Middle East

The Turkish Ministry of National Defence has announced that large-scale naval exercises off the Libyan coast will take place soon. According to the official statement, the expected maneuvers will be called “Naftex”, adding that the maritime exercises will take place off the Libyan coast in three different regions: Barbaros, Turgutreis, …

Russia and Turkey will continue joint efforts on finding a solution to the Libyan crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday. The two countries are seeking an approach that would allow for an immediate cease-fire in Libya, the minister said, speaking at a news conference in Moscow. “Within the …

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the conflict in Libya has entered a new phase “with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels.” The oil-producing country descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since 2014, Libya has been split, with …

Iran will boost Syria’s air defenses, as part of a wider military security agreement between the two countries. Iran will consolidate military relations with Syria, including enforcing and developing the Syrian air defenses in the face of Israeli strikes, as part of a “comprehensive” military agreement signed Wednesday between Iran …

Saudi fighters violated the ceasefire in Yemen and launched a series of attacks on Al-Hudaydah province in the past 24 hours. Saudi fighter jets have once again violated their alleged ceasefire in Yemen, Al-Masirah reported. In the past 24 hours, the Saudi-led coalition has reportedly violated the ceasefire in Hudaydah, …

In Dubai’s Atlantis resort, at the head of a palm tree-shaped island, workers in face masks clean cushions, sofas, and king-size beds in luxury suites that have largely been vacant since the coronavirus pandemic. The resort and seven other hotels in the regional tourism hub contacted by Reuters are seeing …

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran on Tuesday dismissed a report fabricated by the “anti-Revolutionary elements” about an explosion at a nuclear site in the country’s central province of Yazd. In a statement released on Tuesday, the AEOI categorically denied the false claim raised by the anti-Revolutionary elements in the …

Saudi Arabia has issued guidelines for about 1,000 pilgrims who will be allowed to perform the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca later this month, an experience that will be unlike any before because of the coronavirus pandemic. The pilgrims will only be able to drink holy water from the Zamzam well …

Britain is to resume selling arms to Saudi Arabia despite assessing that the country could be using them to commit war crimes, the government has announced. International trade secretary Liz Truss said on Tuesday that the government had completed a review of how arms export licenses were granted in order …

The US drone strike that killed Iran’s top general Qasem Soleimani was “unlawful”, the United Nations expert on extrajudicial killings concluded in a report released Tuesday. Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, concluded it was an “arbitrary killing” that violated the UN charter. The …

Russia has deployed 300 fighters, in Libya. The mercenaries, report Syrian sources, came from Deir Ez-Zor in eastern Syria, and are in Libya to support renegade Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. According to Anadolu Agency, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the fighters belonged to the Fatimiyoun …

Two people were killed in an explosion in a factory in the south of Tehran, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday. “Human error was the cause of the blast in a factory … Two people were killed and three others were injured,” said a local official.

A Palestinian prisoner has died of health complications he reportedly developed in Israeli jails as a result of “deliberate medical negligence.” The Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission announced that Sa’adi al-Gharably – a resident of the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City – died on Monday afternoon in the infamous …

Israel has launched a new spy satellite, with reports linking the launch to the Israeli regime’s hostility towards Iran and its peaceful nuclear activities. The satellite, dubbed Ofek 16, was fired into space from a launchpad in central Israel early Monday morning using the locally-developed Shavit rocket. “We will continue …

The festering dispute between France and Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea has shone a glaring searchlight on NATO’s struggle to keep order among its ranks and exposed weaknesses in a military alliance that can only take action by consensus. The dispute has also revealed NATO’s limits …

Tehran has built underground “missile cities” along the Gulf coastline, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy chief said on Sunday, warning of a “nightmare for Iran’s enemies”. “Iran has established underground onshore and offshore missile cities all along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that would be …

Libya will respond to recent overnight airstrikes on strategically important Al-Watiya airbase, said Libya’s deputy defense minister Sunday. Writing on social media, Salah Al-Namroush said the airstrikes by foreign fighter jets supporting “war criminal Khalifa Haftar” were a failed attempt to distract from recent victories by the Libyan Army. He …

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif cited former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s new book as evidence that the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran is designed to bring down the regime entirely, rather than to pressure the government to adopt more moderate foreign policy and nuclear ambitions. Zarif told the …

All dictators and would-be dictators need enemies — the more villainous the better — to justify their seizure of power. President Trump, an aspiring authoritarian, based his 2016 campaign on fomenting fear of Mexicans and Muslims. In 2018 his midterm campaign was based on (unsuccessful) scaremongering about caravans of refugees …

Foreign warplanes backing up Haftar’s forces carried out airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase west of the capital Tripoli, on Sunday. Military sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said the attacks targeted equipment inside the base, including an air defense system, adding that …