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Military · Geopolitical

Netanyahu yet to see US-Iran agreement as questions grow over Lebanon provisions Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not seen the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran as of Tuesday evening, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the Associated Press. Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. While Israel is not a party to the agreement expected to be signed later this week, the deal could have significant implications for its military operations in Lebanon. Iran's foreign minister has said the agreement includes a requirement for Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory, where Israeli forces continue to occupy areas in the country's south and carry out regular attacks targeting Hezbollah. Israeli officials, however, have indicated that they do not intend to withdraw, setting the stage for potential friction over the implementation of provisions linked to ending the US-Israeli war on Iran and reducing regional tensions.

Military · Geopolitical

How Oman offers a glimpse into the post-war Gulf US President Donald Trump threatened to attack just one Arab Gulf country during the war on Iran: Oman. Now, it is emerging as the biggest winner from a new Middle East order being hashed out by the US and the Islamic Republic. That assessment may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but due to its geography, business acumen, and Tehran’s newly demonstrated heft in the region, western, Arab, and even some US diplomats see the new order unfurling with Oman on top. Oman’s rapid turn of fortune also underscores a bigger shift in the Middle East, some analysts say. In the war’s early days, when other Gulf states opened their military bases to the US and joined the attack on Iran, Oman was called an outlier among its neighbours because of its criticism of the US and its reluctance to enter the fray. But Muscat's decision has been vindicated by a ceasefire that is widely viewed as a victory for Iran in the Gulf. “Oman’s position, which was always conciliatory to Iran, has now become the approach of other Gulf countries,” Bernard Haykel, a scholar of Middle Eastern studies and professor at Princeton University, told Middle East Eye. Read more: 'From outlier to trailblazer': How Oman offers a glimpse into the post-war Gulf

Military · Geopolitical

Israeli army says it intercepted Hezbollah rockets in southern Lebanon The Israeli military says it intercepted several rockets launched by Hezbollah towards its forces operating in southern Lebanon. In a statement posted on Telegram, the army said it subsequently targeted and destroyed the launcher used in the attack. The military also said it carried out a strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon after firing what it described as a "warning" shot. The claims come amid a surge in Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli strikes in Nabatieh governorate killed at least four people, including in what Lebanese media described as a deadly "double-tap" attack targeting the same area more than once.

Military · Geopolitical

Trump told Israel to let Syria attack Hezbollah in Lebanon Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 16:57 Trump confirms reports originally denied by a senior US official that he mulled Syria invading Lebanon US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, during the G7 summit in Evian, eastern France, on 16 June 2026 (Mandel Ngan/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump said he wanted Syria to invade Lebanon to fight Hezbollah, saying that President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s forces could have done a better job against the group than Israel. "Israel's fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed... I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah," Trump told reporters sitting alongside Qatar’s ruler on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, France. "He's very capable," he said, referring to Sharaa. “If Israel can’t do the job, without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job. Syria will do the job,” Trump added. Trump’s remarks are the second time this month that he has mulled the idea of Damascus intervening in Lebanon - a move that would likely reopen a historical tinderbox given Syria’s 1976 invasion of Lebanon and partial occupation of the country until 2005. Trump said on 7 June that Sharaa “would love to help” in Lebanon. The US president has often showered praise on Sharaa, describing him as “a very strong leader… a tough guy”.. push({}); Trump's remarks contradict directly with those of his own ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, who denied a story in March that the US lobbied Syria to invade Lebanon. Reuters reported first that the US was pressing Syria to send forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah. The report said the US had approved a Syrian invasion of eastern Lebanon and that Damascus was “cautiously considering” the operation. It added that Sharaa’s government was wary that such a move could lead to Iranian missile attacks and potential unrest among minority Shia in Syria. The country has seen flare-ups of sectarian violence against Alawites, Druze and Christians. How Syria’s captagon trade shifted to Sweida after Assad’s fall Read More » Sharaa, 43, served roughly five years in a US prison after travelling to Iraq to repel the 2003 US invasion. He went on to found al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian branch. The deployment of troops loyal to Syria’s government would likely fan the flames of sectarian tensions in Lebanon, which experts warn are already being kindled by Israel’s attacks on the country. Sharaa’s support base includes Salafist fighters. Salafis belong to a Sunni movement adhering to a literalist interpretation of Islam, focusing on the traditions of the first three generations of Muslims. Hezbollah is the largest Shia party in Lebanon. It is both a political movement and a paramilitary group that has received support from Iran. Hezbollah fought on the side of former President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war. Sharaa’s militant group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, toppled Assad in December 2024. “He is very good with Hezbollah; he does not like them,” Trump said, describing Sharaa. But Sharaa’s government has said it has no plans to deploy troops to Lebanon. Syria was decimated by civil war and is in the infancy of rebuilding with the assistance of Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Sharaa also faces a fragile security situation on his own southern border. Israel took advantage of Assad’s downfall to occupy a United Nations buffer zone in southern Syria and launched powerful air strikes that reached the capital, Damascus, last summer. Israel is digging in on Syria’s Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the region. It has also sought to portray itself as a defender of Syria’s Druze minority by backing Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Salaman al-Hajri with arms, experts say. Inside Syria News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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Haxie Meyers-Belkin is pleased to welcome Peter Zamaya, Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. His central argument is that traditional assumptions about military strength are increasingly being challenged by technological innovation, asymmetric warfare, and political resilience. In this framework, Ukraine's ability to strike deep into Russian territory and sustain resistance against a much larger adversary serves as evidence that military size alone no longer guarantees strategic success. He suggests that the conflict's ultimate resolution will depend less on battlefield maps than on political calculations in Moscow, Washington, and Kyiv, as well as on the ability of the international community to create a durable framework for Ukrainian sovereignty.

