Middle East Monitor Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa

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  Settler council advances plan for 18 settlements in the northern West Bank

  by MI on June 1, 2026

  Israeli media reports indicate that the Samaria Regional Council has prepared a large-scale settlement initiative known as the “Connecting Plan”, aimed at establishing or re-establishing 18 settlements in the northern occupied West Bank. According to the settler-affiliated website Emez, the plan includes the return of settlement activity to four settlements evacuated during the 2005 Israeli disengagement plan; Homesh, Sanur, Ganim and Kadim.  The report states that the broader project would involve the establishment, expansion, or reconstruction of 18 settlements in total, including 14 additional settlements beyond the four evacuated in 2005. According to the website, some components of the plan have already received approval from the Israeli government, while other parts remain subject to future political and planning decisions. The

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  Oil prices rise more than 2% as Israeli military escalation in Lebanon intensifies

  by MI on June 1, 2026

  Oil prices rose by more than 2 per cent in early trading on Monday after Israel announced a deeper military advance into Lebanon as part of what it described as its battle against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire that has been in place for more than six weeks. US crude futures gained $2.37, or 2.71 per cent, to $89.73 a barrel by 1017 GMT, according to Reuters. Brent crude futures also rose by $2.07, or 2.27 per cent, to $93.19 a barrel. Both Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate had fallen on Friday, by 1.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively, amid expectations that the United States and Iran had reached a ceasefire agreement. READ: Israel

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  Lebanese parliament speaker says he guarantees Hezbollah’s commitment to ceasefire if Israel ends war

  by MI on June 1, 2026

  Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he could guarantee that Hezbollah would fully comply with a ceasefire if Israel halted its land, sea and air military operations and stopped demolishing homes and bulldozing land in Lebanon. In an interview with the Beirut-based newspaper Al-Modon, Berri said he would take responsibility for ensuring Hezbollah’s full commitment to a ceasefire, but stressed that this was conditional on Israel ending the war and all military operations it is carrying out in Lebanon.  Berri expressed doubt that Israel would honour any commitments or agreements, saying the main challenge was ensuring that it implemented any understanding reached between the parties. He added that if a ceasefire were achieved, indirect negotiations could begin under the sponsorship

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  Israel seeks Trump administration approval for wider air strikes in Beirut

  by MI on June 1, 2026

  Israel has asked the United States to allow it to expand its military operations in Lebanon to include large-scale air strikes on Beirut, rather than limiting its actions to targeted assassinations, according to Israeli Channel 12. The broadcaster reported on Sunday evening that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a second security meeting on the same day to discuss the possibility of shifting from occupying and seizing territory in Lebanon to launching an air campaign in Beirut. According to the report, any decision on the matter depends on discussions with the US administration, adding that the issue has gained momentum in recent days. Two days earlier, Netanyahu spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sought to persuade senior

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  Could Iran’s new air defence system be a game changer?

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  The doctrine of absolute air dominance, long regarded as an unassailable pillar of Western military strategy, is facing an unexpected test over the skies of the Persian Gulf. For decades, American air superiority has been viewed as an almost impenetrable shield, allowing Washington to shape conflicts on its own terms. Yet a series of dramatic events during the first half of 2026 around the Strait of Hormuz has forced strategists in the Pentagon to reconsider some of the core assumptions underpinning modern warfare. When a frontline U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was reportedly shot down over southwestern Iran in April 2026, followed by the loss of multiple MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drones worth tens of millions of dollars, Tehran delivered

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  Israeli occupiers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque amid Palestinian warning of ‘Judaisation’

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  Israeli occupiers on Sunday stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem under police protection, amid Palestinian warnings of “Judaisation” plans, Anadolu reports. Omar Rajoub, director of the Media Department at the Jerusalem Governorate, told Anadolu that “raising the Israeli flag inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, along with performing provocative rituals, is part of a systematic and deliberate official Israeli policy led by the extremist occupation government.” “These practices aim to impose new realities by force in occupied East Jerusalem and undermine the historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he added. He warned that “occupiers’ actions inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque are part of an ongoing colonial plan targeting the spatial and temporal division of the mosque,

