separatists. The STC said its operation aimed to “restore stability” in…
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Hezbollah’s chief Naim Qassem has said the group has the “right to respond” to Israel’s assassination of senior commander Haytham Ali Tabtabai in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. In a televised address, Qassem described the killing as “a blatant aggression” and indicated that any response would be timed by Hezbollah. He added that Lebanon…
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Lebanon and Cyprus have finalised a long-delayed maritime demarcation agreement, opening the door to potential offshore gas exploration and wider energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Signed in Beirut by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, the deal is expected to strengthen ties between Lebanon, EU-member Cyprus, and the broader European Union.…
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Saudi Arabia has launched the Middle East’s first industrial-use quantum computer, marking a major step in its Vision 2030 technology ambitions. The system — developed by Pasqal and deployed at Aramco’s data centre in Dhahran — is also the kingdom’s first quantum computer. Pasqal said the machine can control 200 qubits in programmable two-dimensional arrays,…
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Israel killed Ali Tabtabai, the acting chief of staff of Hezbollah, in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday (23 November), according to the Israeli military. It was the first strike near the Lebanese capital in months, carried out despite a U.S.-brokered truce agreed a year ago. Lebanon’s health ministry reported five…
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Israel has carried out new strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza, reporting a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” after an alleged gunman crossed into Israeli-held territory. Gaza health authorities say at least 24 people were killed across four airstrikes, with 54 injured. The Israeli military said an “armed terrorist” exploited a humanitarian route to…
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