Military · Geopolitical

'From outlier to trailblazer': How Oman offers a glimpse into the post-war Gulf Submitted by Sean Mathews on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 13:11 Despite Trump's threats, Oman has reaped financial gains from the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Muscat's neighbours racing to catch up Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, right, receives Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, left, during a reception at al-Alam Royal Palace in Muscat, Oman, on 27 May 2025 (Iranian presidential office/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump threatened to attack just one Arab Gulf country during the war on Iran: Oman. Now, it is emerging as the biggest winner from a new Middle East order being hashed out by the US and the Islamic Republic. That assessment may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but due to its geography, business acumen, and Tehran’s newly demonstrated heft in the region, western, Arab, and even some US diplomats see the new order unfurling with Oman on top. Oman’s rapid turn of fortune also underscores a bigger shift in the Middle East, some analysts say. In the war’s early days, when other Gulf states opened their military bases to the US and joined the attack on Iran, Oman was called an outlier among its neighbours because of its criticism of the US and its reluctance to enter the fray. But Muscat's decision has been vindicated by a ceasefire that is widely viewed as a victory for Iran in the Gulf.. push({}); “Oman’s position, which was always conciliatory to Iran, has now become the approach of other Gulf countries,” Bernard Haykel, a scholar of Middle Eastern studies and professor at Princeton University, told Middle East Eye. 'Let Iran control the narrative' Oman is the US’s oldest treaty partner in the Gulf, going back to 1833. Trump’s threat to “blow them up” stemmed from anger that Oman did not renounce Iran’s call to join it in charging a toll in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official told MEE. Trump’s outburst left US diplomats scrambling to preserve ties, while pressing Oman, unsuccessfully, to issue a statement denouncing Iran’s claims about a toll, Arab and US officials told MEE. 'Oman’s position has now become the approach of other Gulf countries' - Bernard Haykel, professor at Princeton University Omani officials never took the bait and insisted that they valued the US relationship, but the diplomatic cleanup was described as “stressful” by one US official. The US ambassador in Oman didn’t respond to MEE’s requests for comment. “Oman let Iran control the narrative,” a US official familiar with the feud told MEE. “They didn’t confirm or deny Iran’s language. The Omanis played it too coy. It pissed Trump off. " Oman also got some tough love from its Gulf neighbours. In April, Muscat was notably absent from a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Jeddah. Its official reason - that it couldn’t send a foreign minister to the wartime conference in time - was met with scepticism in western and Arab capitals. Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE were frustrated that Oman did not condemn Iran’s missile and drone strikes on their countries, Gulf and US officials told MEE. Instead, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said the US had “lost control of its own foreign policy” to Israel, and that Iran’s strikes on Gulf states hosting US military bases were ”inevitable”. Fast-forward a few months, and those same Gulf states are trying to mend fences with Iran, which expects sanctions relief in any peace deal with the US. Despite the Trump administration’s claims, Iran’s military capabilities also remain largely intact.. push({}); Arab Gulf moves from accommodating Israel to Iran Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has spoken weekly with Trump amid the war, walked a fine line between supporting the US’s offensive and advancing negotiations via Riyadh’s close ally, Pakistan, US and Arab officials told MEE. A western official and Arab official told MEE that Kuwait has sent signals to Iran that it is prepared to pay for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait, which is home to over 13,000 US troops, was pummelled by Iranian strikes until a few days before the ceasefire was extended. 'Vulnerability exposed': War on Iran will change how the US bases troops in Gulf Read More » But the biggest surprise has been the UAE, which staked out the most hawkish position on Iran. The UAE not only launched dozens of strikes on the Islamic Republic, but tried to prevent Pakistan from mediating between Tehran and Washington. Reuters reported on Friday that the UAE agreed to pay Iran billions of dollars to stop attacking it. Emirati national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan even hosted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials at his guesthouse to cut the deal. The UAE denied it, but it has stuck with analysts and officials in the region. “Before the war, the central question for the region was still the extent of Gulf-Israel normalisation. Now the central question is the extent of Gulf accommodation with Iran,” Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), told MEE. “The Gulf states don’t like or trust Iran, but their security and economic interests require it. Oman was the trailblazer. Gulf states are copying what Oman has done,” he said. Oman's 'huge say' in Hormuz strait Oman has always positioned itself as a mediator. It helped broker the 2015 nuclear deal between the US and Iran. Likewise, Muscat served as the US’s backchannel to the Houthis in Yemen after Trump’s failed military campaign in the Red Sea. It also was famously hosting talks between the US and Iran when the US decided to launch its war against Iran on 28 February. When asked by MEE why Oman did not flat-out refuse to consider charging a toll or fee in the Street of Hormuz, one Omani official said it was to preserve Muscat’s ability to serve as a mediator. A US official told MEE that Washington was aware Muscat faced constraints. “Oman is the one Gulf country without a real air defence system,” the official said. Oman emerged relatively unscathed from the war, suffering minimal strikes.. push({}); Still, the idea of exerting sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz has appealed to many in Oman. “Oman has no objection to international commercial vessels navigating through the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz. However, if geopolitical or security circumstances require vessels to alter course and transit through Oman’s territorial waters, Oman has a sovereign responsibility to ensure that such passage is safe, orderly, and environmentally responsible,” Zakaria al-Muharrmi, an Omani commentator, wrote on X, in response to a US threat to sanction Oman if it engaged in tolling. “Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states may also impose charges for specific services rendered to passing vessels,” he added. US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that during the 60-day ceasefire extension, no tolls would be charged for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. But the two sides are expected to wrestle over the matter during upcoming "technical negotiations". According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), countries can stake a claim up to 12 nautical miles for their territorial waters. The Strait of Hormuz is just 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point. Oman and Iran are its only two littoral states. Legal experts tell MEE that there are plenty of examples Iran and Oman could cite to charge “piloting fees” or “fees for service” in the waterway. “Oman, in a way, is a winner,” Haykel, at Princeton University, told MEE. "Whatever set of arrangements are made for Hormuz going forward, Oman will have a huge say. It will get ratification of its partial control over Hormuz. ” Oman reaps financial gains But Oman’s gains extend far beyond any fee in the Strait of Hormuz. “Oman is a major economic beneficiary of what has happened,” Gerges, at LSE, told MEE. 'Oman has become even more strategically significant in the region because of this war' - Anna Jacobs, European Institute of Peace Oman’s government saw a 13 percent bump in revenue during the war, mainly as a result of oil and gas exports. Oman’s Mina al-Fahal terminal - which handles the bulk of the country’s crude exports -sits well outside the Strait of Hormuz. It is also a top ten global exporter of liquefied natural gas. Although it's a small oil and gas exporter compared to its Gulf neighbours, Oman has invested heavily in fertilisers, the main components of which, ammonia and urea, are created using natural gas. “Because of our geography and diplomacy, Oman was able to be a responsible provider of energy and contribute to food security,” an Omani official told MEE. “I think our tourism sector will also bounce back faster,” the official added. Oman hasn’t chased flashy developments like Dubai's, but in recent years has pitched itself to a more laid-back, wealthy crowd. Some Gulf diplomats noted that Trump’s threat to “blow up” Oman would have put a golf resort his family licensed their name to in the crossfire. But Oman’s strategic advantage moving forward rests with its ports providing Arabian Sea access, analysts and officials say. Omani ports set for post-war boom “Oman has become even more strategically significant in the region because of this war,” Anna Jacobs, a Gulf regional advisor at the European Institute of Peace, told MEE. Oman’s two main ports experienced an unprecedented surge in traffic during the war. Sohar port saw a 1,766 percent surge in ship destination change requests in March, while Salalah saw an 800 percent increase, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward. 'The easiest southern outlet to the Arabian Sea for Saudi or Kuwaiti crude is Oman' - Bernard Haykel, professor at Princeton University Regardless of whether Iran is able to extract a toll in the Strait of Hormuz, current and former Arab and US diplomats say that Iran has demonstrated its veto power over the waterway. As a result, the Gulf states are exploring pipelines, highways and railways to bypass the chokepoint. Despite the UAE’s uneasiness over Oman’s approach to Iran, the two neighbours are powering ahead with a railroad connecting the Emirates to Oman’s port of Sohar. Oman said in April the project was 40 percent complete. A senior official at Kuwait’s Petroleum Corp said this month that the company was in talks with Oman about building oil storage facilities. Back in 2021, Saudi Arabia even considered building a pipeline through Oman. “The Gulf countries are all going to think of infrastructure projects to circumvent Hormuz. The easiest southern outlet to the Arabian Sea for Saudi or Kuwaiti crude is Oman,” Haykel said. The Trump administration still appears sour at Oman, the one Gulf state that thoroughly rebuffed the US-Israeli war on Iran. On Monday, a US official speaking to members of the press characterised Oman as “very duplicitous and almost like employees of the Iranians”. The remarks came as members of the Trump administration mobilised to characterise the ceasefire extension as a win. Oman led efforts to mediate between the US and Iran before the US and Israel attacked in February. Qatar and Pakistan took the lead negotiating this time. “We kind of threw them, [Oman], out of this process,” the US official added. “I imagine even if Iran appreciates working with Qatar when it comes to mediating with the US, it's hard to have that much trust when Qatar hosts such extensive US military infrastructure,” Jacobs, at the European Institute of Peace, told MEE. “Washington can be angry with them all they want for now, but they will need Muscat again sooner or later,” she said. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

Israeli press casts emerging US-Iran deal as a strategic defeat for Netanyahu Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:19 Military correspondents and economic commentators warn that a costly and inconclusive war has left Tehran emboldened and the prime minister diminished at home Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference, following a US-Iran deal, in Jerusalem, 15 June 2026 (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun/Pool) Off While Israeli politicians and journalists voiced anger on Sunday over the emerging deal between the US and Iran, on Monday military affairs experts warned that Iran is becoming a regional power. Alon Ben David, the veteran military correspondent of Channel 13 News, said that the emerging deal could be a blow to Israel's standing in the Middle East with far-reaching implications. "This is a dramatic day for Israel and for generations to come," the Israeli journalist warned, adding the agreement "marks a turning point in the Middle East. " According to Ben David, "Israel had been the strongest and dominant power in the region, backed by the US, but this agreement clears the path for Iran to become the region’s most influential power. " Ben David stated that the agreement will give Iran access to its frozen assets, which are worth billions of dollars, while also generating additional $300bn.. push({}); The additional funds, a Channel 13 News journalist said, would ensure Iran can continue to support its proxies in Lebanon and Yemen, which Israel sees as a threat to its national security. Additionally, Ben David stated, referring to the Iranian government, that Israel is now facing "a more vengeful regime, one with a greater desire for revenge and with nuclear capabilities". The agreement could leave Israel "facing not only a stronger Iran, but a nuclear Iran," he added. Danny Citrinowicz, senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), echoed Ben David’s words on Tuesday. ". Citrinowicz said the Israeli-US war on Iran will "conclude with the regime intact, strengthened, and formally engaged by the US," adding that the Iranian leadership "demonstrated resilience, retained control, and shown a willingness to absorb substantial costs. push({}); The cost of defeat Israel's second war on Iran cost the country dozens of billions of shekels, Calcalist daily economic newspaper said on Tuesday. The report, which designated Israel's war effort in Iran as a "flop", said that the war cost "Israel some 50 billion shekels that it did not have in the first place. " World Cup 2026: Iran's spirited display against New Zealand eases tensions among divided supporters Read More » According to the report, some of the funds were directed to bombs and munitions which the Israeli air force dropped on Iran, while significant funds were aimed to replenish Israel's dwindling air defence interceptors. Following the war, the report noted, the Israeli military is now demanding additional 44 billion shekels ($15bn) to its already unprecedented high budget, increasing its budget to 188 billion shekels ($64bn). Calcalist stated that it's probably not the last time the army would request an increase to its budget. Recently, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that the security budget rise by 350 billion shekels over the next ten years, with the additional funds directed to various military acquisitions the army demanded. The Calcalist report questioned the economic policies of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who on Sunday criticised the US-Iran agreement and vowed that Israel would keep fighting in Lebanon, and against Iran. The report said that Smotrich has still not offered a way to finance "the multi-front quagmire into which Israel has descended," referring to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Another failure of Netanyahu With the US and Iran due to finalise their agreement on Friday, Haaretz military affairs analyst, Amos Harel, said the emerging agreement signifies the biggest failure of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the 7 October attack. Harel wrote on Tuesday that "the Iran affair is emerging as the second-worst fiasco in Netanyahu's long history," with only the Hamas-led attack of October 2023, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, topping this. 'The agreement will apparently satisfy only a small fraction of the expectations Netanyahu had' - Amos Harel, military analyst "The agreement will apparently satisfy only a small fraction of the expectations Netanyahu had," Harel said, adding that there is also a growing fracture between the Israeli premier and US President Donald Trump. As uncertainty looms over Israeli operations in Lebanon, Harel said that "Iran currently seems to have come out the war even stronger and more determined," with Netanyahu's supporters in the Israeli press accusing Trump of betrayal. While Harel said that there are still uncertainties about the details of the deal, the Israeli-US war effort ended with the Iranian government still intact, which "reveals the extent of the destruction Netanyahu has wreaked on Israel's global standing since 2023". The Haaretz analyst added that Netanyahu would have resigned for his failures in any other country, but Israel is a country in which there is "a minimal sense of responsibility". War on Iran Tel Aviv, Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