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  Trump names US Ambassador to Türkiye Barrack as special presidential envoy to Syria, Iraq

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye, would also serve as special presidential envoy to both Syria and Iraq, US President Donald Trump said Sunday, Anadolu reports. Trump said Washington deepens its strategic engagement with Syria and Iraq. “Our relationship with them continues to grow,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Tom will remain Ambassador to Türkiye, and operate with the full backing of the United States Department of State,” Trump said, praising Barrack’s performance and expressing appreciation for his “continued willingness” to serve. Barrack, a longtime Trump ally, was confirmed as ambassador to Türkiye in 2025. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday Barrack will maintain a central diplomatic role managing policy for Syria and

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  Syria has sacrificed the soul of the revolution by arresting Bilal Abdul Kareem

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  The Syrian revolution was fought to tear down a police state, not to replace it with a replica under a different banner. Today, Assad’s dungeons of Damascus may have been replaced by the security apparatus of Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – HTS), but the arrest of New York journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem proves that the transitional administration is replicating the very tyranny from which Syrians died in their thousands to escape. The social media firestorm that preceded Bilal’s arrest centered on his interview with an Egyptian sheikh regarding the citizenship rights of foreign fighters. The truth is that Sheikh Abu al-Yaqzan al-Masri, whose real name is Muhammad Naji, is a man of little importance

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  33 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza during Eid holiday, Health Ministry says

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  One Palestinian was killed and eight others were injured by Israeli army fire in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha to 33 people, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday, Anadolu reports. The ministry added in a statement that more than 130 people were injured in Israeli attacks since Wednesday, the first day of the four-day occasion. The attacks came despite a US-mediated ceasefire that has been in place in Gaza since Oct. 10, 2025. A medical source earlier told Anadolu that a Palestinian man breathed his last early Sunday from severe injuries he sustained in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Saturday. Meanwhile, the director of Al-Aqsa

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  Israeli airstrike wounds 13 healthcare workers in southern Lebanon

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  Thirteen healthcare workers were injured on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike targeting the vicinity of Hiram Hospital in Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, Anadolu reports. The bombardment also caused “severe damage after the hospital sustained damage in earlier Israeli attacks,” the ministry said in a statement. It called on the international community to “put an end to the escalating Israeli attacks, which are expanding without regard for international humanitarian law, UN resolutions, and international norms.” The attacks came as the Israeli army escalated its assaults across Lebanon amid daily violations of a fragile ceasefire agreement in place since mid-April. Since March 2, the Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,371 people, injured 10,129 others, and

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  Instead of expanding gas, the UAE should help Indonesia build offshore wind

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  Within months, Mubadala Energy is expected to make a final investment decision on its Tangkulo development in Indonesia’s South Andaman block, where recent discoveries have revealed more than 2 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place. Additional finds in the same basin could hold more than 6 trillion cubic feet. The project is being hailed as another milestone in Indonesia’s push to become a major regional gas supplier. But the bigger story is not the gas beneath the Andaman Sea. It is the strategic choice facing the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is now one of the world’s most influential energy investors. Through companies like Mubadala Energy and Masdar, Abu Dhabi is simultaneously financing two very different futures: one built on new

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  Israeli army announces ‘large-scale’ offensive in southern Lebanon

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had launched a “large-scale” offensive in the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Salouqi (Saluki) area of southern Lebanon, Anadolu reports. The offensive began “several days ago, with large ground forces,” military spokesman spokeswoman Ella Waweya said on US social media company X. Waweya claimed the move was aimed at “destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating militants.” The Israeli army has “crossed the Litani River and expanded their attacks against Hezbollah north of the river,” she claimed, adding that “operations are expanding into additional areas.” Waweya said Israeli forces are operating “in the vicinity of (the city of) Nabatieh,” which she called “one of Hezbollah’s principal strongholds in southern Lebanon,” and that they are “ready

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  Beyond the Yellow Line: Israel seizes more of Gaza

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  While eyes remain peeled on Israel’s increasingly violent and expanding campaign in Lebanon, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is proving ever more predatory with the Gaza Strip.  With aggrandizing impunity, more territory is being acquired for familiar reasons: Hamas is on the run and needs to be crushed further (the organisation is proving oddly resilient and contradictory to Israeli objectives here); Palestinian autonomy, even in so small an area, would be a future threat to Israel unless heavily invigilated and policed; and, well, there is that old desire to ethnically cleanse the territory. Speaking at a conference on May 28, Netanyahu outlined his plans for further seizures.  “We are currently squeezing Hamas; we now control 60% of the

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  The heirs of the Nizamiyyah: Persian patience, American hubris

  by Marwa A on May 31, 2026

  In the 11th century, the Persian statesman Nizam al-Mulk (Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ali Tusi, born in Khurasan in 1018) built an empire not with swords alone, but with schools.   He served as grand Vizier for two famous Seljuk sultans: Alp Arslan, and Malik Shah I from 1063-1092. The Nizamiyyah academies produced generations of administrators trained in law, ethics, accounting, and statecraft.  A thousand years later, the civilization that inherited that tradition- Iran- still carries the DNA of bureaucratic rigor and philosophical depth. Meanwhile, the United States, a young empire now in visible decline, has elevated a man with no respect for learning, no moral compass, and with a famously short attention span. The contrast is not merely political, it

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  Iranian negotiator says final draft not yet approved, Tehran can quit US deal over violations

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Saeed Ajorlou, a member of Iran’s negotiating team’s media committee, said Saturday that Tehran has yet to approve the final draft of a proposed agreement with the United States and could withdraw from the deal if the other side fails to uphold its commitments, Anadolu reports. Ajorlou told Iranian state television that, to his knowledge, the final text had not been approved as of Friday night, although only limited differences remained between the parties. “If the final text is approved, we will enter a 60-day process of discussions on the details,” he said, adding that each of the agreement’s 14 articles contains annexes requiring further negotiations. Ajorlou stressed that implementation mechanisms would be more important than the text itself, particularly regarding access

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  Palestinian killed, 3 injured in Israeli strike in central Gaza Strip despite ceasefire

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  A Palestinian was killed and three others, including a child, were injured on Saturday in an Israeli strike targeting civilians near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The attack came on the fourth day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha amid continued Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement announced last October. “The body of Jamal Abu Aoun and three injured people, including a child, had arrived at the hospital following an Israeli drone strike that targeted a group of civilians near the hospital,” a medical source told Anadolu. In separate incidents, Israeli artillery shelling targeted areas east and south of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday morning. Meanwhile, another

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  Iran’s parliament set to vote on Hormuz Strait management bill

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Iran’s parliament is set to vote on a bill that would formalize the country’s management of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior lawmaker said Saturday. Alaeddin Salimi, a member of the parliament’s presiding board, said lawmakers had made a “definitive decision” to codify the management of the strategic waterway. “The parliament’s decision to legislate the management of the Strait of Hormuz is final, and this plan will become law,” Salimi told Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency. He said the parliament would not allow foreign powers to dictate policy regarding the strait. “Those who say the Strait of Hormuz must remain open should know that this issue concerns us. We will not allow others to decide for us,” he said. READ: Iranian

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  US blockade of Strait of Hormuz remains in place, says Pentagon chief

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is still in place, the US defense secretary said on Saturday, and warned that Washington is ready to resort to military action again if diplomatic efforts fail to secure a deal that prevents Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Anadolu reports. “The blockade is very much still in place,” Pete Hegseth said in Singapore, where he addressed the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. “Once a deal is had or not, depending on the choice they make, it will be an open strait, a toll-free strait that the entire world can use, which is the way that it should be,” Hegseth said. “Right now, we’re focused on being postured and prepared to reengage if we have

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  Israeli army crosses Litani River, reaches outskirts of Nabatieh city

