For the third time since the start of Operation Decisive Storm, Hassan Nasrallah has taken it upon himself to publicly attack, lambast and insult Saudi Arabia. The manner in which he has delivered these rants, and the intentions behind them, have remained constant throughout those three appearances.
A few days ago, members of the UN Security Council watched a video showing a Syrian doctor attempting to rescue children who had allegedly been the victims of a chlorine gas attack by Syrian government forces. After viewing the video, the United States’ ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, commente
Ramadi, Asharq Al-Awsat—Fierce street battles erupted in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday between government forces backed by local tribal volunteer groups and fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to Iraqi security officials. Maj. Gen. Kazim Al-Fahdawi, the head of t
Sana’a, AP—Saudi-led airstrikes targeted weapons caches in Yemen’s rebel-held capital on Monday in an intensification of the four-week campaign against Houthi rebels in the country. The assault was the most powerful seen in the city since the Saudi-led air campaign against the Iran-allie
Valletta and Catania, Reuters—European Union foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg on Monday under pressure to produce more than words as bodies were brought ashore in Malta among hundreds feared drowned in the latest Mediterranean migrant tragedy. The death toll from Sunday’s shipwreck off
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kurdish Peshmerga forces aided by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Asayiş security apparatus and airstrikes by the US-led coalition targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) made major advances against the extremist group in the Kirkuk governorate in Iraq o
Sana’a, Aden and Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Iran-backed Shi’ite Houthi movement has rejected the recent UN resolution targeting the group, which is currently in de facto control of the country after launching a coup in February. In its first official reaction to the Security Council’s Resolution 22
Cairo, AP—A video released by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group on Sunday appears to show the killing of two different groups of captured Ethiopian Christians by the extremist group’s Libyan affiliates. The 29-minute online video purports to show militants holding two groups of
Nicosia, Reuters—Turkish Cypriot voters went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, hoping he or she will succeed in forging a peace deal with Greek Cypriots on the ethnically split island. Opinion polls put conservative incumbent Derviş Eroğlu in the lead ahead of the six other candidates
Baghdad, Reuters— Iraqi forces retook most of the country’s largest refinery from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Saturday, security officials said, reversing gains by the militants who seized parts of the sprawling complex this week. The insurgents attacked Iraq’s Ba
US President Barack Obama’s administration was extremely polite and civil in its response to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, after he claimed that Washington was not in favor of Operation Decisive Storm and considered the Saudis to be uncooperative. This resulted in US National Security Counci
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced 274 million US dollars in humanitarian aid to Yemen in response to a UN appeal, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday. Yemen has been in the grip of an escalating conflict following a coup by the
Iran’s first acquisition after signing the draft nuclear deal, amid promises to lift sanctions, were not cars, airplanes, refrigerators, or women’s purses–but rather long-range missiles! Iran was overjoyed after acquiring S300 missiles that the Kremlin has agreed to send this summer. But the R
Washington, Reuters—President Barack Obama on Friday urged Gulf nations to help calm the chaotic political situation in Libya, saying that outside military action would not be enough to help reduce tensions in the war-ravaged North African country. After a meeting with Italian Prime Minister M
Jalalabad, Reuters—A suicide bomb blast in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad killed 33 people and injured more than 100 outside a bank where government workers collect salaries, the city’s police chief said on Saturday. Police were investigating whether there was a second exp
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to the fighting in Yemen on Thursday as Saudi Arabia announced that it had foiled a Houthi attempt to infiltrate its territory, with an unidentified number of Houthi fighters surrendering to Saudi troops. “I
On January 23, 2013 Yemen authorities seized the Jihan 1, an Iranian ship loaded with huge quantities of heavy and sophisticated weaponry, off the coast of Aden while en route from Iran. Following the incident, an official statement from the Ministry of Interior in Sana’a said that the weapons’
London, Reuters—Global equities were set for their third straight weekly gain on Friday, hovering near fresh all-time highs as cheap central bank cash kept buoying markets and offset fears that Greece may run out of money as debt repayments loom. The possibility that Athens might not be able to meet
Next Wednesday, Iran and the P5+1 group of nations resume talks in the hope of reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue before the June 30 deadline. The hype fomented over the “historic accord” in Lausanne may have made it harder to negotiate an agreement. One reason is that the issue has
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—There have been conflicting reports emerging regarding the withdrawal of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, which lies on the outskirts of Damascus, with some reports saying the extremist group and others continue to hold par
