Gulf

U.S. imposes sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif

The US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a highly unusual action of penalising the top diplomat of another country. The sanctions…

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Reports that Israel attacked Iranian targets in Iraq

The London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat citing unnamed western diplomatic sources reported that Israel used F-35 stealth fighter jets on late Sunday night to attack “Iranian advisers” and a shipment of ballistic…

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Dubai’s Princess Haya seeks legal protection in London

Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein, the estranged wife of Dubai's ruler, has requested a forced marriage protection order in a London court. The princess is locked in a legal row with…

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Britain rejects idea of tanker swap with Iran

Britain on Monday rejected the idea that it could release a Iranian tanker in exchange for a British-flagged vessel seized by the Islamic Republic in the Gulf. Tensions have spiked…

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HMS Duncan arrives in the Gulf

British Royal Navy vessel HMS Duncan has arrived in the Gulf, where she will support the safe passage of British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz along with HMS Montrose.…

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Oman tries to negotiate solution in Iranian tanker crisis

A top Omani diplomat was in Iran on Saturday for bilateral talks after weeks of volatility over the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for a fifth of all globally traded…

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Photo Story: Daily life in Sana’a

A Yemeni stand in front of a destroyed building allegedly hit by a previous Saudi-led airstrike, in Sana'a, Yemen, 25 July 2019. According to reports, US President Donald Trump has…

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Growing risk of locust swarms in Yemen and Horn of Africa

Yemen and several countries in the Horn of Africa region, are facing an increased risk of desert locust swarms, threatening agricultural production during the next three months, the UN Food and…

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UK warship escorting British ships through Strait of Hormuz

Sky News reports that the Royal Navy has been tasked with accompanying British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to protect them from Iranian attack. HMS Montrose, a Type 23…

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Photo Story: Swarms of desert locusts invade Yemen

A Yemeni girl attempts to hit desert locusts flying over a neighbourhood in Sana'a, Yemen. Swarms of desert locusts are spreading throughout several Yemen cities, including Sana'a. Traditionally, many Yemenis…

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Iran says breaks up CIA spy ring

Iran has captured 17 spies working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and some have been sentenced to death, Iranian media reported on Monday. State television quoted the Intelligence…

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Watch The Moment Iran seized the British Oil Tanker

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have released footage showing a British oil tanker being seized in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The Stena Impero tanker "was confiscated by the…

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Hunt says Iran may be on ‘dangerous path’ after seizing tanker

British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday that he was worried that Iran had taken a “dangerous path” after it seized a British-flagged tanker on Friday in the Strait…

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US to send troops to Saudi Arabia

The Pentagon has said US troops are being deployed to Saudi Arabia to defend American interests from "emergent credible threats". The move comes amid heightened tensions with Iran over the…

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Iran insists it didn’t lose any drones

Iran’s top military spokesman said all the country’s drones had returned safely to base, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, after President Donald Trump said a U.S. Navy ship had…

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Oil prices rise after the U.S. Navy destroyed an Iranian drone

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Friday after the U.S. Navy destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint for global crude flows, again raising…

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Iranian forces confirm they have seized a foreign oil tanker

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces have seized a foreign oil tanker after accusing it of smuggling oil, Iran’s state TV reported Thursday. The news was announced just days after an…

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Suspicions Iran may have seized UAE-based oil tanker

A small oil tanker that stopped transmitting its location more than two days ago while traveling through a vital waterway near the Persian Gulf didn't emit a distress call, causing U.S. officials to…

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Britain sending third warship to Gulf

The UK is sending another major warship to the Persian Gulf amid ongoing tensions with Iran. Frigate HMS Kent will travel to the region from mid-September to bolster the Royal…

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Qatar says French missile found among arms seized in Italy was sold 25 years ago

Qatar said that a French missile once owned by Qatar’s military and found among a huge arsenal of weapons seized in Italy was sold by Qatar 25 years ago to…

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EU foreign ministers meet to discuss Iran nuclear deal

EU foreign ministers are meeting on Monday to discuss the latest developments concerning the Iran nuclear deal. They will try to flesh out a plan to convince Iran and the…

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Kuwait moves to protect its ports

Kuwait’s navy and ports authority will prepare security plans to protect the key OPEC exporter’s ports, state news agency KUNA reported, amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West. A joint cooperation protocol was…

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Iranian boats ‘harass’ British tanker in the Gulf

Five boats believed to belong to Iranian Revolutionary Guards approached a British oil tanker in the Gulf and asked it to stop in Iranian waters close by, but withdrew…

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Rouhani warns the UK…it will face ‘consequences’

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday Britain would face “consequences” over the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker and said Iran’s increase in uranium enrichment was for peaceful aims.…

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UAE scaling back military role in Yemen conflict

The UAE is beginning a partial military withdrawal in Yemen. Experts say the country is pushing for a political solution to end the conflict, but growing US-Iran tension in…

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US wants an international military coalition to safeguard waters in the Gulf

US Marine General Joseph Dunford has said the US wants to create an international military coalition to safeguard waters around Iran and Yemen. Gen Dunford said he wanted to "ensure…

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UPDATED: Europe has 60 days to save Iranian nuclear deal

Iran on Monday said that the last chance for saving its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers will pass after a 60-day deadline. The warning was issued by Iranian foreign…