MoU includes mechanism for Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon, says Iranian official Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US includes a provision for dealing with possible ceasefire violations in Lebanon by Israel. The US accepted this mechanism to ensure an end to regional hostilities, including in Lebanon, the ministry announced in comments carried by Iran’s IRNA news agency. Iranian media also reported that Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri spoke to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to discuss the necessity for the international community to compel Israel to end its military campaign in Lebanon and withdraw from its territories. This follows Trump’s earlier comments that he had warned Netanyahu to be “more responsible with respect to Lebanon” and said he “didn’t like” how they had acted in the region.

Military · Geopolitical

Rights groups call for a halt of AI tech use in the military Rights groups and tech activists have warned against the increasing use of AI in the military, specifically citing Israel's genocide in Gaza as a dangerous precedent. In a joint statement signed by more than a hundred people and organisations including Amnesty International, Access Now and the Stop Killer Robots Campaign, they warned that the expansion of AI in military "kill chains" risked greater civilian bloodshed and a lack of accountability. They specifically pointed to Israel's genocide in Gaza, where the mass killing of more than 73,000 Palestinians (thousands more are presumed dead or missing under the rubble) has accompanied the widespread use of AI-based systems by the Israeli army. Three systems in particular - Lavender, Gospel, and Where’s Daddy - have been used to identify targets for air strikes based on Israeli mass surveillance records of Palestinians in Gaza. This has been pointed to as one of the reasons for the scale of the death toll in Gaza, with targets chosen by AI software with little or no human oversight. Read more: Rights groups call for a halt of AI tech use in the military AI robot signs are planted into the ground on the National Mall in an act of protest in Washington, DC, 6 March 2026 (Heather Diehl/AFP)

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US president also made unusually critical comments about Israel's military offensive in Lebanon.

Military · Geopolitical

Iran dealt Israel a crushing defeat and vindicated America's anti-war majority Submitted by Hamid Dabashi on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 08:56 Pro-war pundits promised regime change, state collapse and strategic victory. Instead, Iran endured and Israel is now more isolated than ever Protesters organised by VoteVets demonstrate outside the US Capitol against the Iran war on 20 May 2026 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP) On Following the announcement of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, it is time to revisit some criminal documents. Back in early March, as Israel mobilised all its American cards to launch a war on Iran, Zionist writer Bret Stephens, who has a regular column in The New York Times, where he fervently defends an Israel that trains dogs to rape human beings - published his bucket list of what he wished Israel and the US should achieve against what he thought would soon be a defeated Iran. With the immediate cessation of hostilities between Iran and the US, it is time to revisit that gaudy, delusional and unhinged column. Stephens envisaged four scenarios of Israeli victory against Iran. The first was regime change, which he thought "nobody should discount, especially if Iran continues to be battered militarily and politically, perhaps with the loss of additional echelons of leadership". The second was regime modification - "a regime that stays in place but complies with US and Israeli demands". That isolation, he wrote, "will be especially pronounced if US forces seize Kharg Island... which serves as the terminal for roughly 90 percent of Iran's oil exports".. push({}); The third was a prolonged war, ultimately crushing Iran through economic sanctions - "What this third scenario suggests is that the regime will only survive in a zombified state. " The fourth was "not regime change, but state collapse. The most worrisome form it could take would resemble Syria during its 13-year civil war, in which the regime would survive in some areas of Iran, fall in others, invite foreign intervention and lead to killing on an epic scale. Along with that killing would come waves of refugees throughout the Middle East and into Europe and Australia... The Israelis may not entirely mind that scenario, on the theory that a fractured Iran is someone else's problem. " What is Stephens's own recommendation? "What, then, should the Trump administration do? My prescription: Seize Kharg Island. Mine or blockade Iran's remaining ports. Destroy as much Iranian military capability as possible over the next week or two, including a second Midnight Hammer operation to destroy what's left of Iran's nuclear capacity and know-how. " As we say in Persian: the camel dreams of cotton seeds, gobbling them up now in great fistfuls and then one by one. Israel lost, Iran endured That disgusting column is a historic document of the mass-murdering mindset of hallucinating Zionists given a full column every damned week in this city to spew hatred of other nations in what they think is the best interest of the genocidal Israel they are paid to defend.. push({}); Back to reality - the day after Donald Trump 's 80th birthday, 106 days after Israelis triggered the US president to join them bombing a sovereign nation state. In nearly 80 years of mass murder, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and land theft in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, Israel has been dealt a crushing defeat of historic proportions. The world must adjust its lenses when looking at the US. Americans overwhelmingly opposed this war They dragged the gullible bully Trump into this war against the will and judgement of the overwhelming majority of Americans - and still Israel lost the war in every single aspect of their delusional objectives and more. Still they and those who waved their racist flag suffered a historic defeat. Their Mossad and Hasbara, their Aipac and Anti-Defamation League (ADL), their bought and paid for American politicians, their Iranian monarchist stooges and their comprador think tankers at the Hoover Institution and elsewhere - all put together - still suffered a major defeat. With this memorandum of understanding, Iran is stronger than it was before. Its regime is intact, its sovereign right to nuclear knowledge and technology remains in place, and its territorial integrity - all the way to the precious Strait of Hormuz - is stronger than ever. Yes, Israelis fooled Trump to help them destroy Iran's civic infrastructure, cultural monument sites, university campuses, public health facilities and mass-murder the innocent children of Minab school and much more. But to what end? There are videos of monkeys with machine guns on the internet shooting at people indiscriminately too. What western 'experts' mean when they predict Iran's collapse Read More » Iranian scholars and world heritage authorities are busy addressing the savageries genocidal Zionists have perpetrated in Iran. University campuses and scientific institutions are rebuilding. Parents are mourning the children this Israeli-instigated war murdered. Ordinary people are resuming their daily lives. Iran will recover and Iranians will soon resume their historic struggles for their civil liberties, having siphoned the treasonous monarchists, their comprador think tankers and their ugly Israeli effigies into the sewer system of history. Fresh on the heels of a still-unfolding genocide in Gaza and land theft in Palestine, Israel opened two new fronts for murderous mayhem in Lebanon and Iran, hoodwinking the gullible bully Trump to join them in the act. As the world watched this criminality unfold, two pro-Israel New York Times columnists, Thomas Friedman and Bret Stephens, were busy hoping in despair to change the whole discourse, making the diabolical settler colony look like the victim on a righteous crusade. By systematically demonising Iran as the nefarious regime, the entire New York Times enterprise was trying to fool a whole nation into believing Iran was evil, Israel was righteous and Trump's egomaniacal follies were all for a good cause. A victory for Americans On the American side: if you were to heed the dominant American media you would think Trump began this war all on his own and then arrogantly left Israel out of his decision-making process when negotiating a peace. It is in fact entirely the other way around. Israel - represented by its prime minister and Mossad chief - fooled Trump into joining this war and has remained a singular source of menace, pushing for continued bombing of Iran and Lebanon. What did Iranians achieve in this war? Their precious homeland did not fall to the murderous Zionists. It did not disintegrate President Trump finally had to yield to the unstillable will of the American people, cut Israel loose and reach an agreement with Iranians for the best interest of Americans. This is the humiliation the genocidal Zionists like Texas Senator Ted Cruz, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, ad nauseam, have to face in the United States. The world must adjust its lenses when looking at the US. Americans overwhelmingly opposed this war. This was an illegal war that the US Congress had not authorised, and masses of millions of Americans actively opposed it. This victory is therefore an Iranian and American victory. In the US, this victory belongs to anti-war activists and the broader population. In Iran, this victory belongs to the Iranian people and their steadfast determination to resist murderous aggression by Israel that is consumed by a genocidal ideology. The sovereignty of a defiant nation (the exact opposite of a European settler colony in Palestine) belongs to that nation, not to the state that is temporarily entrusted with serving them. What did Iranians achieve in this war? Their precious homeland did not fall to the murderous Zionists. It did not disintegrate. The Israeli scarecrow Reza Pahlavi did not return and is forever lost in ignominy. The inalienable right of Iranians to nuclear knowledge and technology did not fold. Their government - whatever legitimate criticism they still rightly level against it - did not collapse. They suffered the blows of the murderous Israeli bombers standing firm. And they hit back hard. They hit Israel to the delight of millions of people around the world. They struck all US military bases in the region. And then they produced their trump card - no pun intended - and closed the Strait of Hormuz. This war, just like the Israeli genocide in Gaza, turned the whole world against Israel. Poll after poll shows Israel is today the most detested colonial entity on Earth. According to the survey, "the findings place Israel at the bottom of the Global Country Perceptions 2026 ranking, a survey of 46,667 respondents assessing how 129 countries and three international organisations are viewed around the world. " Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of Israel's genocide in Gaza The Iranian victory is a decisive American victory too. Poll after poll has declared loudly and clearly that Americans opposed this war, holding Israel chiefly responsible for their country entering it. A recent Pew Research Centre survey found that "negative views of Israel, Netanyahu continue to rise among Americans - especially young people". The polls clearly indicate that 60 percent of US adults have an unfavourable view of Israel, up from 53 percent last year; 59 percent have little or no confidence in Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs, up from 52 percent. In both political parties, majorities of adults under the age of 50 now rate Israel and Netanyahu negatively. Mounting evidence shows the murderous Israelis are guarding dark and diabolic dungeons where Palestinian men and women are raped - a fact that even The New York Times had to admit, though in a cowardly way as an opinion piece rather than as a thoroughly investigated fact.. push({}); Israel is long overdue for a historic reckoning for what they have done to Palestine and Palestinians, Lebanon and the Lebanese, Iran and Iranians, etc. Accountable to Iranians None of this means all is now hunky-dory, happily ever after, in Iran. Iranians now have to win the peace too. Iran has enormous economic, social and political problems. They have always fought foreign invasions and domestic tyranny at one and the same time - and they will continue to do so Iranians won this war not because they were made more radical, as the juvenile American punditry puts it, but because the war triggered a deep-rooted anticolonial nationalism in them. They have always fought foreign invasions and domestic tyranny at one and the same time - and they will continue to do so. Iranians in and out of their homeland have every right to criticise their government and continue to demand and exact their civil liberties and their inalienable human rights: the right to peaceful assembly guaranteed in their constitution, the right to a free press, the right to form independent labour unions, student organisations and women's rights advocates. These are their inalienable rights - all of them achievable only if they have their national sovereignty intact, their territorial integrity in place, murderous Mossad agents prevented from infiltrating their peaceful protests and vicious Israeli-US bombs stopped from targeting their innocent children and civic infrastructures. Iranians have a long and perilous road ahead of them, as do all nations, where securing their civil liberties is today the most radical, the most revolutionary, aspiration of any country, no matter what government may fancy ruling over them. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. War on Iran Opinion Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps on Australia’s southeast coast beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, according to tender documents and officials. The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, came as the US was keen to leverage the continent’s strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China’s rapid military build-up, analysts said. The US Marine Corps began global pre-positioning of military...

