Simon Kent

Covert U.S. forces could be driving the “suspicious” tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman to pile pressure on Tehran, Iran’s parliament speaker hinted Sunday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in no doubt about the origin of a second attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. He blamed arch-rival Iran on Sunday and vowed his kingdom “won’t hesitate to deal with any threat” to its interests.

The Central Consistory of France, the body that represents French Jewry in matters of religion, confirmed Wednesday the city of Paris will name a square in honor Jerusalem.

Japan will not send Self-Defense Force personnel to respond to attacks on a Japanese-operated oil tanker in the Middle East, the country’s defense minister said Friday.

The U.S. military has released video it says shows Iran’s Revolutionary Guard taking an unexploded mine from the hull of one of two oil tankers attacked in the Gulf of Oman. Tehran hit back, accusing the U.S. of waging an “Iranophobic campaign.”

Elements of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet were called to assist two oil tankers early Thursday morning, in distress after a “reported attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.”

A Gallup World Poll showed Tuesday most Iranians see their economy as substantially diminished since the U.S. decision a year ago to abandon the Obama-negotiated Iran nuclear deal.

The New York Times’ decision to ban political cartoons after a furore involving a caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was called “stupid” on Tuesday by French satirist Jean Plantu.

Turkey has washed its hands of a French jihadist, his two wives and their nine children, sending them all back to France after refusing to accommodate the group in refugee camps.

The tiny South Pacific nation of Samoa has banned the blockbuster Elton John biopic Rocketman from cinemas over depictions of gay sex.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the U.S. on Monday night of committing “economic terrorism” against Tehran, calling on Europe to join it in a fight against Washington’s policies in the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday spoke out in favor of  “great” American wine when he promised to confront France over unfair tariffs on the imported product.

The international edition of the New York Times will no longer feature editorial cartoons. The move to self-censorship follows the uproar sparked by publication of a widely denounced antisemitic caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An oak tree sapling gifted by French President Emmanuel Macron to U.S. President Donald Trump is no more, various media reports on Monday alleged.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has boosted the number of centrifuge machines used for enriching uranium at the country’s Fordow nuclear site to over 1,000 units, a special AEOI aide said Sunday.

Another day, another anti-U.S. threat from Tehran. Iran’s foreign minister warned on Monday that America  “cannot expect to stay safe” in any economic war against the Islamic republic.

Turkish officials launched a furious attack against Iceland on Sunday, claiming the national football team was given “disrespectful” treatment at Reykjavik airport with “racist”, “rude”, and “offensive” service allegedly meted out by local immigration officers.

Hong Kong’s government will push ahead with new extradition laws despite massive protests Sunday that convulsed the former British dependent territory.

European Union (E.U.) countries are in “no position” to criticise Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday ahead of a visit from his German counterpart Heiko Maas. He added it was instead the E.U.’s “duty” to help fund his country’s survival, or face consequences.

Iranian police have shut down more than 500 restaurants in Tehran, with the capital’s police chief alleging they defied “Islamic principles.”

Hong Kong’s streets were flooded with tens of thousands of protesters Sunday, angry at a proposed extradition law allowing suspects to be sent to China for trial.

A strengthened industrial glass roof offset by transparent gargoyles, saints, and spire has been proposed for Notre Dame by the architects behind the Apple Store.

U.S. Navy forces now gathered in the Persian Gulf region will be hit with “unimaginable reciprocal blows” if any attack is made on Iran, a top military aide to the country’s leadership said Sunday. “Zionists” were also warned they face the same fate in the announcement.

Force met by force meant Iran decided to “step back and recalculate” after readying to attack U.S. naval assets in the Persian Gulf,  the top commander of American forces in the Mideast said Thursday.

A Tunisian migrant will join his German wife to face charges Friday of planning a foiled biological bomb attack in Germany with the deadly poison ricin. Sief Allah H., 30, and his Muslim convert wife Yasmin, 43, were arrested last

A fresh demand from Greece for Germany to pay reparations for crimes committed during World War I and the Nazi occupation of World War II was rejected Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview Wednesday on British TV that while he did not want war with Iran, there was “always a chance” it would happen.

Turkey on Tuesday confirmed it would not withdraw from a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defense systems despite pressure from the United States to reconsider.

Three Chinese warships have sailed into Sydney Harbor for a stopover just four days after Australian navy helicopter pilots flying off the flagship HMAS Canberra were hit by lasers while transiting the South China Sea.

Israel needs to “get their act together” in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inability to form a new coalition government and a second election was set for later this year, U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday.