Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Donald Trump brought carrots and sticks, respectively, to the dispute between Qatar and several other Arab nations on Friday. Soon after Tillerson called for an end to the diplomatic crisis, Trump said a news conference that Qatar “unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.”
Contents: Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations cut ties with Qatar in new Mideast crisis; Arab nations’ split caused by Qatar’s relations with Muslim Brotherhood and Iran
A long-simmering international crisis in the Middle East boiled over on Monday as some of the most powerful nations in the Arab world severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and taking sides with Shiite Iran against Sunni Muslim governments.
Contents: Trump’s Mideast visit triggers renewal of sharp split between Saudi Arabia and Qatar; Qatar claims that it was cyber-attacked after media reports supporting Iran; Vitriolic Saudi-Qatari fault line reopened this week by Trump’s visit; Some useful information that’s good to know
Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday stepped up efforts to improve ties with Gulf Arab Sunni states urging them to work with their Shi’ite rival to address “anxieties” and violence across the region.
The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been lobbying American lawmakers to change the bipartisan law that allows the families of 9/11 victims and survivors of the tragedy to sue the Gulf Arab country in U.S. courts for any role it may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched an airstrike against an aid ship owned by a company from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a member of the largely Sunni Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and part of the Saudi-led Arab alliance fighting the Shiite rebels, according to the state-controlled Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Saudi Arabia and its allies have reportedly threatened to retaliate against the United States over a law that allows the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Gulf Arab kingdom in U.S. court for any role it may have played in the 2001 attacks.
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Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members and the United States have reached an agreement to prevent the shipment of Iranian weapons to Yemen, according to Abdullatif al-Zayani, the alliance’s secretary general.
JAFFA, Israel – A top Kuwaiti official has made unusually harsh remarks about President Barack Obama ahead of his visit to the Gulf region. In addition to other Arab officials, Tamer Alsabah, the head of Kuwait’s national security agency, criticized Obama for
Contents: Arab League brands Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organization; U.S. blames Iran for cyber attack on a New York dam
Contents: Deep Saudi-Lebanon crisis widens the Mideast’s sectarian fault line; Hackers steal thousands of employee W-2 tax documents from Seagate Inc.; Bangladesh bank says hackers stole $100M from its New York Fed account
The Jerusalem Post reports that Egypt has banned Hezbollah leaders from entering the country, after the Gulf Cooperation Council labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization last week.
The Jerusalem Post reports: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (pictured) vehemently attacked Arab regimes for their decision to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, claiming that “the Lebanese resistance is the only one that regains Arab dignity and fights for the
The Jerusalem Post reports: The King of Bahrain (pictured) has reportedly recommended that the recent designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization by the Gulf Cooperation Council be taken up by the Arab League as well. Hamad bin Isa al
Iran accused Gulf Arab neighbors on Thursday of jeopardizing Lebanon’s stability by blacklisting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, state television said, a move likely to stoke tensions in the regional power rivalry between Tehran and Riyadh. The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council
Contents: India about to deploy its first nuclear-armed submarine, in challenge to China; China’s military takes control of another Philippines fishing ground; Mideast Sunni-Shia split grows as GCC says Hezbollah is terrorist organization
Ynetnews reports: The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council decided Wednesday to formally define Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The decision comes against the backdrop of the recent crisis between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in which Saudi Arabia has decided to stop the transfer
Contents: Saudi Arabia and Iran accuse each other of terrorism; Arab countries deeply divided over Iran vs Saudi Arabia confrontation
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Iran increased its nefarious activities in the Middle East in the months after it reached a nuclear deal with U.S.-led world powers, suggested a top State Department official.
Even though the Gulf States refuse to recognize the fact that Israel exists as a sovereign state, they are reaching out for help acquiring defensive technology, largely against Iran.
The oil-rich Gulf states are growing sensitive to the criticism that they aren’t taking in any Syrian refugees, and they’re responding by telling the Western world to accept more of them.
As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few. By the end of August, more than four million Syrians
The Arab states have opposed the Iran deal from a very early stage, seeing Iran’s regional ambitions as a direct threat. As negotiations went on, Saudi Arabia and other states were vocal and demonstrative in their protests, and warned that they, too, might seek nuclear weapons.
The deal reached between Iran and U.S.-led world powers should lead to cooperation with the Islamic Republic and stability in the region, Sunni Gulf Arab states told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, adding that they do not want Iran to meddle with the internal affairs of their neighbors.
Contents: Russia isolates itself further by vetoing MH17 investigation; US in major weapons sale to Saudis to compensate for Iran nuclear deal
Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Qatar late Sunday for talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council–a Sunni Arab bloc consisting of 6 gulf states–that largely focused on the Iran nuclear deal struck between world powers and the regime in Tehran last month.
Iran attempts to seize Singapore-flagged ship in Persian Gulf; Obama concludes bizarre meeting with GCC at Camp David; The Truman Doctrine and the Carter Doctrine
The leaders from four Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saudi, are expected to skip President Obama’s meetings with Arab rulers from the Gulf Cooperation Council this week.
Saudi Arabia, with US help, leads Arab nations to strike Houthis in Yemen; Iran threatens retaliation against Saudi Arabia for Yemen strikes; Shia militias sidelined for Iraq’s assault on Tikrit, with US help
US joins Iran and Iraq in fighting ISIS in Tikrit; Saudi Arabia begins airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen; Obama administration continues to hail Yemen as a model
Yemen’s Houthis capture Taiz, advance south to fight Hadi’s forces in Aden; UN Security Council urges ‘peaceful dialog’ in Yemen; France’s center-right party edges out far-right National Front in elections
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan seek ‘Sunni unity’ versus Iran; Turkey’s Erdogan shuts out Al-Sisi and Egypt from discussions; After a year, experts still guessing about Malaysia Airlines 370
In an effort to ease Gulf state officials’ concerns about an Iran nuclear deal, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry affirmed that America would not “take our eye off Iran’s destabilizing actions” in the Middle East.
Arab countries moving Yemen ambassadors from Sanaa to Aden; Yemen’s banks deteriorate as the economy collapses; US CPI continues in deflation, as Europe offers negative interest bonds
Deadly MERS virus surging early in Saudi Arabia; India has worst H1N1 swine flu outbreak in years; Egypt’s al-Sisi calls for a joint Arab military force; Armenia’s president sends condolence letter to Egypt’s al-Sisi
Greece and Germany are eyeball to eyeball on bailout crisis; Libya chaos threatens to reopen bitter rift between Qatar and Egypt; Ethnic Chinese Kokang burst into violence in northern Burma (Myanmar)
Egypt in mourning as ISIS-linked terrorists kill Coptic Christians in Libya; Egypt purchases fighter jets over fears of militias in Libya; Yemen may form second government in Aden
Iannis Xenakis’s work ‘Kottos’ echoes Greece’s Nazi vs Communist struggle; Greek Tragedy and Generational Dynamics; Nigeria postpones national elections because of Boko Haram; Gulf Arabs condemn Houthi takeover of Yemen
