Joe Biden has weeks, not months, to revive the Iran nuclear deal, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned this week. Rafael Grossi was speaking as Tehran last week resumed enriching uranium at its Fordo site to 20 percent and threatened to shut the doors to inspectors from Read more…
Morocco last week became the fourth Arab country in as many months to announce it would be normalising its relations with Israel. The announcement formalises relations between the two countries which the Moroccan foreign minister described over the weekend as “already normal”, and, given the ancient ties between the Jewish 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…
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee this week issued a strong warning about Britain’s relationship with Iran. In a report entitled “No Prosperity Without Justice”, the committee suggested that Iran’s malign regional actions challenge the values which underpin British foreign policy. The warning came as Tehran executed dissident Read more…
Britain, France and Germany this week issued a warning to Iran after Tehran announced plans to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges and potentially expand its nuclear programme. The warning came as the country’s supreme court upheld a death sentence on a journalist the regime claims helped fuel unrest on social media 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…
The Palestinian Authority appears to be engaged in a potentially significant repositioning exercise ahead of Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House. The moves by Ramallah are reviving hopes that, with a new administration in Washington committed to a two-state solution, the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process might be revived. In Read more…
Joe Biden’s desire for the US to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – from which Donald Trump withdrew two years ago – is simply stated but fiendishly complicated in practice. In September, the president-elect outlined his position in an article for CNN: “I will offer Tehran a credible Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu held an historic meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, on Sunday evening. The meeting – held in the Saudi city of Neom, some 44 miles from the southern tip of Israel – is shrouded in secrecy. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Read more…
LFI vice-chair Catherine McKinnell has written to Middle East minister James Cleverely following last week’s parliamentary debate calling for the UK to back an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Ms McKinnell’s debate is part of a long-running LFI campaign to secure greater support from the British government for peace-building work Read more…
LFI vice-chair Catherine McKinnell led a debate in parliament today calling for the British government to support the establishment of an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace. The debate is part of a long-running campaign by LFI – ‘For Israel, For Palestine, For Peace’ – to back the fund, which would Read more…
Iran has stockpiled more than 12 times the amount of enriched uranium permitted by the 2015 nuclear deal, according to the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The report found that the amount of low-enriched uranium held by Iran has reached 2,442.9kg (5,385.6lb) this month. The Joint Comprehensive Read more…