Military · Geopolitical

US military copied Iran's smuggling tactics to move Gulf oil, report reveals The US military has secretly coordinated the transfer of an estimated 90 million barrels of Gulf oil since May, adopting Iran ’s own sanctions-evasion tactics to covertly move the oil, a recent Reuters investigation revealed. Two specific locations where the oil transfers take place were identified by 11 people familiar with the operation, which at least 92 ships have been involved, according to shipping data and satellite imagery. The ship-to-ship transfer operations, a shuttling technique long used by Iran to skirt sanctions, are fully controlled by the US military, said eight of the sources, including someone involved in the transfers. Tankers must sail to a meeting point before they reach the strait, then stagger their departures so they are around 3,000 to 4,000 metres apart. Their transponders are off, and their lights are dimmed, sources say. When they pass through the strait, just beyond a zone that Iran has delineated as under its control, the tankers pull alongside the recipient ships, which are Very Large Crude Carriers, or VLCCs, to begin the oil transfers. These take between 24 and 40 hours to complete. The empty tankers then shuttle back through the strait, and the newly loaded VLCCs sail onward. What makes this ship-to-ship operation possible is that there are a few shippers willing to sail their vessels through the strait to deliver the oil to the waiting tankers, despite the Iranian blockade. This technique has been used by Iran for years to bypass sanctions, because it masks the source of the oil. The Iranians usually operate one pair of ships at a time, both to avoid detection and because their prewar exports were relatively small. The US-led operation, which involves mass transfers, gives Gulf producers better protection from Iranian retaliatory attacks so they can move crude, condensate and petroleum products to international buyers. Based on the imagery, Reuters calculated that at least 90 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products may have moved through the offshore network since early May.

Military · Geopolitical

Israel's former defence minister compares settler ideology to Nazism Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 08:46 Moshe Ya'alon accused Israeli authorities of failing to investigate attacks against Palestinians and said the religious Zionist movement embraces 'Jewish supremacy ideology' Israel's former defence minister Moshe Ya'alon gives a press briefing in Jerusalem on 15 March 2017 (Thomas Coex/AFP) Off Israel 's former defence minister has compared settler ideology to Nazism, and accused authorities of failing to investigate Israelis responsible for killing Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank. In a wide-ranging interview with the Israeli news site Ynet on Sunday, Moshe Ya'alon said that factions within the religious Zionist movement, which is closely aligned with Israeli settlers, hold a "Jewish supremacy ideology". "What is Jewish supremacy? Eighty years after the Holocaust, it's Mein Kampf in reverse. The superior race is us," said Ya'alon, who served as defence under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu between 2013 to 2016. Ya'alon, who also recently visited Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank amid attacks by the Israeli army and settlers, described what is happening in the territory as a "disgrace for generations". "The Israeli government is encouraging Jewish pogromists to dispossess Arabs of their land through abuse, including shooting at them," Ya'alon told Ynet, adding that more than 20 Palestinians had been killed in those attacks.. push({}); "Not a single person has been arrested," Ya'alon said, referring to what he described as a lack of accountability for Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank. He added that the Shin Bet security agency and Israeli police were doing nothing to address the killings. Ya'alon said that during a visit to the southern Hebron area he witnessed the conditions Palestinians are facing. He said he spoke with a Palestinian man who lost his leg after settlers shot him and then prevented him from receiving medical assistance. 'What is Jewish supremacy? Eighty years after the Holocaust, it's Mein Kampf in reverse. The superior race is us' - Moshe Ya'alon, former defence minister Settler attacks against Palestinians have surged since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recording an average of four a day. The attacks, some of which have been recorded on video, have raised concerns among opposition figures, including Ya'alon, over both their security implications and moral consequences. Left-wing figures have increasingly described Israeli policies in the West Bank as criminal. Earlier this month, Nimrod Sheffer, a candidate in the primaries of the centre-left Democrats party, described a settler attack in the town of Huwara, near Nablus, as a "terror attack". Last week, Sheffer vowed to dismantle settler outposts occupied by young and often violent settlers if elected. In many cases, those outposts serve as bases for settlers known as the "hilltop youth", who have been linked to attacks on Palestinians. Army chief turned critic Ya’alon spent decades in the Israeli military and is known to have taken part in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the violent suppression of the first and second Palestinian intifadas, and the 2014 war on Gaza. In 2002, whilst serving as the army's chief of staff, he said: "The Palestinian threat harbours cancer-like attributes that have to be severed and fought to the bitter end. " An in 2015, he barred Breaking the Silence – an NGO of former Israeli soldiers who document army abuses – from engaging in activities with the military.. push({}); But in recent years, the 75-year-old has adopted a more critical tone towards the current government, accusing it in 2024 of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Reflecting on his time as army commander in the West Bank, Ya'alon said that he had acted to prevent the occupation from turning Israelis into "Judeo-Nazis", as the late Israeli scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz had once warned. Israel expels Palestinians from their homes to use them as military posts Read More » "Today, I can’t say he was wrong," Ya'alon said, referring to Leibowitz's claim, adding that he hopes "the next government will reverse this". Ya'alon said Palestinians are being abused in the West Bank and that he is "ashamed that members of my own people are doing such things. And it is being done under government direction. " Asked whether Israel could become an apartheid state, the former army chief replied: "absolutely," adding that he supports "a settlement with the Palestinians. " "Otherwise, we will become either an apartheid state or a binational state," Ya'alon said, after noting that he does not support removing Israeli settlements from the West Bank. The former defence minister, who retired from politics in 2021, also criticised opposition leaders for failing to commit to including a Palestinian party in a future governing coalition. "My shared values with Mansour Abbas are greater than those I share with Smotrich and Ben Gvir," Ya'alon said, referring to the leader of the Islamist United Arab List party in the Knesset. Abbas has openly declared his desire to be part of a governing coalition, in contrast to the historic position of Palestinian parties in Israel. Occupation Tel Aviv News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