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  The Israeli army has advanced into villages located north of the Litani River and reached the outskirts of Nabatieh city in southern Lebanon, a senior Lebanese military source told Anadolu on Saturday. The Israeli forces “have reached villages and towns north of the Litani River, including Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Shqif Arnoun, and have reached the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh,” said the source. This was accompanied by an increase in Israeli attacks and incursions into more southern villages and towns, it added. “The Lebanese army has evacuated its positions from villages and towns that have come under Israeli control” in order to ensure the safety of Lebanese soldiers, the source stated, noting that the Israeli army attacks caused casualties

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  Muslim pilgrims conclude annual Hajj pilgrimage

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Muslim pilgrims on Saturday concluded their annual Hajj pilgrimage with the farewell circumambulation at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, western Saudi Arabia, Anadolu reports. The pilgrimage was concluded in “an atmosphere of faith filled with tranquility,” Saudi state-run TV Al-Ekhbariya reported. On Tuesday, the Saudi statistics authority said the total number of pilgrims for this season reached nearly 1.71 million, including 1.55 million pilgrims from outside the kingdom representing 165 nationalities. Over 160,600 pilgrims performed Hajj from within Saudi Arabia. The total exceeded last year’s figure of 1.67 million pilgrims from both inside and outside the kingdom but was below the more than 1.83 million seen in 2024. Hajj rituals officially began Monday with pilgrims arriving in Mina, west of Saudi Arabia,

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  US blockade of Iranian ports still in place despite Trump’s announcement: Report

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  The US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported on Saturday, citing Iranian seafarers. “The naval blockade is still in place and ships are receiving stop warnings and denial of passage from CENTCOM,” the report cited the seafarers as saying. For his part, a top military advisor to Iran’s supreme leader accused Washington of “betraying diplomacy.” “As expected, the U.S. President is betraying diplomacy for the third time. “By continuing the naval blockade and making excessive demands in negotiations, he has further proven that he is not willing to engage in talks and is pursuing other objectives,” Mohsen Rezaei wrote on the US social media company X. In a Friday post on his

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  Lebanese president, premier meet to discuss military talks with Israel

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met on Saturday to discuss US-hosted military talks with Israel, according to the Lebanese Presidency, Anadolu reports. The Lebanese delegation “reaffirmed its commitment to prioritizing a ceasefire,” the presidency said on US media company X. Aoun and Salam also addressed preparations for the next round of US-mediated negotiations with Israel scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, it added. “The meeting further addressed the security situation in the country and the daily monitoring of the situation of people forcibly displaced from their homes and properties,” said the presidency. On Friday, the Pentagon hosted military delegations from Israel and Lebanon to support peace negotiations between the two nations. Earlier, Beirut and Tel Aviv held three

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  Israeli occupiers attack Palestinian homes, lands across occupied West Bank

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Israeli occupiers attacked Palestinian homes and property on Saturday, damaging them in the northern and southern parts of the occupied West Bank. The occupiers attacked several homes at dawn in the town of Beita, south of the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. They threw stones at houses and smashed several vehicles, the outlet said. State-run Voice of Palestine radio also reported that residents of Beita confronted the occupier attacks, adding that the Israeli forces fired light bombs into the sky over the town. In the southern West Bank, the occupiers attacked Palestinian farmland and damaged several trees in Khirbet el-Muraq in Masafer Yatta, activist Osama Makhamra, who follows Israeli

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  US Navy warns mariners to avoid Strait of Hormuz due to mine threat

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  The US Navy Central Command issued an urgent maritime advisory Friday, warning ship owners, operators and mariners about dangerous military operations underway in the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, Anadolu reports. The Joint Maritime Information Center advisory, dated May 29, rated the regional threat level as “CRITICAL,” citing Iranian attempts to illegally control the strategic waterway through what it described as dangerous and illegal mining that endangers ships and crews. All mariners were advised to avoid the Strait’s Traffic Separation Scheme and instead coordinate their passage with US Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping. It also urged vessels to remain in constant radio contact with naval authorities and comply immediately with instructions from US forces. The advisory noted a

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  Trump ‘will only make a deal that is good for America’ with Iran: White House

