Browsing: Region
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman had a telephone call Monday with Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi to discuss developments in the region.The conversation addressed deepening and expanding bilateral relations in a range of fields.The Japanese Prime Minister extended her gratitude to Oman’s efforts in supporting the paths of dialogue and de-escalation and strengthening regional and global security and stability. Source link
The United Arab Emirates announced Monday that its national cybersecurity systems had successfully tracked and thwarted sophisticated and organized cyberattacks that targeted the aviation, energy and education sectors in the country. In a statement published by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the UAE Government Cyber Security Council said the attacks were addressed proactively and immediately, with intrusion attempts contained before the attackers could achieve their objectives or affect the continuity of critical systems and services. It explained that the attacks involved multiple attack vectors and techniques, including attempts to breach digital systems and infrastructure, target accounts and operational data, launch targeted phishing campaigns, and exploit users as an entry point into the targeted environments. The national cybersecurity teams had succeeded in exposing and fending off these activities, the Council underlined, stating that their tracks and intrusion indicators were monitored with exquisite precision, while essential technical measures were taken to neutralize threats and prevent their spread. The Council further stressed that the national monitoring and response system operated with the highest levels of readiness, as the attacks were addressed as soon as they were detected, with containment and protection measures implemented simultaneously, helping prevent the attackers from reaching their objectives and maintain the security and continuity of the targeted sectors. Source link
Syria said Sunday that it reached a deal with Russia on the fate of its two bases in the country, which Moscow once used to provide military support to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war. Russia was a key al-Assad ally during the 13-year conflict, helping to keep the former leader in power, and his ouster in 2024 dealt a major blow to its influence in the region. President Vladimir Putin has since worked to build relations with the new Islamist authorities in Damascus to secure the future of Russia’s only two official military bases outside the former Soviet Union. Syria’s official SANA news agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying that the Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base would be turned into “joint training and capacity-building centres, within new arrangements that preserve mutual interests”. The memorandum of understanding, which followed a year and a half of negotiations, “set a time limit of no more than three months to complete the process”, SANA said. In the meantime, civilian facilities at both bases will be handed over to Damascus. Russia has yet to officially comment on the agreement. Both the Hmeimim and Tartus bases had remained operational while talks were ongoing. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited the sites Sunday “to inspect the facilities and installations included in the historic memorandum of understanding”, according to SANA. Omar al-Hasri, head of Syria’s Civil Aviation Authority, said the body was taking control of Latakia’s international airport, a civilian facility adjacent to Hmeimim whose operations were closely linked to Russia’s presence. “The Authority’s specialised teams have begun the technical and operational assessment of the airport, its facilities and systems, in preparation for developing a plan to rehabilitate it,” Hasri said. He called the move “an important step towards restoring and operating Syrian airports and reintegrating them into the national civil aviation system”. Syria has expressed a willingness to cooperate with Moscow, and President Ahmed al-Sharaa has been received by Putin in Moscow twice since taking over. During al-Sharaa’s last visit in January, Putin said “much has been accomplished in terms of restoring our interstate relations”, commending al-Sharaa for his “efforts to restore Syria’s territorial integrity”. While al-Sharaa praised Russia’s “historic role” in Syria and the region, Damascus has repeatedly demanded that it extradite al-Assad, who has been sheltering in Moscow with his wife since his ouster. Earlier this year, the Kremlin withdrew its forces from the Qamishli airport in Syria’s northeast. Source link
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei around the start of the president’s third year in office in late July, state media said on Sunday, and a paramilitary leader promised footage of Khamenei in the future. Pezeshkian has given differing accounts in recent weeks about his access to Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since he succeeded his father in the role in March. On July 21, the president said interactions with the supreme leader were “increasing day by day”, but in early August he said communicating with Khamenei was “very difficult”. The late July meeting covered military affairs and the economy, including securing resources, managing foreign exchange and energy use, as well as economic ties with foreign partners, according to state media. In May, Iranian state media also reported that Pezeshkian had a meeting with Khamenei for several hours, in what was then the first publicly reported meeting between the two since Khamenei became supreme leader. Khamenei was reportedly seriously injured in the February 28 strike that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran. He had also generally kept a low public profile before becoming supreme leader. Basij Organisation deputy Qasem Qoraishi said Sunday that footage and other documentation showing Khamenei among the public and out in the streets, as well as in meetings with armed forces commanders, would be released in the future. Qoraishi said the footage would “once again bring disgrace upon the enemies and detractors of the Iranian people.” The comments appeared aimed at countering speculation about Khamenei’s health and public appearances. Source link
Iran said yesterday that a deal with Oman on control of the Strait of Hormuz was close but would not be enough to free up the waterway. Agreement between Iran and Oman over the strait is seen as vital to a wider deal to end the war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 and led to Tehran establishing a chokehold over the major energy export route. A US official, who declined to be identified, had said on Friday that Washington anticipated an agreement soon between Iran and Oman, which sit on either side of the strait, so that normal oil traffic could resume. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran and Oman were “very close” to agreement on a new shipping route through the strait but that reopening it depended on other conditions, including US compensation to Iran. The secretary of Iran’s top national security body, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, listed other demands including ending US threats against Iran, stopping aggression against Iran and its Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni and Iraqi allies, lifting a blockade and sanctions on Iran and freeing Iranian assets. Source link
A mound of dirt put into place by the Israeli military blocks the eastern entrance of the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah. – AFP Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement, building an earthen barrier there overnight, state media and the local mayor said yesterday.An AFP correspondent saw the barrier at the village’s eastern entrance, blocking the road.The local authorities said that it is unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area. …
TOPSHOT – Israeli security forces patrol along a street during a military raid in the Qalandia refugee camp, south of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,…
The US must pressure Israel to accept the next phase of the Gaza plan, a Hamas official told AFP on Sunday, after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he rejected the US-backed agreement.”We expect the mediators and the American guarantor to pressure Netanyahu and his government to adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the process for internal political and electoral reasons,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP Source link
Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace 15-point plan for Gaza, and will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms, Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Sunday.Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, which both Israel and Hamas agreed to last year and which started with the ceasefire.Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza since agreeing to the ceasefire last October.Trump said that Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons. Source link
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) murdered at least 73,386 Palestinian civilians and injured at least 174,250 others since the beginning of the genocide that the Israeli occupation has been committing against the Gaza Strip in October 2023.Palestinian medical sources reported on Sunday that hospitals across the Strip received two Palestinian martyrs and eight injured others over the past 24 hours.The sources indicated that many of the victims remain under the rubble and scattered on the streets, as ambulance and civil defense crews are still unable to reach them.Since the “ceasefire” agreement went into effect in October 2025, the IOF murdered at least 1,258 Palestinians, and injured at least 4,139 others, while 807 bodies were pulled out from under the rubble Source link