Morning update Good morning Middle East Eye readers, The US-Iran peace agreement entered its implementation phase overnight, with both sides confirming the accord has been signed electronically ahead of a formal ceremony in Geneva. Shipping activity resumed in the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear oversight discussions moved forward and world leaders welcomed the breakthrough. However, disagreements over Lebanon and Israel's future military role remain unresolved. Here are the latest updates: President Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding with Iran has been fully signed electronically and that the Strait of Hormuz will be completely reopened by Friday. Iranian media reported that three oil tankers and two cargo ships successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz after the US lifted its naval blockade. US Vice President JD Vance said International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are expected to return to Iran as part of the agreement's implementation. Vance said there will be no tolls or special fees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day negotiation period. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian described the agreement as an important step toward ending the war, while stressing that a final comprehensive settlement has yet to be completed. Hezbollah welcomed the agreement and said it has not carried out military operations against Israeli forces since the accord was announced. Hundreds of displaced Lebanese residents began returning to towns in southern Lebanon following signs of reduced regional tensions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces will continue to occupy parts of southern Lebanon despite the US-Iran agreement. Israeli officials reiterated that Israel does not consider itself bound by all provisions of the Washington-Tehran accord, particularly those related to Lebanon. Markets responded positively to the accord, while shipping executives cautioned that full confidence in Hormuz transit will depend on conditions on the ground rather than political declarations alone.

Military · Geopolitical

World Cup 2026: For Iran, this is a battle on an unequal field Submitted by Maziyar Ghiabi on Fri, 06/12/2026 - 18:04 Athletes are caught between domestic demands for national unity, and diaspora pressure to stand up to the Islamic Republic Fans in Tehran watch Iran v New Zealand on 16 June, 2026 (Reuters) On On a Sunday in early June, Iran ’s footballers landed in Tijuana, Mexico, a few hundred metres from a border they were not permitted to cross except to play. The squad had been forced to abandon its planned base in Arizona; the United States, which has placed Iran near the top of a list of nations under a comprehensive entry ban, issued the players’ visas 10 days before their opening fixture and refused several members of the delegation. Days later, Fifa revoked the ticket allocation for the team’s three US-based games, so Iranian players will run out before stands emptied of its own supporters. This is, by most reckonings, the first World Cup in which a host nation has received the team of a country with which it was at war as the competition kicked off. Apart from the diplomatic squabbles, intensified by a tournament held in a fractious year, there is something in the treatment of the Iranian team that deserves closer thought. The team is allowed onto the grass, but hurried back across the border; required to enter and leave US soil on the very day of each match, which renders the team’s participation at once heroic and a mirror held up to US imperial hubris.. push({}); There is a long genealogy of heroic sportsmen in Iran’s cultural history, well before football. Athletes in Iran have rarely been entertainers in the sense of the modern sports industry. The physically trained body has long served as a moral and national text, even a mythology. The lineage runs through the varzesh-e bastani and the zurkhaneh, the “house of strength”, where physical cultivation was inseparable from an ethic of chivalry, forbearance, and the defence of the weak. Mastery of the body conferred moral authority, not celebrity - and the champion, the pahlavan, was legitimate only when placed at the service of others. Even now, when sport has been folded into the global circuits of capital, that older expectation is slow to fade: the athlete is an exemplar, if not an heir, to the heroes of the Shahnameh, Abolqasem Ferdowsi’s 11th-century Book of Kings, from whom ethical conduct - and, where necessary, sacrifice - are expected, a lineage that extends to the wrestlers of the 20th century. Symbolism of sport The exemplary figure remains the wrestler Gholamreza Takhti, an Olympian of the 1950s and 1960s, whose fame rested on the perception that he fused athletic supremacy with a dignified distance from the Pahlavi court and a loyalty to ordinary people. When he died in 1968, his funeral became one of the few mass gatherings at which opposition to the shah could be voiced under the cover of mourning. His image, and model, circulates regularly across Iranian social media. The lexicon of the wrestling mat seeps into political speech at the highest level: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reached for it in 2013, licensing nuclear diplomacy as narmesh-e qahremananeh, “ heroic flexibility ”, casting a strategic concession as a wrestler’s tactical give, rather than a retreat in the face of a military threat.. push({}); Under both the monarchy and the Islamic Republic, the state has loaded sport with the duty of representing the nation, so that the athletic body becomes a stage upon which the legitimacy of the state is tested, and sometimes shored up. Supporters from the Global South may well turn out in support of Iran's team, out of disgust at Washington's hubris and in solidarity with a country fighting an unequal battle The best-known example was Iran’s qualification for the 1998 World Cup in a tense playoff match against Australia. The reformist administration of then-president Mohammad Khatami wished to claim the triumph and open a space for public participation. Yet the celebrations it unleashed - with crowds filling the streets, and women pressing into Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, from which they were formally barred - showed how quickly such joy could exceed the bounds of the permissible. The role of athletes in public politics, meanwhile, has changed. A younger cohort, fluent in social-media influence, can address domestic and diasporic publics directly, outside official channels. Kimia Alizadeh, the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal in 2016, defected several years later to denounce the state’s repression of women; the judoka Saeid Mollaei fled in 2019 rather than throw a bout to avoid facing an Israeli; and the striker Sardar Azmoun risked his place on the team to condemn the killing of protesters in 2022. At the World Cup in Qatar four years ago, the Iranian national team stood silent through their country’s anthem before a match against England, a nation historically perceived as meddling in Iran’s affairs. That silence drew a double-edged reception: reprimand from state officials eager to show unity amid geopolitical tensions, and support from those who saw the international stage as a chance to be more vocal about Iran’s domestic politics. This is why the international arena is so combustible for Iranians. Beneath a global camera, the smallest gesture becomes legible and instrumental to audiences eager to make use of it. Caught up in conflict Fifa and the International Olympic Committee present their tournaments as a neutral global commons - yet their governance, sponsorship economies, visa regimes and media framing are weighted heavily towards the West. The spectacle of an apolitical festival rings hollow when it accommodates US racist policies, barring supporters, players and referees from entry, or subjecting them to control and intrusion on account of their identity alone. For the nations of the Global South, and for those that refuse alignment with Washington, this arena has never been the level playing field its charter proclaims. The 1998 US-Iran World Cup match in France, played between governments without diplomatic relations, turned the Iranian players’ gift of white roses to their opponents into a parable of detente - foreign policy by other means, like the ping-pong diplomacy between Washington and Beijing in the Nixon era. In the current World Cup, Iran’s first two matches will take place in Los Angeles, and the third in Seattle. Los Angeles may be a site of loud contention: the city holds the largest Iranian diaspora, dominated by the restorationist royalists supporting the Pahlavi crown. Illegal wars, racism and genocide: USA World Cup 2026 should be boycotted Read More » What was once a nostalgic royalism has, over the past decade, acquired the aesthetic of the global right: a cult of the redeemer-leader, a mythologised past to be recovered by force, a “true Iran” defined against its internal enemies, a Make Iran Great Again motto. Its alignment with the Maga movement is not incidental. That significant parts of this current have welcomed the sanctioning, and even the bombing, of Iran has left a mark difficult to erase in the eyes of many people inside Iran. The athletes are thus caught between a domestic environment that, amid an existential war, demands national unity against a conflict propped up by Israeli interests, and American diasporic pressure to stand against the Islamic Republic and its repression of dissent. So what should we expect of the team, shuttling between a base in Mexico and pitches in the US - watched from across Iran as emblems of the nation in enemy territory, and by Washington and its allies as tools for further delegitimisation? For now, the team has arrived in Mexico wearing a pin on their suits displaying the number 168, referencing the children killed in the US bombing of a Minab girls’ school in February. As the war and its objectives expanded to the destruction of Iran’s industrial and scientific infrastructure, and the denial of its right to independent development, it would be surprising to find the Iranian team playing into the hands of their American host - which has passed up even the sporting gesture of letting players stay on US soil. Instead, supporters from the Global South, starting with their Mexican hosts, may well turn out in vocal support of Iran’s team, out of disgust at Washington’s hubris, and in solidarity with a country which had been fighting an unequal battle for itself and much of the world against blatant US imperial politics.. push({}); In war as in football, Iran may need to endure until victory comes. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. World Cup 2026 Opinion Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