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  A White House official said Friday that US President Donald Trump would only pursue an Iran nuclear agreement on American terms, following a lengthy meeting in the Situation Room. “President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his redlines,” the official told Anadolu. The official said the high-level meeting lasted approximately two hours and reaffirmed the administration’s firm stance on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,” the official added. It came amid US-Iran nuclear negotiations, with Washington maintaining that any agreement must meet strict conditions set by the president. Trump wrote earlier on his Truth Social platform that he would meet officials at the White House to make a “final

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  Hezbollah says it hit 6 Israeli tanks amid drone, missile attacks in southern Lebanon

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Hezbollah said early Saturday that it had carried out 22 attacks against Israeli troops, vehicles and military positions in the previous 24 hours, including drone and missile strikes that hit six Israeli Merkava tanks across southern Lebanon, Anadolu reports. The group said the attacks were in response to Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement and attacks on civilians and villages in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah said its fighters targeted five Merkava tanks in the town of Yahmar al-Shaqif in Nabatieh province using attack drones, a guided missile and other weapons, and that the tanks were seen burning after the attacks. It said a sixth Merkava tank was targeted near the town of Dibbine in Marjayoun district, where it was also seen burning. Hezbollah

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  Israel rejects Lebanese demand to withdraw from southern Lebanon: Report

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Israel rejected a Lebanese demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon during US-mediated talks between the two sides, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported Friday. The broadcaster, citing Israeli officials, said Lebanon raised the issue during discussions involving military representatives from both countries under US sponsorship. Israel informed mediators that it would not withdraw, according to the report. KAN said the talks also addressed the possibility of reaching a broader ceasefire arrangement that would include discussions on Hezbollah’s weapons. The broadcaster, citing Lebanese media reports, said Israeli and Lebanese military delegations are not holding direct talks, with all messages relayed through the US mediator. Lebanon requested clarifications regarding terms used by Israel to justify its military operations, including

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  Hamas urges Board of Peace to condemn Israeli plans to expand control over Gaza

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, urged the international Board of Peace to take a clear position Friday on Israeli plans to expand control over the Gaza Strip, criticizing what it described as the body’s silence over the issue, Anadolu reports. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem denounced what he described as the silence of the Board of Peace and its high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, regarding Israeli plans to control 70% of Gaza and continue efforts to displace Palestinians. Qassem said the plans constitute a clear violation of the ceasefire framework and understandings regarding Gaza. He added that failing to condemn Israeli expansionist policies and displacement plans raises serious questions about the commitment of sponsoring parties to hold Israel accountable for its obligations

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  US top diplomat thanks Pakistan for efforts to mediate with Iran

  by MI on May 30, 2026

  Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday for Islamabad’s efforts to mediate an end to the US war against Iran, Anadolu reports. During a meeting in the US capital, Rubio “thanked the minister for the constructive role Pakistan continues to play in realizing President Trump’s vision for peace in the Middle East and its mediation efforts with Iran,” spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “The secretary and deputy prime minister agreed upon the importance of working together to further strengthen a meaningful partnership that fosters security and prosperity for both Americans and Pakistanis,” he added. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry separately said the top diplomats “appreciated the positive trajectory of Pak-U.S. bilateral relations over the past year.

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  Podcast by Jasim Al-Azzawi with Mustafa Barghouti: What ‘s Netanyahu’s Imperial Ambition?

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026
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  China’s Treasury gambit: A decade in the making

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  When China reduced its holdings of US Treasury securities in the spring of 2026, mainstream Washington commentators reflexively reached for the word “routine.” They should not have. What is unfolding is the culmination of a decade-long strategy, methodically engineered to give China the option to weaponize US borrowing costs at a moment of geopolitical maximum pressure. The numbers are striking. China’s Treasury holdings, which topped $1.3 trillion in 2013, had fallen to $693.3 billion by February 2026, and slid further to $652.3 billion the following month. In March 2026 alone, overall foreign holdings of US. Treasuries fell by $138.4 billion, with seven of the top ten foreign holders, including Japan, China, Belgium, Canada, and France,  trimming their exposure simultaneously. Acclaimed economist Mohamed

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  When rights are sold back as concessions

