London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Saudi-led military action against the Houthis has averted a civil war, one that would have changed the demographics of not only Yemen but the entire region, Bahrain’s foreign minister has told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Had it not been for the intervention of Saudi Arabia under th
The Arab world is not a happy sight these days. Iraqis are not relaxed in a fragmented country dominated by Tehran and “cherished” by Washington. The Libyans are not so sure about their future in the midst of internal division and feverish grabbing of religious extremism and regional and tribal loya
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned Wednesday that Israel’s “aggressive offensive” against Palestinians and their holy sites could “ignite a religious conflict” in the entire world, insisting that no changes to the status quo of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound
Riyadh and London, Asharq Al-Awsat—President Bashar Al-Assad has no future in Syria, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Tuesday, adding that his country’s position on the crisis in Syria was “unchanged.” Speaking at a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fab
Aden, Asharq Al-Awsat—Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s former president, has appropriated billions of US dollars of assets owned by the General People’s Congress (GPC), the ruling party, to fund Houthi-allied militants fighting the Gulf-backed government, a party official has told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Saleh
Amman and Beirut, Reuters—A Kurdish militia in northern Syria has joined forces with Arab rebels, and their new alliance has been promised fresh weapon supplies by the United States for an assault on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces in Raqqa, a spokesman said on Monday. The alliance
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Criticism of Saudi Arabia over the Hajj tragedy that killed and injured hundreds last month will not deter the Kingdom from performing its duty of organizing the annual Muslim pilgrimage, Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz said on Monday. The King said “irresponsible” statements
During last Thursday’s US Senate hearing tackling military and political affairs, those present unanimously agreed that by interfering in Syria, Russia has become a growing danger to the United States in terms of influence and interests. They also agreed that Russia is posing a threat to the securit
Moscow, Sochi and Dubai, Reuters/Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince on Sunday expressed the Kingdom’s concerns regarding Russia’s military intervention in Syria, during meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the meetings, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is also the Ki
Anyone observing current events in the Middle East must be wringing their hands in the face of such a perplexing and catastrophic situation. The gambles which some countries are making now risk inflaming the Syrian crisis into a third world war—or at the very least a proxy war involving major powers
Ankara, AP—Scuffles broke out Sunday in the Turkish capital as police used tear gas to prevent pro-Kurdish politicians and other mourners from laying carnations at the site of two suspected suicide bombings that killed 95 people and wounded hundreds in Turkey’s deadliest attack in years.
Only a few months ago US Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to promote Afghanistan as a foreign policy success for the Obama administration. Barack Obama’s plan to complete US military withdrawal was near completion and there was even talk of establishing “dialogue” with the Taliban with Qatar
Aden, Taiz and Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemeni government loyalists, aided by Saudi-led coalition forces, have made fresh gains in Taiz, military sources said on Friday, bringing them closer to capturing the western governorate and the Red Sea port of Al-Mokha from Houthi rebels. Government loyalist
Beirut and Ankara, Reuters/Asharq Al-Awsat—Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters have seized villages close to the northern city of Aleppo from rival insurgents, a monitoring group said on Friday, despite an intensifying Russian air-and-sea campaign that Moscow says has targeted the milita
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egyptian-born radical preacher Abu Hamza Al-Masri, serving a life sentence in the US on terrorism charges, has spoken out from his prison cell, exclusively revealing to Asharq Al-Awsat that he has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition from the UK and that th
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group in Yemen has denied its warplanes targeted a wedding party in the southwestern Dhamar Governorate on Thursday, maintaining that the incident was caused by a firefight between the Shi’ite rebels and militants from the governora
Like many, I listened the other day to Barack Obama talking about the Russian military intervention in Syria. In his talk the American president criticized Vladimir Putin’s refusal to distinguish between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Syria’s moderate opposition, regarding the Russia
Washington and Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s Houthis and the party of the ex-president have agreed to stop fighting, the United Nations said on Wednesday, more than six months after a Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to power. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarri
Beirut, Reuters—Syrian troops and militia backed by Russian warplanes mounted what appeared to be their first major coordinated assault on Syrian insurgents on Wednesday and Moscow said its warships fired a barrage of missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new military reach. The combi
Aden, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Western-backed government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi will not be leaving the southern port city of Aden despite the recent attack on its headquarters that killed and injured dozens, a minister told Asharq Al-Awsat. “The government will remain in Aden and tomorrow [
