Beyond the Headlines

On the sidelines of an eventful Nato summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump was sitting next to his Syrian counterpart Ahmad Al Shara when he announced his intention to lift Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism . The move would bring massive relief for the country as it attempts to rebuild in a post-Assad era. But Mr Al Shara’s presence at the summit also reflects Syria’s incre...

The Middle East has been grappling with one conflict after another, leading to countless rounds of negotiations to end fighting. But even when ceasefires are agreed to, the violence seems to continue, prompting many to question what a ceasefire even means. The US signed two agreements in the span of about 10 days, the first being an understanding with Iran to end the war and the other a trilateral...

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has conducted a bold anti-corruption campaign since taking office in May. One of his first moves was to arrest the deputy oil minister for alleged embezzlement, and to seize millions of dollars in cash as part of the investigation. Iraq’s political institutions have been plagued by allegations of bribery and kickbacks, with oil sector contracts often the targets o...

The US and Iran have signed their framework agreement to end the war. It comes after more than 100 days of fighting, economic and political warfare, and a death toll in the thousands. The two countries will now have only 60 days to negotiate a final peace agreement. During that time, they will each have to consider what they have gained and what they have lost as a result of this conflict . For th...

More than 100 days since the US and Israel launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, the war that was supposed to eliminate its threat and reshape the region is at a crossroads. Iran's military is still firing. Its proxies are still active. Hezbollah continues to engage Israeli forces on the ground in southern Lebanon. The Houthis have re-entered the equation, threatening to blockade t...

When the US, Canada and Mexico were selected as joint hosts of the 2026 World Cup, they were supposed to be the “safe choice” for Fifa. Football’s global governing body had been criticised for previous picks. There had been allegations of bribery and corruption. Now, the kick-off of the “safe” tournament is only days away but the Iran conflict is casting a shadow over the US as the main host natio...

In its first report to the UN Security Council, the Board of Peace this month said Hamas’s refusal to disarm was the main obstacle to the reconstruction of Gaza. The board's leader, Nickolay Mladenov , also called on Israel to honour its commitments to the ceasefire , after its attacks killed at least 850 Palestinians following the truce announcement in October. He accused both parties of inaction...

It took the Houthis at least a month to enter the Iran conflict in late March and early April and the Yemeni rebels have been largely restrained since a Pakistan-brokered truce began last month. But they haven’t exactly been idle either. A new report from Conflict Armament Research (CAR) found the Houthis have been expanding their arsenal, mainly through illicit shipments of what are thought to be...

Trade ties and tariff relief were supposed to be the key issues on the agenda during US President Donald Trump's visit to China this week. But with the Iran war unresolved and the Strait of Hormuz still blocked, the conflict is to take precedence. China is a major importer of Iranian oil and analysts say Mr Trump will try to push Beijing to decrease its purchases as a way of increasing pressure on...

US President Donald Trump has said a deal with Iran could be possible as negotiations to end the war gain momentum, again. Iran is reviewing a US proposal, which reportedly sets out limits for Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Crucially, it also addresses the possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The battle in – and for – the strait has become one of the most c...

Palestinians in Gaza have voted in an election for the first time in 20 years, some for the first time in their lives. Municipal elections took place last week across the West Bank but in only a single neighbourhood in the strip that had been less impacted by Israel’s two-year war. The inclusion of Gaza has been described as a mostly symbolic gesture by the Palestinian Authority to demonstrate the...

Iraq is in a race against time to choose a prime minister but, even after weeks of deadlock, the Co-ordination Framework – a coalition of major Iraqi Shiite parties – is still deliberating. The country is stuck in a tug-of-war of foreign influence between Washington and Tehran, as both seek to strengthen their hold over Iraqi politics and security. Now, Iraq's politicians are carefully trying to c...

Hussein Al Zweidi’s two-year detention in Israeli prisons were some of the hardest days of his life. He described a practice of physical and sexual abuse against prisoners, as well as poor conditions and ill-treatment. Even after his release, he suffers from deep emotional scars and severe fatigue, he said. Now, he fears that an Israeli law will deal a bigger blow to the detainees he left behind....

US-brokered negotiations between Lebanon and Israel began this week in Washington. This comes after at least 1,500 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli strikes since March and more than one million remain displaced. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has continued to launch attacks towards Israel since it entered the Iran war weeks ago. The meeting is the first time the two governments have engaged in high-leve...

US President Donald Trump went from warning about the demise of a “whole civilisation” to announcing a “big day for world peace” in a matter of hours. It was not the first time he has used his Truth Social platform to make alarming statements during the course of the Iran war. He has used expletives and threats, often through conflicting messages over whether the conflict is escalating or winding...

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Thursday that Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz could lead down a “slippery slope” of imposing tolls and taxes over international waters, which she described as a “very dangerous development”. In an interview with The National, she pushed back against US President Donald Trump's suggestion of a “joint venture” with Iran to handle transit at the st...

In his address to the nation on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the war with Iran was nearing its end and the US had decimated the country’s military capabilities. But parts of his speech contradicted some of his earlier statements regarding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and America’s interest in seizing Iranian oil. His words also stood in contrast to recent reports suggesting that t...

It has been a month since Israel, along with the US, launched strikes on Iran, leading the Middle East into yet another conflict it tried to avoid. Iran has responded by firing waves of missiles and drones, mostly towards its Gulf neighbours but also at Israel, where attacks have become increasingly disruptive. While the American public are largely divided over the war, in Israel, surveys showed t...

About one million people have been forcibly displaced in Lebanon and almost a thousand killed in Israel’s renewed war with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group fired missiles at Israel in early March, joining Tehran's retaliatory attacks in the war with the US and Israel that began on February 28. Israel’s response was immediate and aggressive, extending beyond Lebanon’s southern towns and striking ce...

US President Donald Trump said the American-Israeli war on Iran could end soon, without specifying an end date. But almost two weeks in, military operations only seem to be intensifying. The US claims to have struck 5,000 targets in Iran, hitting its navy and air force, and diminishing its missile and drone capabilities. Attacks on civilian areas and oil facilities have also been reported. Iran co...

Conflicting reports have circulated in recent days about Iranian Kurdish groups possibly being armed by the US to launch a ground offensive in Iran. Many of these factions have long been exiled to the Kurdistan region of Iraq near Iran's north-western border and have felt oppressed by the regime. The US-Israeli war has already killed many of Tehran’s top political and military leaders, presenting...

Israel has begun a wave of strikes on Lebanon after warning residents in the south of the country to flee north of the Litani River on Wednesday. The forced displacement order impacts about 250,000 people in 150 villages. That’s almost 5 per cent of the country’s population. It marks a dangerous escalation as the US-Israeli war on Iran opens new fronts in the region. It comes after Hezbollah fired...

Almost 2,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US in the first four days of the war. US Central Command says it has severely degraded the country's air defences and destroyed hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. People in Iran, where the death toll is nearing 800, and across the Middle East are anxiously waiting for a resolution to the conflict. But US President Donald Trump sa...

As the war on Iran enters its fourth day, Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on US assets in Arab countries ramp up, testing the limits of their patience. Recent remarks from US officials suggest a limited timeframe for the war that could last a few weeks. The question is how much appetite and military might do the warring parties have? At the same time, US President Donald Trump warned that people will...

It has been a matter of days since the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, and already the impact has rippled across the Middle East.  Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials have been killed. So, too, have hundreds of Iranians. Tehran’s retaliation against Israel has caused casualties and serious damage to property. And missile and drone attacks on Ir...