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Wars do not always continue through explosions. Sometimes the more dangerous phase begins when the noise falls, markets steady and governments hurry to turn a ceasefire into proof of victory. Iran is entering that phase. The danger is not only another round of fighting, but the quieter possibility that war is reorganised into a diplomatic architecture of pressure, in which the return to normal life is sold back to Iran as a concession. The world wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened, oil risk reduced, shipping routes predictable and energy prices controlled. Iran’s question is different: will the world simply pass through Iran’s neighbourhood again, or will Iran itself be reconnected to finance, trade, insurance and credible security guarantees? The concession

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  Beyond Gaza: The expanding geography of displacement

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  The War on Gaza continues and has not stopped. It is even expanding to wider geography of displacement and has been unfolding across the Eastern Mediterranean. The Zionists are empowered to widen their gradual restructuring of the land: depopulating borderlands, fragmenting societies, erasing cultural landscapes, and normalising permanent instability across the whole of Palestine, southern Lebanon, and southern Syria. This week, the Israeli military ordered the immediate evacuation of the ancient Lebanese city of Tyre. Tyre A city that carries thousands of years of Mediterranean history, Phoenician heritage, trade, memory, and civilization was suddenly reduced to a military target. Residents were ordered to move north of the Zahrani River as Israeli bombardment intensified across southern Lebanon despite the language of

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  What Abraham refused: The Ishmaels of the modern world

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Millions of Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha. Once again, the story of Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael is remembered as a narrative about faith, submission, and ultimately the refusal to sacrifice a child. At the heart of this story lies a profound moral turning point: a child was not meant to be sacrificed. Yet today, across different parts of the world, millions of children continue to die in wars, under occupation, and within the violent structures of global political conflict. In Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, and many other places, children are no longer treated merely as unintended victims of war. They are becoming bodies abandoned to death before the silence of the international system. The

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  Hezbollah warns of possible Israeli attack on Lebanon’s Qaraoun Dam

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Lebanon’s Hezbollah group warned on Thursday that Israeli claims about detecting movements by its members near the Qaraoun Dam in western Bekaa could be a pretext for targeting the dam or its surroundings. The warning came in response to an earlier statement by the Israeli military, which claimed it had detected Hezbollah members near the area of the dam. In a statement, Hezbollah said: “We warn that these fabricated allegations and pretexts could be paving the way for a new Israeli attack targeting the Qaraoun Dam or its surroundings, or targeting civilian and vital facilities in Lebanon.” The group added: “We place these threats before the international community and human rights and humanitarian organisations, which are now required to break

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  Iranian state TV: US aircraft destroyed near Bushehr

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Iranian state television, citing a local official, reported that a US aircraft had been destroyed in Iran’s Jam ‌governorate ⁠in Bushehr, although there has been no confirmation from the United States. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday that the Iranian armed forces had launched missiles from southern parts of the country towards specified targets. The agency said “the Iranian armed forces launched missiles minutes ago from the south of the country towards certain targets”, adding that the exact targets remained unclear, while some sources suggested there may have been clashes in Gulf waters. It added that reports circulating about explosions being heard in the Gulf coastal provinces of Bushehr and Hormozgan had not yet been confirmed. Separately, the

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  Israeli spy Pollard says Turkiye and Egypt could be Israel’s next targets as Ankara is cast as ‘new Iran’

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard has suggested that Turkiye and Egypt could be Israel’s next military targets, echoing a growing Israeli narrative that increasingly casts Ankara as the “new Iran” and a future strategic enemy. Speaking on an Arutz Sheva podcast, Pollard said Israel should prepare for wider regional wars following its confrontation with Iran. “I’m not so sure that we will have as easy a time with the Turks as we’ve had with the Iranians,” he said. “We have to be prepared for the next war, which will probably be against Turkiye and Egypt. The storm is coming.” Pollard also warned Israel against allowing the Turkish-backed transitional government in Syria to regain control of southern areas occupied by Israeli forces,

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  Gaza resistance security arrests alleged Israeli army agent linked to killings of senior leaders

