Iran has purchased Russian-made Sukhoi-35 fighter jets, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Monday, amid growing concerns in the West over military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. IRGC commander Ali Shadmani, quoted by the state-affiliated Student News Network, did not disclose the number of jets purchased or whether they have already been…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Monday, the State Department said, with the call coming two days after a suggestion by President Donald Trump that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinians from Gaza. “The Secretary and King Abdullah discussed implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the release of hostages, and creating…
Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem were set to lose education, healthcare and other services provided by UN agency UNRWA as an Israeli ban on the organization takes effect on Thursday. Israel’s government ordered UNRWA to vacate its East Jerusalem compound and cease operations under a law passed last year outlawing the agency and prohibiting…
Israel said Monday that it had arrested two Israelis suspected of spying for Iran, including one accused of handing the country classified information obtained during his military service. It marks the latest in a series of detentions in Israel of people charged with espionage on its arch-foe Iran’s behalf since the summer. Israel’s internal security…
The Israeli military on Monday said it had “eliminated over 15 terrorists” and arrested 40 wanted people during a major raid that began last week in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The raid began two days after a truce took hold in the Gaza Strip, seeking to put an end to more than 15 months of…
The Trump administration has put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), sources familiar with the matter said, after Washington put a sweeping freeze on US aid worldwide. The administration on Saturday urged USAID staff to help transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump’s…
US President Donald Trump said Monday he had signed an executive order ridding the military of what he called “transgender ideology,” in a potentially major setback for LGBTQ rights. In a series of orders related to the military that Trump told reporters he had signed on Air Force One, he also called for the building of…
US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his desire to move Palestinians from Gaza to “safer” locations such as Egypt or Jordan, and said he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington “very soon.” The president on Saturday floated the idea to “clean out” Gaza after more than 15 months of Israel’s…
US President Donald Trump once again hinted at the idea of serving a third term, saying he was “not 100 percent sure” he was barred from doing so under the Constitution, which forbids it. Trump has repeatedly alluded to the possibility that he might go beyond the current two-term limit for US presidents — but…
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday where she is expected to hold talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Meloni arrived in Jeddah and was was welcomed by Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. She arrived in Jeddah…
The US may place a “very big bounty” on the top leaders of the Taliban, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, adding he was hearing that the Taliban held more American hostages than previously reported. “Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio said in a post on…
US President Donald Trump said that his first international trip could be to Saudi Arabia. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said on Saturday that his first foreign destination “could be Saudi Arabia” even though traditionally US presidents visit Britain.Trump said that the last time he traveled to Saudi Arabia it was because…
Republican President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by Democratic former President Joe Biden on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. The move was widely expected. “We released them. We released them today. And they’ll have them. They paid for them and they’ve been…
US President Donald Trump floated a plan to “just clean out” Gaza, and said he wants Egypt and Jordan to take Palestinians from the territory, as a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas aimed at permanently ending the war enters its second week on Sunday. The truce deal that came into effect on January 19…
Hamas on Sunday accused Israel of violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement by preventing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern part of the territory. “The occupation is stalling under the pretext of prisoner Arbel Yehud, despite the movement informing mediators that she is alive and providing all the necessary…