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Iran threatens tit-for-tat retaliation after after Royal Marines storm super tanker

Iran has threatened to seize a British tanker after Royal Marines held one of their vessels suspected of taking oil to Syria off the coast of Gibraltar. Mohsen Rezai, a…

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Turkey ready to mediate between the US, and Iran

In comments published Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had discussed the possible mediation between Iran and the USA with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the…

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UAE Denies Sending American Missiles to Libya

The United Arab Emirates denied on Tuesday that it had supplied a Libyan armed group with powerful American-made missiles, after a Democratic senator warned that Washington could halt all arms…

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Joint Statement by France, Germany, the UK, and the High Representative of the European Union on Iran

Joint statement by Foreign Ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian of France, Heiko Maas of Germany and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt of of the United Kingdom and High Representative Federica Mogherini: "The…

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Wife of ruler of Dubai reported to have escaped to the UK

Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, a wife of the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, is in hiding in London and said to be in fear for her life…

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Children in Yemen pay a heavy price, 7,500 killed or wounded since 2013

Over 7,500 children have been killed or wounded in Yemen in the last 5 1/2 years as a result of airstrikes, shelling, fighting, suicide attacks, mines and other unexploded ordnance,…

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Crowd storms Bahraini embassy in Baghdad

More than 200 demonstrators broke into the Bahraini embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and took down the nation's flag on Thursday night to protest a U.S.-led meeting in Bahrain…

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Statement by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK and the US about the situation in Yemen and the region

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have expressed their concern over escalating tensions in the region. Statement…

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Iran warned not to misjudge U.S. ‘prudence’

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned that Iran should not "mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness.”. He was referring to President Donald Trump's decision the other week…

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Trump open to talks with Iran but warns it would face “obliteration” if conflict broke out

President Trump has said he doesn't want war but warned Iran it would face "obliteration" if conflict broke out. Speaking to NBC on Friday evening, Trump said the…

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U.S. regulator bars U.S. airlines from flying over Iranian airspace

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency order prohibiting U.S. operators from flying in an overwater area of Tehran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf…

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UPDATED: Videos released of American drone being hit in the Gulf, strike on Iran averted at last moments

Iran and the US have both released videos purporting to show an American drone being shot down and which is threatening to escalate the tension even more. In…

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Moller-Maersk alters its route through the Strait of Hormuz

The world’s largest shipping firm, A.P. Moller-Maersk, has changed the route of its ships that were sailing through the world’s busiest transit lane, the Strait of Hormuz. This applies for…

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U.S. Navy link mine fragments to Iran

The United States Navy on Wednesday displayed mine fragments it said it had removed from one of two oil tankers attacked in the Gulf of Oman last week. The American…

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The UN states there is credible evidence’ Saudi crown prince liable for Khashoggi killing

A forensic UN report published today states that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia should be investigated over the murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi because…

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ExxonMobil and other oil firms targeted in rocket attack in Iraq

A rocket landed at a residential and operations headquarters of several global major oil companies, including U.S. giant ExxonMobil, near Iraq's southern city of Basra early on Wednesday, wounding…

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Iran to breach enriched uranium limit on 27 June

Iran has said it will breach on 27 June the limit on its stockpile of enriched uranium that was capped under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The…

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Tankers targeted in the Gulf of Oman arrive in the UAE

The two tankers that were the target of a mysterious attack blamed on Iran, on Sunday arrived safely at locations off the Emirati coast. The vessels were rocked by explosions…

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New attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday launched a new attack targeting the Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia. The news was given by the rebel's Al Masirah TV. There was…

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Saudi Crown Prince calls for decisive international position against Iran

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, said that Saudi Arabia does not want a war in the region, but stressed that it “will…

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Royal Navy planning to deploy marines to Gulf

The Telegraph reports that the Royal Navy is drawing up plans to deploy marines to the Persian Gulf to protect British ships after a series of alleged Iranian attacks…

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Saudi Arabia wants maritime protection for tanker traffic in the Gulf

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia called for swift action to secure Gulf energy supplies, after the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in a vital…

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Warning that tanker attacks risk sparking conflict

After the latest incident on Thursday that left two tankers in flames in waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst with International Crisis Group, warned the…

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Video that US says shows Iran removing mine from tankers in Gulf of Oman

The U.S. military has released a video it says implicates Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the latest…

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Saudi intercepts five drones in new airport attack

Saudi forces on Friday intercepted five drones launched by Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels in the second assault on an airport in the kingdom. The drones targeted Abha airport, where a rebel…

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Iran calls US accusation it is behind attacks on two oil tankers ‘unfounded’

Iran says it "categorically rejects" US claims that it is behind attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had earlier…

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UPDATED: Two tankers struck in suspected attacks in Gulf of Oman

UPDATED: Two tankers were hit in suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman and the crew have been evacuated, shipping sources said on Thursday, a month after a similar incident…

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26 injured in cruise missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels carried out an attack on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport on Wednesday using what has been described as a cruise missile and injured 26 people. Houthi-backed…

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Photo Story: The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Arabian Sea

Handout photos made available by the US Navy shows the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron…

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UAE claims ‘State actor’ behind tanker attacks

The United Arab Emirates has told the UN Security Council that a "state actor" was most likely behind attacks on four tankers off its coast. The report states that May…

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