Palestinian family accuses Israeli army of kidnapping and murdering their child in Gaza Submitted by Fayha Shalash on Mon, 06/15/2026 - 14:22 Israeli soldiers shot dead three-year-old Rayan Abu al-Ajeen in central Gaza, then detained his wounded father with the child's body for hours before dumping them on a roadside, says family Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, 12 June 2026 (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa) Off Baha Abu al-Ajeen, 32, is a farmer who regularly goes to his farmland in the Wadi al-Salqa area, about 150 meters from the yellow line that Israel established to demarcate its forces within the Gaza Strip after the genocidal war of October 2023. At 6pm on Sunday, Baha left home in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, as usual, taking his three-year-old son, Rayan, and his brother-in-law, Khaled Abu Gharaba, to check on their farmland. However, the trip ended in tragedy. The Abu al-Ajeen family accuse the Israeli army of kidnapping their son and his father, and shooting them without justification, resulting in the child's death and the father's injury. Nawaf Abu al-Ajeen, the family elder and a relative of Baha, told Middle East Eye that the three of them were shocked to see Israeli soldiers positioned inside a house in the area. The soldiers opened fire directly and without warning. The bullets immediately pierced Rayan's eye, causing it to gouge out, and exited the back of his head, al-Ajeen said. Another bullet struck his father in the leg.. push({}); According to al-Ajeen, the soldiers left the family members bleeding without providing any medical treatment, then arrested the three of them and transported them in military vehicles to the Kissufim military base. "The child was killed instantly after being shot in the head while in his father's arms. Baha was left bleeding without any medical assistance; they simply tied a piece of cloth around his thigh and did nothing else," he said. I survived the genocide in Gaza, but still carry its scars within me Read More » Baha remained detained, holding his child's body in his arms the entire time, along with Khaled, who was also under arrest. Then, at midnight, the soldiers dumped the wounded Baha and his dead child on Salah al-Din Street. "We learned from eyewitnesses that soldiers had dumped a wounded man and his child on Salah al-Din Street. We hoped it was Baha and Rayan, so we went there and found the child dead from a bullet wound to the eye and Baha wounded in the leg," Nawaf explained. They were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where Rayan was officially pronounced dead. Baha was found to have been shot in the leg, and the doctors in the hospital inserted a device to stabilise the fracture. He remains hospitalised. "We buried the child on Monday afternoon and took his body to his grieving mother, who is still in a terrible state, unable to believe what happened. An ordinary day turned into a living hell we will never forget," he said. Khaled remains in detention without any information about him. The Israeli army claimed on Sunday evening that it had fired on members of an armed cell attempting to approach the Yellow Line. Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, told MEE that the emergency room received a man and the body of his three-year-old son after midnight. "The bullet pierced the child's head, and he arrived deceased hours ago. The father is in stable condition with a leg injury and is receiving treatment," he added. War crimes The UN Human Rights Office stated in a report in May that approximately one-third of the Palestinians killed by Israel since the ceasefire agreement came into effect in October were killed in areas close to the ceasefire line with Hamas, raising concerns that Israeli forces are shooting civilians simply for approaching the area.. push({}); The office explained that "such actions would constitute unlawful killings and are therefore war crimes". Ajith Sungai, director of the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory, described this pattern as "disturbing". "Civilians don’t appear to have posed any threat to the lives of Israeli soldiers, including in some cases where they appear to have been shot while carrying out daily activities, or after approaching or crossing what is known as the Israeli 'yellow line,'" he added in a press statement. 'Israel uses ready-made justifications to legitimise the killing of civilians near the Green Line and employs new methods of killing, either by soldiers or by members of its affiliated armed groups' - Alaa Skafi, Al-Dameer UN data indicates that 453 people were killed since the ceasefire until 5 February, including 152 Palestinians - 102 men, 15 women, 24 boys, and 11 girls - near the Yellow Line. Alaa Skafi, director of the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza, told MEE that 65 percent of the Gaza Strip is currently classified as "yellow" and "red" zones by Israel. Anyone who approaches these areas or the Yellow Line is shot at or arrested under the pretext of approaching Israeli army positions, even though they pose no threat to the soldiers, he said. "Civilians are targeted by snipers, tank shells, or drones," he explained. Although Israel places yellow concrete blocks in areas near what is known as the Salah al-Din Line, which divides the Gaza Strip into east and west, it moves these blocks westward daily and then shoots at civilians under the pretext that they are approaching them. “Israel uses ready-made justifications to legitimise the killing of civilians near the Yellow Line and employs new methods of killing, either by soldiers or by members of its affiliated armed groups,” Skafi concluded. Since the signing of the ceasefire agreement on 11 October between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli army has killed 992 Palestinians and wounded 3,144, according to data from the Palestinian health ministry published on Monday. Occupation Ramallah, occupied West Bank News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

WSJ calls Iran agreement a 'strategic retreat' by Trump The Wall Street Journal said that the agreement reached by US President Donald Trump with Iran does not amount to a complete strategic victory. Instead, the newspaper said it reflects a retreat from Washington’s original objectives at the outset of the conflict, noting that the US accepted the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Iranian pledges to resume negotiations over its nuclear programme. In a special editorial, the newspaper’s editorial board said President Trump began to pull back as domestic political pressure intensified and the risks associated with continued military operations grew. The newspaper asserts that Trump's use of military force inflicted significant damage on Iran's nuclear, military, and industrial infrastructure. US President Donald Trump attends UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, 14 June 2026 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via AFP)

Military · Geopolitical

The European Union’s top diplomat said China has been training Russian troops to fight in Ukraine, sharpening Brussels’ criticism of Beijing’s enabling role in the conflict as the bloc weighs a tougher economic and security stance.

Military · Geopolitical

Eight people were killed after a US B-52 bomber crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday. The aircraft was carrying a mix of military personnel, government employees and civilian contractors on a routine test mission when it went down, prompting an immediate investigation.

Military · Geopolitical

Hezbollah says it repelled Israeli advance near Kfar Tebnit Hezbollah said its fighters fired rockets and artillery shells at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon after troops attempted to advance towards the Kfar Tebnit crossing southeast of Nabatieh. In a statement, the group said the attack forced Israeli soldiers to retreat and that clashes in the area were continuing. The statement came shortly after the Israeli military reported that its forces had come under attack from rockets, an anti-tank missile and mortar fire in southern Lebanon.

Military · Geopolitical

Eight people are believed to be dead after a B-52 bomber crashed soon after take-off on Monday morning at a US Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, the US military said. “Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable,” Edwards Air Force Base posted on social media. The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said. There was no information yet on the crew, however aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of an aircraft. Black smoke rose from a large...

Military · Geopolitical

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on a collision course with Donald Trump as the U. S. president seeks to extricate himself from the war, with both men's goals unmet and Israeli military operations tied down in Lebanon. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says that "this has been a strategic disaster for the state of Israel. " All of Benjamin Netanyahu's war aims - diminished support for proxies, restrictions on ballistic missiles, overthrow of the regime, or weakening of the regime - none of this has occurred.

Military · Geopolitical

Netanyahu fights for survival after Iran setback and US deal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just given a news conference by trying to present the US-Israeli war on Iran as a success, as he fights for political survival after Washington reached a deal with Tehran. Facing anger inside Israel, including from members of his own government, Netanyahu insisted that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remained his “life’s mission”. Netanyahu claimed Iran had posed an “immediate danger” and said Israel had removed the threat “together with our American friends”. Netanyahu repeated sweeping claims about Israel’s assault on Iran, even as the US deal with Tehran has left him exposed at home and under pressure from hardliners who say the war ended without delivering regime change. Netanyahu signalled that Israel would continue its wars and military occupation across the region despite the US-Iran agreement. He said Israel would keep fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu also said Israel would continue to occupy Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Military · Geopolitical

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc has verified reports that China’s military has been “training Russian military personnel to fight in Ukraine”, a development that could deepen tensions between the two sides. Kallas, speaking after chairing a meeting of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, said that the EU was “carefully assessing the implications” of the assessment, adding that the ministers had agreed to sanction several Chinese entities during the...