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  The security apparatus of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip said it had arrested an alleged informant working for the Israeli army who was directly involved in providing intelligence that led to the targeting of senior resistance leaders. A source said the suspect was arrested while attempting to flee beyond the Yellow Line after receiving urgent instructions from an Israeli military intelligence officer. According to the source, the suspect admitted during questioning, after being confronted with information and technical evidence, to monitoring the movements of several resistance leaders and identifying their locations under direct instructions from Israeli military intelligence, which facilitated attacks against them. Investigations are continuing to obtain further information that could lead to the identification of other

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  Israeli outlet owned by top Trump donor reveals Mossad influence operations inside Iran

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  An Israeli newspaper owned by Miriam Adelson, one of Donald Trump’s most powerful financial backers, has revealed new details about a secret Mossad branch set up to conduct influence operations inside Iran, including media leaks, fake social media accounts, artificial intelligence-generated influencers and efforts to force senior Iranian officials from power. The report was published by Israel Hayom, an Israeli newspaper owned by Adelson. Trump has credited the family with helping secure some of his most consequential decisions on Israel, including recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognising Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Read: “Real men go to Tehran” — The Zion-Con fantasy of regime change in Iran

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  Hamas warns of collapse of Gaza agreement after Israel kills 20 Palestinians in 48 hours

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  The Palestinian group Hamas warned on Thursday that the Gaza ceasefire agreement was at risk of collapse, and called on the US administration and guarantor countries to take “serious and urgent” steps to force Israel to comply with the deal. In a statement, Hamas urged the US administration to announce a clear position “condemning the Israel’s violations”, pointing to an escalation in Israeli air strikes that it said had killed 20 Palestinians over the past 48 hours. The statement said the ceasefire agreement was “facing the risk of collapse as a result of the Israeli occupation’s crimes and its ongoing brutal violations”. An Israeli air strike targeting a residential flat on Wednesday evening killed 10 Palestinians, including two children and

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  Israel launches electronic system for registering Palestinian land in West Bank ahead of annexation push

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Israel on Thursday launched a new electronic system called the “Land Registry and Settlement of Rights” in the occupied Palestinian territories, in a move specialists described as part of a legal and administrative annexation project in the West Bank, particularly Area C. They said the move marks a shift from what they described as “silent gradual annexation to declared annexation through digital and administrative tools”. The launch follows a decision by Israel’s security cabinet in May 2025 to begin a comprehensive settlement of land ownership across the West Bank, with the aim of completing land registration under Israeli administration. According to available information, the project officially began on 15 February 2026 after powers related to land registration were transferred to

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  The ceasefire illusion: Managing genocide under the “Board of Peace”

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  For two years, images of dead Palestinian children, flattened neighbourhoods and starving civilians flooded television screens and social media feeds around the world. What once shocked global audiences gradually risked becoming routine. The war in Gaza — from October 2023 until the ceasefire of October 2025 — left behind extraordinary destruction and an uncomfortable question: had mass suffering itself become normalized? Is the world now witnessing, in near silence, the live-streamed genocide of the Palestinian nation simply because it feels powerless to stop it? Or because global attention has shifted elsewhere, particularly toward the US-Israeli confrontation with Iran? Whatever the answer, one disturbing reality has emerged: many governments appear willing to believe that Washington has genuinely pursued peace and reconstruction

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  Israel freezes ties with UN chief Guterres after inclusion on conflict-related sexual violence blacklist

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, announced the suspension of relations with UN Secretary-General António Guterres after Israel was added to a UN blacklist of parties accused of committing sexual violence in conflict zones. In a post on X on Thursday, Danon described the UN decision as “political decision! Disconnected from the facts and reality!”, and announced a halt to cooperation with Guterres, saying: “Israel has decided to sever all ties with the Secretary-General’s Office.” He added that Israel would work to “correct this mistake” once a new UN secretary-general is elected in the coming months. “Israel will wait until a new UN Secretary-General is appointed,” he said. Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Israel was added to

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  Stop blaming Netanyahu, stupid . . .

