Vatican city, AP—Pope Francis on Sunday honored the 100th anniversary of the slaughter of Armenians by calling it “the first genocide of the 20th century” and urging the international community to recognize it as such, a politically explosive declaration that will certainly anger Turkey.
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s legitimate government in exile is considering cutting off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to its backing of the Houthi coup, sources close to the Yemeni presidency informed Asharq Al-Awsat. The move comes as Iranian students reportedly attacked the Yemeni
New York, Reuters—Hillary Clinton will take another stab at cracking what she calls “the highest and hardest glass ceiling” on Sunday when she starts a long-awaited second run for the White House as the prohibitive Democratic front runner. Clinton’s campaign for the November 2016 e
New F-16 warplanes, Harpoon missiles and M1 tank kits are being shipped to Egypt’s armed forces, which are engaged in a difficult fight against extremist groups in the Sinai Peninsula. They are also protecting their border with Libya—the second front. But why does the US suddenly seem to be so
The verbal attack launched by Iran’s Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei towards Saudi Arabia was completely expected and no cause for surprise. The same can be said of the repeated insulting comments put forward by Khamenei’s deputy in Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. These were just a prelu
Cairo, Reuters—An Egyptian court sentenced Mohammed Badie, leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and 13 other senior members of the group to death for inciting chaos and violence, and gave a life term to a US-Egyptian citizen for ties to the Brotherhood. The men were among thousands of people d
Mecca, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia has beefed up its presence along its southern border with Yemen, Asir Border Guard Commander Gen. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi said. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Saudi Border Guard Commander said: “The Border Guard troops in Asir are at the highest level of prepar
Panama City, AP—With a cordial evening handshake, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved Friday toward a groundbreaking meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in what would be a remarkable display of reconciliation between two nations. The powerful symbolism of
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The objectives of the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen are being “clearly achieved,” said Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri, despite Houthi rebels successfully pushing into central Aden on Wednesday. In his daily briefing on Thursday, As
In his interview with journalist Thomas Friedman this week, US President Barack Obama said that the threat to regional states, including Saudi Arabia, is not Iranian intervention, but rather “internal threats.” Can this be true? The reality is that Obama has an incorrect view of the region, and this
Following Russia’s sudden humanitarian concern over Yemen, we have witnessed a situation akin to a relay race over this concern. Iran picked up the baton from Russia. In the words of Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s sole concern is with the humanitarian, not the sectarian,
Damascus, Reuters—The PLO said on Thursday it refused to be drawn into supporting any military offensive in the war-battered Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of Damascus, backing away from earlier comments by one of its members that lent support to Syrian army action against insurgents there. The radic
Panama City, Reuters—The US and Cuban foreign ministers sat down for talks on Thursday night in the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the early days of the Cuban revolution more than half a century ago. Secretary of State John Kerry met Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in a Pan
A Persian proverb warns that “not every recipe is fit for every banquet.” The idea is that a method that might work in one case need not necessarily work in every case. Applied to empire-building enterprises, the wisdom of this dictum is apparent in the case of Iran’s involvement in the Yemeni imbro
The issue is not Hassan Nasrallah appearing on TV and reiterating his insults and verbal attacks towards Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States—this is nothing new for the Hezbollah chief, particularly since the launch of Operation Decisive Storm two weeks ago. Rather, the issue is Lebanese state te
I tried to ignore US President Barack Obama’s interview with the New York Times because I was sure it would be part of his propaganda campaign for the framework nuclear deal with Iran. Still, the interview’s impact cannot be ignored. Rather than calming the fears of those in the Gulf region, Obama h
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s Houthi rebels were responsible for committing “massacres” in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday after pushing into the center of the town, local residents told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Forces loyal to the Houthis and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh indiscrimin
Ankara, Reuters—Iran will only sign a final nuclear accord with six world powers if all sanctions imposed over its disputed atomic work are lifted on the same day, President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Thursday. Iran and the powers reached a tentative agreement last week in th
Boston, Reuters—Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty on Wednesday of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured 264 others, and the jury will now decide whether to sentence him to death. Tsarnaev, 21, is the surviving member of pair of ethnic Chechen brothers who planted the
That Iran dreams about and works to act as the policeman of the Gulf is up to Tehran. But that the West, led by US, would allow it to be so depends on their mutual interests with Iran. What Washington and Tehran, its new friend in the region, are not aware of is that the […]
