Iraq and Afghanistan confirmed their first cases of the Wuhan coronavirus on Monday. Both cases were detected near the Iranian border and involved patients who recently traveled to Iran, where an outbreak spreading from the city of Qom has officially infected 61 people and killed 12, although a lawmaker from the area claims there have been 50 deaths and 250 people are under quarantine.
TEL AVIV – A senior Iranian official who was the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran is just looking for an excuse to “raze Tel Aviv to the ground,” accusing Israel of helping the U.S. in its assassination of top commander Qassem Soleimani.
The White House approached several Arab states to encourage them to reach non-belligerence agreements with Israel, according to Israeli, Arab and U.S. sources.
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA says Iraq is not safe enough to host World Cup qualifying games against Iran and Bahrain.
A senior official is confirmed to attend a security conference in Bahrain on Monday, a source in the Gulf country told The Times of Israel, in the latest significant sign of warming ties between parts of the Arab world and Israel.
TEL AVIV — In what seems to be another indication of thawing relations between Israel and Gulf states, several prominent figures have come forward and publicly condemned the Hezbollah terror group for attacking Israel and have expressed support for the Jewish state’s right to retaliate.
TEL AVIV – The Palestinian Authority arrested and later released a Palestinian businessman for attending a US-led economic peace conference in Bahrain in a move that was slammed by President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace envoy as “unconscionable.”
The Palestinian leadership didn’t boycott the Trump administration’s economic meeting in Bahrain last week because it denied them a future political horizon. They oppose the Trump Prosperity to Peace plan because it gives them an open road to success.
TEL AVIV – Bahrain views Israel as a country that is here to stay and one it wishes to make peace with, the Gulf state’s foreign minister said Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.S.-led economic peace workshop.
TEL AVIV – Bahrain’s only synagogue was brought to life on Wednesday morning as President Donald Trump Special Mideast Envoy Jason Greenblatt was joined by Jewish businessmen, reporters, and rabbis for morning prayers on the sidelines of the U.S.-led economic peace workshop.
JERUSALEM – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling Fatah party has called for days of violence against Israel in protest over the U.S.-led Bahrain economic peace workshop.
TEL AVIV – Six Israeli media outlets have been given permission to attend and cover next week’s U.S.-led economic peace workshop in Bahrain, days after the White House’s announcement that no Israeli government officials would be allowed to attend.
TEL AVIV – The White House announced on Monday that no Israeli government representative will be invited to take part in next week’s US-led peace workshop in Bahrain, in which the Trump administration is set to unveil the economic part of its long-anticipated proposal.
TEL AVIV – Egypt, Jordan and Morocco have accepted the U.S.’s invitation to attend a peace summit in Bahrain later this month, the White House said Tuesday.
TEL AVIV – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday seemed to walk back comments he made in a leaked recording last week, saying it was “inaccurate and fundamentally untrue” to think that the long-anticipated Trump administration peace proposal is biased towards Israel.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain over the weekend chastised their fellow Sunni Arab Gulf country Qatar for dismissing two summits in the holy city of Mecca focused on admonishing Iran over its alleged aggressions and criminal acts in the Middle East and beyond.
TEL AVIV – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday warned that a long-anticipated Trump administration peace plan is likely to put an end to the so-called “right of return” for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
TEL AVIV – Arab nations are putting pressure on the Palestinians to walk back a rejection of a US-led peace conference in Bahrain next month, according to Palestinian officials cited by the Jerusalem
TEL AVIV – In a rare move, Israel will participate in a U.S.-led economic workshop in Bahrain next month, in what is being billed as a precursor to President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century.”
The Palestinian leadership on Monday pushed back against a plan for an economic conference next month in support of Washington’s Middle East peace plan, saying it was not consulted and no party was entitled to negotiate on its behalf.
The White House revealed Sunday that it would unveil the “economic component” of its long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan at a regional economic conference to be held in Manama, Bahrain, on June 25 and 26.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that a rift between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors had gone on for too long and was threatening regional unity needed to counter Iran.
Public anger has reportedly greeted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) during his tour of several Arab countries launched over the weekend, marking his first foreign visits since the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), who maintains extensive ties with countries in the Persian Gulf, said he has recently seen a vast improvement in relations between Israel and the Gulf states.
TEL AVIV – Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz traveled to Oman overnight Sunday to present a plan to his Omani counterpart that includes a rail link between Israel and the Gulf.
DEAD SEA, Jordan — Flash floods unleashed by heavy rains swept away middle school students and teachers visiting hot springs near the Dead Sea on Thursday, killing 18 and injuring 35 as the torrent carried some for several kilometers, a civil defense official said.
The diplomatic crisis over Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul does not appear to have damaged the Sunni Arab alliance led by Saudi Arabia.
The United States is pulling some of its anti-aircraft and missile batteries out of the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing US military officials.
A group of “highly active” hackers based in Iran have been found to be trying to steal vital information from governments in the Middle East.
TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Israel Katz will “immediately launch” a trade route initiative called “Tracks for Regional Peace” that will see the establishment of a railway network linking Israel to Saudi Arabia.
A top official from the Arab Gulf country of Bahrain is defending what he says is Israel’s “right” to defend itself after Israel launched overnight strikes on Iranian targets in Syria.
PARIS — The crown prince of Saudi Arabia is making his first official visit to France, which is hoping to profit from his shake-up of the conservative kingdom.
Dubai – Bahraini authorities on Sunday announced they would be taking “severe measures” to track down dissidents who use social media, as the Gulf monarchy tightens its grip on political opposition.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Bahrain said Wednesday that it had arrested four men suspected of bombing a Saudi Aramco oil pipeline, accusing Iran of training and arming two of the suspects.
In a statement released on Friday, the Zionist Organization of America praised the government of Bahrain for “breaking ranks with the position espoused by Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to isolate the United States over President Trump’s announcement this month recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
Contents: Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh killed in Houthi ambush; US officials plan for military strike on North Korea and war; Brexit negotiations collapse over Ireland border issue
Contents: All Saudis ordered to leave Lebanon, as Hariri’s fate is unknown; Saudi Arabia blockades Yemen, threatening millions to die in famine
Contents: Hezbollah’s Nasrallah calls for calm in the streets of Lebanon; Yemen’s Houthi missile attack on Riyadh called a ‘dangerous escalation’; Saudi’s young Crown Prince Salman forces rapid change among multiple crises
Contents: Saad Hariri shocks Lebanon by resigning as PM while in Saudi Arabia; Lebanon enters the Sunni/Shia front line between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Contents: UAE official says Arab blockade was engineered to prevent Qatar hosting 2022 World Cup; Numerous controversies surround FIFA’s award of World Cup 2022 to Qatar; A new ‘risk report’ raises doubts about Qatar hosting World Cup 2022
