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Middle East & Africa News: Iran, Arab World Updates

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MPR deputy speaker calls on OIC to step up pressure on Israel

The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) has called for stronger sanctions against Israel from the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), criticizing the group for failing to move beyond normative statements as Israeli politicians increasingly campaign on Palestinian displacement ahead of the upcoming election.

1 day ago
Middle East and Africa

Israel tells British consulate in East Jerusalem to close within 30 days

British representatives assigned to a US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, as well as British diplomats based in Ramallah, must leave within seven days, the two sources said. ...

1 day ago
Middle East and Africa

DR Congo extends state control over mining with bid to lock down geological data

The plan will tighten Kinshasa's grip on the world's biggest cobalt producer and second-largest copper supplier, according to an official and seven industry sources, and could be even more significant than the country's policies that reshaped the global cobalt market, some analysts say. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

Middle East and Africa

More than 20 vessels pass Strait of Hormuz on Saturday

Among the vessels that made it through on Saturday, five of them last loaded cargoes from Iran ranging from oil products to metals. Three of them are liquefied petroleum gas carriers with one each heading to China and India.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

World weighs fate of Mideast ceasefire after US seizes Iranian cargo ship

Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa premium

Indonesia sends condolences over death of French peacekeeper in Lebanon

Indonesia has extended its deepest condolences to France over the death of its peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, reiterating its call for enhanced protection of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the war-torn Middle East country.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Strait of Hormuz to stay closed until port blockade lifts, Iran says

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a televised address that there has been "progress" in talks with Washington "but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain."

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

France blames Hezbollah for French peacekeeper's death in Lebanon

The attack follows an agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday for a 10-day ceasefire to negotiate an end to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Trump, Iran cite progress in talks as uncertainty hangs over Hormuz

The war, now in its eighth week, has killed thousands, spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world's oil shipments.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Kosovo, Bosnia troops prepared for Gaza peacekeeping role

Kosovo intends to send 22 members of the security forces, while Bosnia said more than 60 Bosnian soldiers are expected to join the peacekeeping force.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz, but says US must end naval blockade

Subsequent statements and clarifications from both sides left uncertainty over how quickly shipping might return to normal, and some vessels could be observed making unsuccessful attempts cross the strait on Friday before turning back.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Hegseth says US forces ready to restart combat if Iran doesn't agree a deal

Hegseth also said the US will blockade Iranian ports for "as long as it takes."

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Israel-Lebanon truce begins as Lebanese army warns of 'violations'

Shortly after the truce went into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT), the army told residents of the south—many of whom had to flee their homes following sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings—not to return, citing "several Israeli acts of aggression".

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa premium

Indonesia evacuates more citizens from Iran as fragile truce holds

The Foreign Ministry announced that it is carrying out a third evacuation wave from Iran, aiming to repatriate 45 Indonesians this week as a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East continues to hold. 

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa premium

RI tanker release in progress

The Foreign Ministry said there were no reports that Jakarta’s deliberations on the United States’ overflight proposal have affected the talks for two Indonesian tankers stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

US says optimistic about reaching peace deal with Iran

A Pakistani delegation arrived in Tehran bearing a new message from Washington after US President Donald Trump indicated negotiations could resume this week following last weekend's failed talks in Islamabad.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Sanctioned China tanker turns back to Strait of Hormuz, day after Gulf exit

The Chinese-owned tanker was among at least eight ships crossing the waterway on Tuesday, the first day of the US blockade.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Canada, UK, Australia, Japan call for 'urgent end to hostilities in Lebanon'

Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan and six other countries condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Tuesday while calling "for an urgent end to hostilities" in the country where Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people since March.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

US hosts rare Israel-Lebanon talks, progress unclear

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Trump says Iran talks may resume as Israel, Lebanon open direct track

The parallel diplomatic openings came even as violence persisted, underscoring both the fragility of the process and Washington's push to stabilize a region shaken by the over-six-week war.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Trump attacks Pope Leo, calling him 'terrible' for foreign policy

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

UN force in Lebanon says Israeli tank rammed its vehicles in south

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that an Israeli tank rammed peacekeeping vehicles on Sunday in the country's south where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since last month.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

US military to block ships from Iranian ports after talks yield no agreement

President Donald Trump said the United States Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Iran state media says talks failed over 'unreasonable' US demands

"The Iranian delegation negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours in order to protect the national interests of the Iranian people; despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations. Thus the negotiations ended," IRIB said on Telegram.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Vance departs Pakistan after failing to reach deal with Iran

Vance boarded Air Force Two at 7:08 am (0208 GMT) and waved to Pakistani officials from the top of the stairs.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

US negotiators leaving without a peace deal with Iran

The talks in Islamabad were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

US-Iran talks pause for now, disagreements remain

For the US-Iran talks, Islamabad, a city of more than 2 million people, was locked down with thousands of paramilitary personnel and army troops on the streets.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Trump's peace board faces cash crunch, stalling Gaza plan, sources say

Out of ten countries who pledged funds, only three had contributed funding, namely the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and the United States itself, according to sources.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Israel won't discuss ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon talks: Envoy

Israel 'agreed to begin formal peace negotiations' with the Lebanese government, with which it has no diplomatic relations, said Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter.

4 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Iran, US to hold peace talks overshadowed by mutual mistrust

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country host the negotiation, said making progress at the Islamabad talks would be hard work.

5 months ago
Middle East and Africa premium

Indonesia leads UN call for action after peacekeeper deaths in Lebanon

Indonesia has rallied more than 70 countries to condemn “in the strongest terms” the attacks on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, calling for urgent UN investigation and accountability following deadly incidents that killed Indonesian personnel.

5 months ago
Middle East and Africa premium

UAE prioritizes diplomacy, de-escalation in Iran war response

United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Indonesia Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri hopes the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran brings ‘a long lasting’ peace in the region.

5 months ago
Middle East and Africa

Shipping toll for Hormuz passage sharply divides nations

While Iran agreed to reopen the thoroughfare during the two-week truce with the United States, it has also spoken of a toll system to fund reconstruction following punishing US-Israeli attacks.

5 months ago

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