Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of jihadist terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reportedly offered oil and gas concessions, peaceful relations with Israel, and even a new Trump Tower in the capital of Damascus as inducements for President Donald Trump to meet with him during Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week.
Traders have rebranded more than $1 billion worth of Venezuelan oil shipments to China as Brazilian crude over the past year to circumvent U.S. oil sanctions, Reuters reported on Monday.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” Energy Secretary Doug Burgum stated that putting secondary sanctions on all of Russia’s oil like the United States did with Iran’s oil is “a great idea” and that Russia has been
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday announced that the Department sanctioned Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network, stating that he and his network sought to evade American sanctions.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday announced sanctions against several American officials, including members of Congress, who allegedly “performed poorly” on issues related to Hong Kong.
Iranian “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told officials in his country on Tuesday that a first round of talks between two top American and Iranian diplomats this weekend was “implemented well,” a sharp turn away from his refusal to engage America in any way as recently as two months ago.
Iran finally agreed to “indirect” negotiations – direct negotiations via classroom style note-passing – with the government of the United States this weekend, talks it needs after President Donald Trump imposed crippling sanctions on the regime and its allies.
Dmitrii Ovsiannikov was appointed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi rejected the possibility of direct talks between Iran and the United States in the foreseeable future in remarks on Sunday — adding that, while Tehran is open to “indirect” dialogue, none has happened so far during the second Trump term.
The State Department announced sanctions on six Chinese regime officials in Hong Kong and an unknown number in Tibet.
The Investigation Bureau of Taiwan’s Department of Justice (MIJB) on Friday published a report that accused China of creating fake companies to hire top technology experts who would never have willingly worked for the Communist tyranny.
Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodríguez on Monday called for foreign oil and gas companies to maintain operations in Venezuela despite the impending termination of licenses granted by the United States during the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden.
CBS News reported on Thursday that the Trump administration is considering further restrictions on Russian oil, gas, and banking, even as the European Union (EU) prepares to remove several ultra-rich Russian oligarchs from its sanctions list under pressure from Hungary and Slovakia.
The European Union (EU) has been talking very tough about its unwavering and unlimited support for Ukraine since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous visit to the White House, but data published by an independent research organization shows the EU spent more on Russian oil and gas in 2024 than it spent on Ukraine.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned on Sunday evening, strongly implying in his resignation letter that he was forced out by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni and other theocratic hardliners.
Venezuela’s socialist regime criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke an oil license granted by former President Joe Biden.
Former Iranian parliamentarian Mohammad-Javad Larijani told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Tuesday that Iran refuses to hold talks with the Trump administration because it fears the U.S. would use economic leverage to control Tehran, as it is allegedly doing with Ukraine.
EU begins easing energy, banking, and transport restrictions against Syria, aiming to help breathe life into the conflict-torn country.
Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the National Security Committee in the Iranian parliament, said on Wednesday that some of his fellow lawmakers are urging the Iranian regime to rapidly develop nuclear weapons to halt President Donald Trump’s agenda for the Middle East.
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II told the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, DC, last week that Christians remain apprehensive about the new jihadi regime in Damascus, but they hope to play a “vital and pivotal role” in rebuilding their homeland.
Iranian ‘supreme leader’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled out any negotiations with America on any important issues for the foreseeable future.
China’s retaliation for President Donald Trump’s tariffs has thus far included a levy on imported American energy products, an extra fee on imported American agricultural equipment, and a menacing “antitrust” investigation of Google.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday claimed President Donald Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran’s nuclear ambitions was a “failure” during Trump’s first term, and would fare no better during his second.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday retweeted a post from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that essentially declared President Donald Trump’s absolute victory in the showdown over Colombian deportees. Petro deleted his retweet a few hours later.
Chinese officials are reportedly refusing to discuss Beijing’s travel ban against Marco Rubio, the former Republican senator from Florida who was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State on Monday.
The jihadi regime ruling Syria after overthrowing the Assad dynasty in December dispatched its foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday to seek foreign investment for their war-torn and terrorist-haunted land.
Saudi Arabia hosted a large summit on Sunday — featuring American and European as well as Middle Eastern diplomats — to discuss the future of Syria, during which its officials called for lifting sanctions on the country to give its new regime a chance to recover from the civil war.
During an interview with “PBS NewsHour” aired on Friday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan argued that squeezing Venezuela’s oil sector hasn’t worked and that more targeted sanctions and rewards for information leading to the arrest of bad actors
During an interview with “PBS NewsHour” aired on Friday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan defended waiting to impose the large sanctions on Russia’s energy the Biden administration imposed on Friday by stating that “If we had sanctioned Russia’s
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lamented the hesitation on the part of outgoing President Joe Biden to preventatively sanction Russia before the 2022 full-scale invasion of his country in an interview published on Sunday, describing threats to sanction Moscow only after an invasion “bullshit.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Rep. French Hill (R-AR), vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, on Thursday wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding more details of a cyberattack on Treasury’s computer systems allegedly perpetrated by hackers linked to the Chinese government.
A major electricity interconnector unexpectedly went offline on Christmas day, with officials saying they are not ruling out sabotage.
China’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced the assets of two Canadian human rights groups have been frozen in retaliation for their advocacy on behalf of the oppressed Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans.
The Iranian regime has “intensified” its secretive development of nuclear detonators at covert facilities, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) revealed, citing intelligence that exposes alarming advancements in weaponization technologies.
A number of international media reports have exposed an operation called “Alabuga Start” that lures young African women to work at a Russian drone factory and then effectively enslaves them – but African governments have done little to protect their citizens from exploitation.
The U.S. plans to introduce sanctions against Serbia´s main gas supplier that is controlled by Russia, Serbia´s president said Saturday.
The outgoing Biden-Harris administration gave Iran $10 billion in sanctions relief just days after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, despite Iran’s ongoing attacks against Israel and support for terrorist organizations.
The communist regime in Cuba — a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism — reportedly tricked the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden into funding its repressive military through a “civilian” company that handles remittances sent to Cubans from abroad, El Nuevo Herald revealed on Tuesday.
Lawmakers from Venezuela’s socialist regime passed a law on Thursday to heavily punish individuals that call for international human right sanctions against the authoritarian regime with 30 years prison time and a 60-year ban from running for public office positions.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) urged President Joe Biden to “enforce the oil export sanctions against Iran with more muscle and vigor.” And said that because Iran is currently in a weak position,
