Author: Steven Sahiounie

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday made a phone call to Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss developments in the Gaza Strip, 10 Downing Street announced.During the call, Sunak renewed the UK’s support for Jordan’s security and that of the region, saying a significant escalation is “not in anyone’s interests.”He added that the UK’s focus remains on finding a solution to the conflict in Gaza.The UK continues to work toward an immediate humanitarian truce to bring in much larger amounts of aid and return the Israeli hostages held by Hamas safely to their families, “leading to a longer-term sustainable ceasefire,”…

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Luxembourg on Sunday to participate in a high-level forum on regional security and cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the EU. He will discuss with participants at the forum ways to enhance cooperation between the GCC and the EU in various fields, the importance of multilateral coordination, and regional and international developments, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Prince Faisal will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the forum. The EU-GCC High Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation will be held on Monday. “The forum…

Sultan Haitham of Oman will visit the UAE on Monday for talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, state news agency WAM reported. During the visit, both leaders will discuss “the deep-rooted, historical relations between the UAE and Oman and cooperation in various fields,” the agency said. The two leaders will also discuss a number of regional and international issues of common interest. source: Arab News

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi is scheduled to visit Pakistan and Sri Lanka on a key official tour. Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Raeisi will leave Tehran for Islamabad on Monday. During his two-day stay in Pakistan on Monday and Tuesday, Raeisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will hold a private meeting and then attend a joint session of the two country’s high-ranking delegations. The Iranian president will also sit down with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari. He will travel to cities and meet with ulema (scholars), elites, tradesmen and economic actors. In a statement, Pakistan’s foreign office said the two…

By: Steven Sahiounie, Journalist and political commentator It has become abundantly clear that achieving long-term stability in the Middle East requires solving the Palestinian issue and ensuring the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bowed to pressure from some of his own generals and political allies to attack Iran after Iran’s massive bombardment of Israel, which ended with no causalities or damages. The Israeli military claimed 99% of the projectiles were brought down. But, ultranationalist Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir described the Israeli strike on Iran as “feeble” or “lame”. Israel has…

Head of the politburo of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has issued a stern warning against any Israeli military operation on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, stressing that Palestinian resistance groups are ready to defend themselves and the besieged territory. Ismail Haniyeh raised the alarm in an exclusive interview with the Turkish Anadolu news agency on Sunday after meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and discussing the latest developments in Gaza amid Israel’s plans to carry out a broad offensive in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. Haniyeh warned against a possible military operation…

The foreign minister of Oman condemned the Israeli regime’s destabilizing measures in the region, describing an end to the war crimes against Gaza as the sole way to restore regional security. In a telephone conversation on Saturday, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi and his Iranian counterpart discussed the latest developments in the region. The top Omani diplomat condemned the destabilizing actions of the Zionist regime and stressed that the only way to restore security to the region is to stop the war crimes of the Zionists in Gaza. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian thanked the Sultanate of Oman…

Head of the politburo of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has issued a stern warning against any Israeli military operation on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, stressing that Palestinian resistance groups are ready to defend themselves and the besieged territory.

The foreign minister of Iran praised Algeria for proposing a draft resolution at the UN Security Council that recommended granting the State of Palestine full membership in the UN, taking a swipe at the US for its “irresponsible and unconstructive” veto on the bid. Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf discussed a range of regional and international issues on the sidelines of a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Friday. Amirabdollahian appreciated Algeria’s role in helping stop the Zionist regime’s genocide in Gaza and also presenting a resolution at the Security Council on Palestine’s UN membership.…

Iran has responded to Israel’s murderous missile assault on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month.