Military · Geopolitical

Fighting in southern Lebanon abated on Monday after the announcement of a US-Iran deal to end the wider conflict, but local authorities warned displaced people not to rush home and Israel said it would not withdraw its troops from the area amid confusion over exactly what the terms of the deal will mean for the country. France 24's Renée Davis has the latest from Beirut.

Military · Geopolitical

What does the US-Iran deal mean for Lebanon? Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Mon, 06/15/2026 - 10:17 Iran has insisted Lebanon is included in a new end to fighting in the Middle East... but Israel seems to disagree A man makes his way through a heavily damaged building in the centre of Nabatieh on 15 June 2026 (AFP/Abbas Fakih) Off The announcement of a new deal between the US and Iran to end months of fighting and blockades has elicited a sigh of relief in much of the Middle East. Iran's Mehr news agency has republished what it said was the contents of the framework, set to be signed Friday. According to Mehr, the agreement provides for a "permanent and immediate cessation of war on all fronts, including Lebanon ". This aspect of the agreement has provoked a furious response from the Israeli government. "Trump's agreement does not bind us... we are not party to this agreement. It does not safeguard our security," National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on his Telegram channel.. push({}); He said that in Lebanon, Israel should settle for "nothing less" than the dismantling of the Hezbollah movement. At the same time, Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israeli forces would not be withdrawing from "security zones" that it had established in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. Lebanon's Ministry of Health says Israeli attacks since 2 March across the country have killed at least 3,696 people and injured 11,413 others. The end of the fighting in Lebanon had been a key sticking point for Iran in its negotations with the US and the refusal of Israel to withdraw from the territories it currently occupies could either prove fatal to the deal - or could lead to a historic split between Israel and the US. "Only yesterday, Hezbollah attacked northern Israel, and Israel carried out strikes in Lebanon, including in Beirut's southern suburbs, while senior Israeli officials continue to insist, at least verbally, on maintaining freedom of action against perceived threats in Lebanon - separating Lebanon from any broader US-Iran understanding," said Issam Kaysi, a research analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center.. push({}); "Will the US now force a change in Israeli actions? The Israelis show no sign that they are willing to withdraw from southern Lebanon anytime soon. Will Hezbollah accept this? " Israel-US tensions? Since Trump was first elected president in 2016, the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has been a key pillar of Israeli strategy in the region. Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, move the embassy and accept the country's annexation of the Golan Heights, has made the president a figure of admiration with streets in Israel and settlements in occupied Palestine even named after him. The negotiations with Iran have put a strain on their relationship however. On Sunday, Trump excoriated Netanyahu for launching attacks in Lebanon that threatened to derail the final agreement just hours before it was announced.. push({}); "He's a very difficult guy," Trump said of Netanyahu, "and to be honest with you, he should be very thankful to us for doing this. Because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel wouldn't be around for two hours. " 'Will Hezbollah continue to launch attacks into Israel, and will we continue to see Israeli military activity in Lebanon this week? ' - Issam Kaysi, Carnegie Middle East Center Last week, in a phone call, the president reportedly told Netanyahu he was "fucking crazy" over his attacks on Lebanon. Since Monday, Hezbollah has not claimed any fresh attacks on Israeli targets. The Iran-backed group thanked Tehran on Monday for insisting on including Lebanon in the comprehensive agreement. In a statement, the Lebanese movement said it was "deeply grateful" to its ally for its "consistent stand with Lebanon, its people, and its resistance, as well as for its insistence that Lebanon be a party to any agreement leading to a ceasefire. " Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday also expressed hope that the deal between Washington and Tehran would put a “definitive end” to the war between Israel and Hezbollah. In a statement issued by his office, Aoun praised the memorandum’s affirmation that “Lebanon’s security and safety are an integral part of any effort to consolidate stability in the region”. Israel's Ben Gvir calls for abducting Lebanese 'women and youth' to pressure Hezbollah Read More » Israel has been occupying southern Lebanon since mid-March, ostensibly in response to Hezbollah attacks, themselves prompted by Israel's attack on Iran. The deal has reportedly prompted some displaced Lebanese civilians to begin returning to their homes in the south - despite little clarity over whether Israel would end its attacks and outright refusals to withdraw forces from the region. Kaysi told Middle East Eye that any cessation of hostilities would inevitably lead back into discussions about the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of a monopoly on arms by the Lebanese army. However, with the deal yet to be finalised, much was still speculation. "As I write this to you, I can still hear the buzz of an Israeli drone in the skies of Beirut. Will Hezbollah continue to launch attacks into Israel, and will we continue to see Israeli military activity in Lebanon this week? " he said. "For now, I think the safest conclusion is that the deal may reduce regional escalation in the short term, but it does not by itself resolve the underlying disputes over Lebanon between Israel, Hezbollah/Iran, and the Lebanese government. " War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

Death toll in Gaza surpasses 73,000 as Israel continues post-ceasefire killings Submitted by Mera Aladam on Mon, 06/15/2026 - 12:52 Meanwhile, Palestinian factions have responded to 'Peace Council' chief Nickolay Mladenov's proposals for a Gaza peace roadmap Palestinians carry the body of victim of an Israeli attack in Gaza City, 14 June (Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas) Off Israeli attacks continue across the Gaza Strip 245 days into the US -brokered ceasefire, with over 3,269 ceasefire violations by Israel recorded by authorities in the enclave. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, Israel's assault on the territory since October's nominal ceasefire has resulted in over 992 killings and 3,138 others wounded. On Monday, an Israeli bombing near a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, killed a Palestinian and injured several others. Earlier in the day, a woman was reportedly killed after an air strike targeted the vicinity of the Abdul Rahman bin Awf Mosque, west of the Al-Zuwayda area in central Gaza Strip. Another incident involved Israeli troops firing at a father and his child in Deir Al-Balah and subsequently arbitrarily detaining them.. push({}); After their release, the boy - identified as Rayan Bahaa Abu al-Ajeen - was pronounced dead at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the genocide began in October 2023, with a further 8,000 people estimated to be buried under the rubble, and 3,000 reported missing. Israeli forces have abducted scores of Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire coming into effect in October, with at least 95 people having been detained during this period, according to the media office. "We condemn in the strongest terms the occupation's systematic policy of targeting and exterminating our Palestinian people," the office said. "We hold the occupation fully responsible for the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. " Gaza is not an aberration - Israel planned this genocide decades ago Read More » In reference to humanitarian relief, the office noted that just over 52,740 aid trucks had entered the enclave - only 36 percent of the 147,000 trucks stipulated in the truce deal Under the agreement, Israel was required to ease restrictions on aid deliveries and allow up to 600 trucks a day carrying food, fuel, medical supplies, shelter materials and commercial goods into Gaza. Restrictions placed on Gaza's crossings are not limited to just the entry of aid, but also Palestinians freedom to travel in and out of the enclave. Only 6,845 travellers were allowed to cross through out of the 19,600 stipulated in the agreement. The Ministry of Health revealed that such curbs on the crossings have resulted in the death of about 1,500 patients with medical referrals who were supposed to leave the territory since early May 2024. Amid intensified Israeli attacks in recent weeks, Palestinian factions' responded to the head of the Gaza Peace Council, Nikolay Mladenov, regarding a proposal for implementing US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza. Hamas on Monday confirmed the move in a statement, and called on mediators to ensure Israel complies with the full terms of the ceasefire. "The factions announced that they will remain in continuous session to monitor field and political developments and intensify their efforts to ensure a response to the legitimate demands that will alleviate the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip," the movement added. Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

