North Korea has been shipping supplies to the Syrian government that could be used to make chemical weapons, according to a shocking new report Tuesday morning from experts at the United Nations. The investigators’ report—which was obtained by The New York Times—said the supplies include acid-resistant tiles, valves, and thermometers, and goes on to...
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Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Israel late Sunday after tense meetings with the leaders of Jordan and Egypt, who publicly scolded him for President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Jordan’s King Abdullah II gave Pence a “candid and frank” talk about the U.S. decision, warning it would likely...
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that 2,000 U.S. troops will remain in Syria, as there are “strategic threats” to the United States beyond the Islamic State. “Iran has dramatically strengthened its presence in Syria through its position in Syria, Iran is in a stronger position to extend its track record of...
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On Wednesday, President Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, upending decades of U.S. diplomacy in the region. The U.S. embassy in Israel will remain in Tel Aviv for security purposes for the next six months. The decision is extremely controversial, fulfilling a campaign promise Trump made while angering U.S. allies abroad. Saudi Arabia’s...
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Saudi Arabia is ordering its citizens living or visiting Lebanon to leave the country as tensions between the two governments have risen exponentially in the past week. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri abruptly resigned last weekend in a televised announcement from the Saudi capital, renouncing Iran’s influence in Lebanese politics in his resignation. He...
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On Friday, President Trump will largely wash his hands of the nuclear deal reached with Iran, Russia, China, and three European countries, according to a summary released by the White House late Thursday. Trump has long railed against the deal, grudgingly certifying Iran’s compliance two times, and by announcing he is neither certifying it...
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Egypt has called off a meeting between presidential adviser (and son-in-law) Jared Kushner and Cairo’s top foreign minister after the U.S. moved to withhold $291 million in aid. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will still meet with the U.S. delegation—led by Kushner—as scheduled, but the decision will have “negative implications,” the foreign ministry said in...
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President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States’ new approach to the war in Afghanistan does not amount to “nation-building,” but rather “killing terrorists.” He said U.S. support for Afghanistan is “not a blank check,” and acknowledged his recent skepticism of increased involvement in the Middle Eastern nation. “My original instinct was to...
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Iran is prepared to quit its nuclear deal with world powers “within hours” if new sanctions are imposed by the United States, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday. “If America wants to go back to the experience (of imposing sanctions), Iran would certainly return in a short time–not a week or a month but...
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President Trump decided within the last month to end a covert CIA program that armed and trained anti-government rebels in Syria, a move long sought by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Russia, U.S. officials told The Washington Post. The program began in 2013 as a way to put pressure on Assad to resign, and...
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The U.S. State Department has changed its definition of a close family member eligible for travel to the U.S. under President Trump’s revised travel ban. The revised travel ban, which restricts travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, took effect late Thursday. Under the ban, only close family members of those living...
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The Iraqi government has declared the end of ISIS’s rule in Mosul after recapturing the remains of the historic Grand al-Nuri Mosque in the terror group’s de facto capital in the country. “Their fictitious state has fallen,” said Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool. The victory marks the end of more than eight...
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Top officials in Syria and at the Kremlin dismissed the White House’s accusations late Monday that Bashar al-Assad’s regime appears to be preparing another chemical attack on civilians. Ali Haidar, Syria’s minister for national reconciliation, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s charges were just part of a new diplomatic campaign...
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Russia’s defense ministry appears to have threatened to shoot down U.S. aircraft in Syria. “All kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs of the international coalition detected to the west of the Euphrates River will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets,” the ministry said Monday. The declaration comes one...
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President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is headed to the Middle East this week, where he will attempt to secure a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a White House official confirmed Sunday. He will be accompanied by Jason Greenblatt, an assistant to Trump and special representative for international negotiations....
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The U.S. is planning to send almost 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, according to a Trump administration official. Defense Secretary James Mattis could announce the deployment—the largest so far under President Donald Trump—as early as next week. The military’s top commander in Afghanistan has said he needs more forces to fight a reinvigorated Taliban...
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The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that Russian airstrikes outside the Islamic State’s de facto capital Raqqa, Syria, on May 28 are believed to have killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, along with dozens of other high-ranking and midlevel ISIS commanders. “According to information that is being checked through various channels, Islamic State leader...
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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday rejected President Trump’s condolences for the deadly terror attacks in Tehran, calling his words “repugnant.” Trump on Wednesday said he was praying for the victims of the attacks on Iran’s parliament and the Ayatollah Khomeini’s mausoleum, but then added that “states that sponsor terrorism risk falling...
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The Islamic State claimed responsibility Wednesday for simultaneous attacks at Iran’s parliament building and the tomb of the Islamic republic’s revolutionary founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The deadly assaults marked what appeared to be ISIS’ first attacks inside Iran. State TV reported that four assailants stormed into the parliament building, and one blew himself up...
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Investigators think that Russian hackers planted a fake news story to successfully cause a rift between Qatar and other allies of the United States in the region, U.S. officials told CNN Tuesday. On May 23, a report on the Qatar News Agency falsely attributed positive remarks about Iran and Israel and negative comments about...
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French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said the man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday shouted “this is for Syria” during the episode. Police shot the man in the chest while the attacked officer sustained minor injuries, officials have said. The situation has since been contained...
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On Tuesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurds and Arabs announced the start of an offensive to capture Raqqa from the Islamic State, which considers the Syrian city the capital of its “caliphate.” Talal Sillo, spokesman for the Kurdish-led forces, told reporters that the SDF is working in coordination with U.S. air...
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Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are breaking off diplomatic relations and cutting sea, land, and air ties with Qatar, accusing the fellow Sunni Arab state of backing “terrorist groups aiming to destabilize the region,” as well as “Iranian-backed terrorist groups” active in east Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Qatari...
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As many as 80 people were killed and hundreds more wounded Wednesday when a massive car bomb went off in the diplomatic zone of Kabul during rush hour, shattering windows in houses hundreds of meters away. It was not immediately clear what the target of the suicide car bombing was, but the area is...
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Fifteen people were killed and an additional 47 injured early Tuesday after a car bomb detonated outside an ice cream shop in central Baghdad. The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack, which reportedly involved a remotely detonated device inside a car. The attack occurred just after midnight, when many families head...
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On Friday, a group of at least eight gunmen dressed in military uniforms attacked a bus and pickup truck carrying Coptic Christians traveling to St. Samuel Monastery in Egypt’s Minya province, about 140 miles south of Cairo. At least 20 people were killed in the attack, including children. No group has yet claimed responsibility,...
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President Trump on Monday seemed to confirm The New York Times’ report that Israel was the source of classified intelligence he revealed to Russian officials during an Oval Office visit several weeks ago. “I never mentioned the word or the name Israel. Never mentioned during that conversation,” he told reporters during a press availability...
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President Trump arrived in Israel from Saudi Arabia on Monday, for a 36-hour visit that includes a meeting in the West Bank with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Trump will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has scheduled a visit to the Wailing Wall in East Jerusalem and a 15-minute tour of...
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President Trump sets off Friday on his first foreign tour since taking office, making five stops in four countries over eight days. Joined by first lady Melania Trump and a large retinue of advisers, Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy, and Belgium. The agenda includes attending the NATO and G7 summits; meetings with...
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President Donald Trump will be traveling to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome in first foreign trip. Trump will meet with a “gathering” of Arab and Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, before going on to meet leaders in Israel and finally the Pope in Rome. The trip is about “making sure the three faiths work...
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