  by Marwa A on May 29, 2026

  Benjamin Netanyahu and his partners in the Israeli government, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich among others, did not descend from Mars. They are the product of the same earthly Zionist ideology. By blaming Netanyahu et al., the Zionist-managed Western media and liberals in the US and Europe want you to believe that there is a moral daylight between the politics of the Israeli governing coalition and the state they lead. The European Union is a study in cognitive dissonance. It threatens Netanyahu with arrest. It bans Ben Gvir and Smotrich from entering European soil. Yet it continues to uphold preferential trade relations with Israel itself. It sanctions individual Israeli leaders but shields and sustains the state apparatus and political

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  Wars may end, but displacement persists: Where is humanitarianism in the US-Iran war?

  by Marwa A on May 28, 2026

  The eruption of the Middle East war in 2026, which began with strikes led by the US and Israel against Iran under Operation Epic Fury, carries devastating consequences for recovery, development and regional stability. The assassination of senior Iranian figures, most notably Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the involvement of Hezbollah and Houthis in support of Iran, alongside Iranian attacks on neighbouring countries, further escalated the crisis. The war transformed from a military confrontation into a broader regional political, diplomatic and economic crisis. While global attention focused on military escalation, oil markets and the Strait of Hormuz, far less attention was given to the war’s humanitarian consequences, despite the massive and irreversible impacts.

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  Electricity diplomacy: The new power in the Middle East

  by Marwa A on May 28, 2026

  From the geopolitics of oil to the geopolitics of electricity For decades, Oil and Gas have been the primary instruments of power in the Middle East. Regional states have exercised political and economic influence largely through fossil fuel exports and control over strategic energy routes. However, technological transformation, the expansion of renewable energy and changes in the global economic structure indicate that the Middle East is gradually entering a new phase of geopolitical competition — one in which electricity and power transmission infrastructure may become among the region’s most important tools of influence. Today, many Middle Eastern countries are rapidly investing in solar energy, wind power and smart electricity infrastructure. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and several North

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  The man who defeated nobody: Netanyahu’s theatre of ruin

  by Marwa A on May 28, 2026

  Benjamin Netanyahu has defeated nobody. Not one enemy. Not one objective. After Gaza, after Lebanon, after Syria, after Iran, after all the airstrikes and the assassinations and the pager operations and the ground incursions and the flag-waving declarations of historic triumph, he has defeated absolutely nobody. Strip away the propaganda. Set aside the theatrical press conferences in which this man, indicted for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, wraps himself in the flag of the Jewish people and declares himself the guardian of Western civilization. What you are left with is a leader who expanded a war he could not win to survive a trial he cannot escape. A man who gambled his nation’s military strength, its economic stability, its

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  Funeral held for seven killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza

  by Marwa A on May 28, 2026

  Images: Médecins Sans Frontières step up efforts to address facial injuries in Gaza

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  Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ in collapse as fund receives ‘zero dollars’ from donors

  by Marwa A on May 28, 2026

  Donald Trump’s self-styled Board of Peace for Gaza is facing a deepening crisis after its official reconstruction fund failed to receive any donor money, despite $17 billion in pledged support, raising fresh questions over whether the US-backed body is little more than a hollow political project. According to the Financial Times, the World Bank-administered fund established for the board has received no donor contributions four months after its creation. One person familiar with the matter said: “Zero dollars have been deposited.” The failure comes despite member states pledging $7 billion for a Gaza “relief package”, while Trump promised a further $10 billion in US funding. Gaza vanishing: Trump’s Board of Peace Instead of using the World Bank mechanism, which is

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  Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted US airbase in Kuwait

  by Marwa A on May 28, 2026

  Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Thursday that it targeted a US airbase in Kuwait in response to an American aerial strike near Bandar Abbas Airport in southern Iran, Anadolu reports. According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said the retaliatory strike came at 4.50 am (0120GMT), hours after what it described as a US assault on a point near the port city’s airport using aerial projectiles. “This response is a serious warning so that the enemy knows that aggression will not go unanswered, and if repeated, our response will be more decisive,” it said. Later, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday through US social media company X that Iran launched “a ballistic missile toward