Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that David Barnea would be the next director of Israel’s Mossad espionage agency. Mr Barnea, 56, is a veteran of the organisation, having been its deputy head for the past two years. Barnea will replace incumbent director Yossi Cohen on 1 July. Netanyahu declared that Barnea’s top task would be Read more…
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IGRC) Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the weekend. They discussed the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Iran is thought to be watching developments closely, and is likely advising Hamas on its tactics. The meeting came as Read more…
A number of potential presidential candidates in Iran have emerged out of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raising concerns regarding the further militarisation of the country’s politics. Hopefuls have until Saturday to formally register their status as a candidate ahead of the election on 18 June. Their names will Read more…
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has offered a glimpse into Iran’s internal power struggles in a leaked recording, claiming that the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) dominates governmental decision-making. Zarif claimed that IRGC commander Qassim Suleimani, who was killed by the United States in January 2020, had consistently undermined Read more…
A United Nations special tribunal last Friday sentenced a member of Hezbollah to five life sentences for his role in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hairi. Hairi (pictured), who was murdered in a bomb attack on his motorcade, had been attempting to curtail Syrian influence in Lebanon. Read more…
Hezbollah’s popularity has dropped sharply in Lebanon – even among its core Shia supporters, a new poll has suggested. The percentage of Shia who say they have a “very positive” opinion of Hezbollah, while still a majority, is almost 20 points lower than it was in late 2017. “This trend Read more…
Sudan has become the latest Arab nation to seek to normalise its relationship with Israel. The agreement was announced during a call between Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump and Sudan’s Sovereign Council president, General Abdel Fattah al- Burhan, and prime minister Abdalla Hamdok. The announcement – which follows the signing Read more…
Steve McCabe MP, Chair of Labour Friends of Israel, has written a letter to the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab MP, expressing deep concern about the lifting of the UN arms embargo on Iran. In the letter, Steve McCabe expresses his huge disappointment that it has “not been possible to secure international Read more…
A decade-old ban on the sale of conventional arms to Iran will come to an end this Sunday, potentially opening the way for Russia and China to assist the Islamic Republic in a major, potentially hugely destabilising, expansion and advancement of its military capability. Since 2010, the supply of a Read more…
Officials representing Israel and Lebanon sat down for their first talks in three decades this week. The discussions, hosted by the United Nations and mediated by the US, took place close to the border between Israel and Lebanon. Although sat in the same room, the Lebanese have insisted they will not Read more…
A Bulgarian court this week sentenced two men to life imprisonment for a 2012 bus bombing in which five Israeli tourists were murdered and more than 35 injured. The driver of the bus also died in the attack. The two men, both of Lebanese origin, were tried in absentia and Read more…
The Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV announced on Sunday that leaders of Hezbollah and the Hamas met to discuss the consequences of diplomatic normalisation between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates. The meeting comes on the back of US President Donald Trump announcing Israel and the UAE agreeing to normalise relations, Read more…