Gulf

Fragile ceasefire holding, Trump envoy says peace talks with Iran ‘promising’

The ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding on Wednesday a day after both countries signalled that their air war had ended,…

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Iran retaliates against U.S. base in Qatar

Iran's military said on Monday it had carried out a "devastating and powerful" missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari…

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World awaits Iranian response after US hits nuclear sites

The world braced on Sunday for Iran's response after the U.S. attacked key Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its…

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US bombs Iranian nuclear sites

US President Donald Trump says American warplanes have bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel. "Remember, there are many…

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US B-2 bombers and bunker-busters used in Iran strike

The U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were involved in strikes on Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday. Three Iranian nuclear sites were struck in a "very successful attack," President…

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Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy

Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision…

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Israeli and U.S. intelligence differ on status of Iran’s nuclear program. Who’s right?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued for decades that Iran was on the verge of producing a nuclear weapon. And he ordered the attack on Iran because he believed…

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Iran Claims Downing of Israeli F-35 Near Tabriz, Missile Strike on Alleged Mossad HQ Near Tel Aviv

Tabriz / Tel Aviv – In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing covert conflict between Iran and Israel, Iranian officials have announced two major military actions: the alleged downing of…

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Trump urges Tehran evacuation as Iran-Israel conflict enters fifth day

Israel and Iran attacked each other for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran, citing what he said was the country's…

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UPDATED: Iran lauds ‘new method’ as missiles hit Israel’s Tel Aviv, Haifa

Iranian missiles struck Israel's Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa in an early morning raid on Monday, destroying homes and fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week's…

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Trump told Israel not to kill Iran’s supreme leader

US President Donald Trump rejected a plan by Israel to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three US officials have told CBS News. Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister…

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Israel and Iran Locked in Escalating Tit-for-Tat Strikes Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes at Israel on Friday night, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country's two biggest cities, following Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding…

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UPDATED: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei alive, Iran launches over 100 drones at Israel

IDF Spokesman Effie Defrin on Friday morning told a press conference that Iran had launched over 100 drones toward Israel in recent hours. He also noted that over 200 IDF…

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UPDATED: Iran ‘must make a deal, before there is nothing left’: Trump

US president Donald Trump has urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme, saying that there was still time for the country to prevent further conflict with Israel:…

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US to pull some personnel from the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place," adding that the United States would not allow…

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Israel attacks Yemeni port city

Israel attacked docks in Yemen’s port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, the Houthi rebels said, likely damaging facilities that are key to aid shipments to the hungry, war-wracked nation. Israel…

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Putin is ready to help Trump on Iran nuclear negotiations

President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump that he was ready to use Russia's close partnership with Iran to help with negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme, the Kremlin said…

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Saudi warned Iran to reach nuclear deal with Trump or risk Israeli strike

Saudi Arabia's defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian officials in Tehran last month: take President Donald Trump's offer to negotiate a nuclear agreement seriously because it presents a…

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Iran parliament approves strategic pact with Russia

Iran's parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties including closer defence cooperation. Russian President…

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Trump says US close to a nuclear deal with Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the…

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Trump meets Syrian president, says he is looking into normalising ties

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, after a surprise U.S. announcement it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government, and said Washington…

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Trump says US to lift Syria sanctions, secures $600 billion Saudi deal

President Donald Trump kicked off his trip to the Gulf on Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the United States will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria, and a $600 billion…

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Trump says US to stop attacking Houthis in Yemen as group has ‘capitulated’

Donald Trump said the US would stop attacking the Houthis in Yemen because the group had "capitulated", as Oman confirmed a "ceasefire" had been reached with the Iran-backed group for…

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Iran says it will strike back if US or Israel attack

Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Sunday that Tehran would strike back if the United States or Israel attacked. Nasirzadeh's comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed…

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Several Dead in Shahid Rajaee Port Explosion: Latest Updates

At least 18 people have been killed and 750 injured in a huge explosion at the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, according to official Iranian media citing the country’s interior…

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Trump says Iran must give up dream of nuclear weapon or face harsh response

President Donald Trump said he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face…

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Trump says US and Iran set for direct nuclear talks

President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but Iran's foreign minister said the discussions…

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Iran wants indirect talks with US, warns regional countries over strikes against it

Iran is pushing back against U.S. demands that it directly negotiate over its nuclear programme or be bombed, warning neighbours that host U.S. bases that they could be in the…

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Military confrontation seems inevitable if no new Iran nuclear deal, France says

France's foreign minister warned that if world powers were unable to quickly reach a new agreement with Iran over its contested nuclear programme then a military confrontation seemed "almost inevitable".…

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Iran speaker says US bases will be struck if Trump attacks Iran

Tehran would strike U.S. bases in the region if Washington follows through on its warning of military consequences for Iran in the absence of a new nuclear deal, the speaker…

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Iran says ready for indirect talks with US

Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said on Thursday Tehran has not closed all doors to resolve its disputes with the United States and is ready for indirect…

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Saudi Arabia’s role as Ukraine war mediator advances Gulf nation’s diplomatic rehabilitation

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, Rice University Saudi Arabia is 2,000 miles from Ukraine and even more politically distant, so at first glance it…

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Yemen’s Huthis claim attacks on carrier group after US strikes

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed on Monday to have twice attacked an American aircraft carrier group within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for deadly US strikes. The Huthis initially said…

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Yemen’s Houthis to resume attacks on Israeli ships

Yemen’s Houthis his week announced that they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending…

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46.1 million people counted in Iraq’s first census in nearly 40 years

The final results of Iraq’s first census in nearly 40 years released Monday show the population has reached 46.1 million. In 2009, an unofficial count estimated the population at 31.6 million. Iraqi…

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Iran alerts UN to Trump threat of force, says it will defend itself

Iran alerted the United Nations to what it described as "reckless and inflammatory statements" by US President Donald Trump threatening the use of force and warned that "any act of…

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Saudi Arabia, UAE seen as possible venues for Trump-Putin summit

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen by Russia as possible venues for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two Russian sources…

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say Iran purchased Russian-made Sukhoi 35 fighter jets

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…

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Saudi Arabia asks legendary film score composer Hans Zimmer to create new version of national anthem

Saudi Arabia has asked legendary Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer to work on a new version of its national anthem, according to a senior official in the country. The move comes…

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Trump designates Yemen’s Houthis as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’

U.S. President Donald Trump re-designated Yemen's Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, as a "foreign terrorist organization", the White House said. The move will impose harsher economic penalties than…

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US military conducts precision airstrikes against Houthi targets in Sanaa, Yemen missile lands in Tel Aviv area

The U.S. military on Saturday said it conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. In a statement,…

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Iran’s Khamenei calls for death sentence for Israeli leaders

The supreme leader of Iran, which backs the Hamas and Hezbollah militants fighting Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, said on Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders,…

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UAE arrests three suspects in killing of Israeli rabbi

Three people have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates in connection with the alleged murder of an Israeli citizen, the Emirati interior ministry said. The ministry statement did not…

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Iran’s president says Tehran has to deal with Washington

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not be able to ignore its arch-foe the United States and needs to "handle its enemies with forbearance", state media reported on Tuesday,…

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Iran plays down importance of US election, voices readiness for confrontation

Iranians' livelihoods will not be affected by the U.S. elections, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani was reported as saying on Wednesday after Donald Trump claimed victory in the presidential vote. Arab…

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Dubai and Abu Dhabi race to lure world’s wealth managers

Abu Dhabi is emerging from Dubai's shadow as it attracts its own share of asset managers' and billionaires wealth, helping cement United Arab Emirates' role as an alternative to global…

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Iran preparing strike on Israel from Iraqi territory within days

Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, Axios reported, citing two unidentified…

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US warns Iran at UN of ‘severe consequences’ in case of new attacks

The United States warned Iran at the United Nations Security Council of "severe consequences" if it undertakes any further aggressive acts against Israel or U.S. personnel in the Middle East.…

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Israel strikes Iran military targets, Tehran says damage ‘limited’

Israel struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday, saying it was retaliating against Tehran's strikes on Israel this month, the latest attack in the escalating conflict between the heavily…

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U.S. forces target underground Houthi weapons storage sites in Yemen

The United States conducted precision strikes on Wednesday against five underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. "U.S. forces…

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Iran says attack on nuclear sites improbable

The probability of an attack on Iran's nuclear sites remains low but any potential damage would be "quickly compensated", state atomic energy agency spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Wednesday, according…

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Stop Israel from bombing Iran’s oil sites, Gulf states urge US

Gulf states are urging Washington to prevent Israel from attacking Iran's oil sites, fearing that if the conflict escalates, Tehran's proxies could retaliate by targeting their own oil infrastructure, according…

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Israel’s security cabinet expected to decide on Iran response

Israel’s security cabinet is set to vote on Thursday regarding its response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, according to an Israeli official speaking to CNN. Earlier, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant…

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Iran warns Israel against any attack, threatens stronger retaliation

Iran's foreign minister warned Israel against launching an attack, saying on Tuesday any strike on Iranian infrastructure would be met with a stronger retaliation.Iran attacked Israel last week with a…

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Iran says any Lebanon ceasefire should be simultaneous with Gaza

Tehran backs efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon on the condition it would be backed by Hezbollah and simultaneous with a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Iran's foreign minister Abbas…

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Khamenei says Iran and its allies will not back down from Israel

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that Iran and its regional proxies will not back down from Israel hours after an Israeli attack on Beirut that is thought…

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Iran’s Khamenei warned Nasrallah of Israeli plot to kill him

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Hezbollah leader Syyed Hassan Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli strike and is now deeply worried about…

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