'Israel is weaker': Israeli political class reacts angrily to the US-Iran peace deal Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Mon, 06/15/2026 - 13:16 Across the political spectrum, Israeli figures denounce an agreement they see as unfavourable to Israel and pledge not to commit Destruction in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on 15 June 2026, as Israel's defence minister said the army would remain in Lebanon indefinitely, hours after the US-Iran peace deal's announcement (Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP) Off Anger and disappointment were recorded in Israel on Monday morning after mediator Pakistan announced late on Sunday that the US and Iran had reached a peace agreement. "We are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED," Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on his X account. Sharif, who assumed the role of the mediator between the US and Iran after the joint Israeli-US war on Iran started in April, added that the agreement included an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon". According to Sharif, who thanked Israel's adversaries, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, for their part in the negotiations, the agreement will be signed on Friday in Switzerland. Shortly after Pakistan's announcement, both the US and Iran confirmed the agreement, with President Donald Trump saying the deal was "complete" and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi saying a final agreement was due to be signed within 60 days.. push({}); Although Pakistan and Iran both said the emerging agreement included the cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, Israeli officials rejected this clause and said they were not bound to the agreement, while Israeli forces carried out a series of attacks across southern Lebanon on Monday. ‘Not binding’ Israeli news site Ynet reported on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has yet to publicly comment on last night's development, said to Trump that Israel is not bound to the agreement and would not accept Iranian requirements in Lebanon. Defence Minister Israel Katz echoed Netanyahu's reported remarks on Monday, saying the Israeli army "will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, without any time limit". Trump declares US-Iran deal complete, announces end of naval blockade Read More » Katz added that the territories under Israeli occupation would be cleared of civilians and their homes, which he designated as "terror infrastructure", would be destroyed. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich took to X to voice his frustration with the emerging deal, saying "the agreement with Iran is bad for Israel and for the entire free world". The far-right minister added that Israel would have to continue its campaign against Iran alone. Smotrich, who recently called to level buildings in Beirut in response to Hezbollah attacks, said he would continue to allow the army “full freedom of action” in Lebanon despite the agreement. "Trump’s agreement does not bind us", National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on X. "Israel is not a subordinate of the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign state," he added. Ben Gvir added that Israel "is not a banana republic", stating that the emerging deal "does not bind us in any way", with the far-right minister claiming the deal will not protect Israel's security. Other government officials vowed to attack Iran despite the agreement. Culture Minister Miki Zohar told Ynet that his government is only interested in whether Iran has nuclear weapons or not. "If Israel sees that its security is in danger, it will strike Iran with force," Zohar said, claiming that Iranians "will not only get down on their knees, but they will bow their heads as well".. push({}); ‘Treacherous America’ While Israel's ministers avoided criticising Trump and Netanyahu directly, angry reactions were recorded both by opposition and right-wing figures, with journalists close to Netanyahu lashing out at Trump. Channel 14 News journalist Yinon Magal, who is widely seen in Israel as a mouthpiece of Israel's prime minister, wrote on X that Israel had been left alone in its wars in Iran and Lebanon, calling Trump a "loser" and Vice-President JD Vance a "scum". Magal also referred to the US special envoys to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as "little Jews", using a common antisemitic slur. Shimon Riklin, another Channel 14 News journalist, said on Monday that "what Israel needs more than anything right now is sovereignty", adding that it was needed to remind the "treacherous America" that Israel has its own interests. Iranians greet deal to end war with relief, suspicion and uncertainty Read More » Israel's Defence and Security Forum (IDSF), a right-wing think tank, said on Monday that "every agreement with the Iranian terrorist regime is ultimately doomed to fail, and the current agreement will be no different". The IDSF added that "this is the time to stand tall, prepare for what lies ahead, and not compromise on Israel’s interests in removing the threat from Lebanon and Iran". Others attacked the Israeli prime minister, with Netanyahu's political opponents seizing the occasion to attack his leadership and war policies. Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing the Democrats party, described Netanyahu as "weak, ill, isolated and lacking influence", saying that Trump signed an agreement that transfers billions of frozen assets to Iran while preserving its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. According to Golan, the emerging deal represents "years of failure" of Netanyahu's policies to do a deal with Iran, adding that now "Israel is weaker". Gadi Eisenkot, a prime ministry candidate and former army chief, said the agreement failed to address any of Israel's security concerns, adding that nearly three years of wars since the 7 October “debacle” led to "a grim result of a failed government". Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also attacked Netanyahu's government, saying that it "is incapable of making decisive decisions and has led us into wars of attrition and stagnation". Bennett promised to replace Netanyahu in the upcoming elections and fix his mistakes, stating that he has a plan to topple the Iranian leadership. War on Iran Tel Aviv, Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Military · Geopolitical

UK lords working for consulting firm lobbying for UAE Submitted by Daniel Tester on Fri, 06/12/2026 - 15:20 FGS Global says peers are not involved in work promoting Emirati-UK relations - but campaigners raise concerns about overlap between parliament and lobbying industry Labour peer Thangam Debbonaire has previously criticised “egregious acts of paid lobbying” and called for a ban on MPs having second jobs (UK Parliament) Off Members of the UK’s House of Lords are working for a consulting firm hired as a lobbyist by the United Arab Emirates, Middle East Eye can reveal. The Gulf state is widely accused of backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, which has committed mass killings and widespread human rights abuses in Sudan’s civil war. Thangam Debbonaire, the former Labour MP and shadow culture secretary, is one of three peers working in paid roles for FGS Global, a multinational consultancy. The firm has lobbied senior UK officials on behalf of the UAE since October, according to the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. The Conservative peer Ruth Porter, who served as deputy chief of staff to former prime minister, Liz Truss, is a managing director at the firm, while the non-affiliated peer and ex-advisor to David Cameron, Andrew Cooper, is a partner. According to the register, FGS Global contacted "members of Parliament and their staff and senior civil servants" as part of a campaign involving "meetings, telephone calls and emails to promote awareness of the UAE-UK bilateral relationship with stakeholders".. push({}); The firm also provided media advice to the UAE embassy in the UK and "assistance with content creation to promote awareness of the UAE-UK bilateral relationship". Rights organisations and UN Security Council investigators have accused the UAE of funnelling weapons and support to the RSF throughout Sudan’s bloody, three-year civil war, which has displaced an estimated 13 million people and has left hundreds of thousands feared dead. The UAE denies supporting the paramilitary group. At least 6,000 people were killed in three days in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur state last October during RSF attacks that UN investigators said bore “hallmarks of genocide”. Lords 'should not be for sale' There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by FGS, or any members of the House of Lords working for FGS. The firm told Middle East Eye that no members of the House of Lords were involved in its work for the UAE. A spokesperson for FGS said: "FGS Global and its colleagues are fully aware of their rules and obligations regarding disclosure, advocacy and transparency and comply accordingly. No members of the House of Lords associated with FGS Global work on the UAE client account. ” 'The rules should require peers to choose: keep their seat in the Lords, or keep their interests in the lobbying industry' - Steve Goodrich, Transparency International UK But human rights and transparency campaigners said the arrangement raised questions about the appropriateness of parliamentarians working for firms engaged in lobbying on behalf of foreign states. Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK told MEE: “When members of the House of Lords hold senior roles at firms lobbying for foreign governments, it's hard to know whose interests are being represented. "Peers are in Parliament to serve the public, not to open doors for paying clients,” he added. “The rules should require peers to choose: keep their seat in the Lords, or keep their interests in the lobbying industry. ” Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK's crisis response manager, also raised concerns. “All parliamentarians should consider very carefully who they work with and for, especially companies registered to work for governments involved in serious violations of international law,” she said.. push({}); Debbonaire, who was given a peerage in 2024 by Prime Minister Keir Starmer after she lost her Bristol West parliamentary seat to the Green Party’s Carla Denyer, previously called for a ban on members of the House of Commons holding second jobs. Qatar lobbying UK government through Mandelson firm linked to Epstein Read More » During a debate on parliamentary standards in 2021, Debbonaire railed against “egregious acts of paid lobbying,” telling the UK parliament that “MPs should not be for sale”. “We are elected to Parliament on a promise to work for the greater good not of ourselves, but of our constituents and our country,” she added. Debbonaire also raised concerns about foreign influence in UK democracy in 2024 amid a proposed UAE-led takeover of the Telegraph newspaper and the Spectator magazine. “This is a bid by a foreign power, funded by the deputy prime minister of the UAE, and as such this bid should not pass,” she told the Spectator in March 2024. Acoba, the UK's now-defunct advisory committee on business appointments of ex-officials, cleared Baroness Porter's appointment to FGS in 2023. It stated that the "the committee’s advice is that she should have no direct engagement with the government on behalf of FGS or its clients". MEE contacted Debbonaire, Porter and Cooper for comment. Lobbying blitz FGS donated over £27,000 to the Labour Party in 2024, with some of the money used to second an FGS staff member, Kamella Hudson, as an election campaign adviser to Rachel Reeves, now chancellor of the Exchequer. Hudson was accused of arranging meetings between ministers and the Chinese fast-fashion firm Shein – then also a client of FGS – in 2024. FGS' Labour donations also helped fund a drinks reception following Reeves’ Labour Party conference speech in 2024, according to the I Newspaper. UAE’s IMI takes full control of Sky News Arabia amid Sudan coverage scrutiny Read More » According to UK government records, FGS entered into a contract with the UAE in August 2024, and first lobbied UK politicians on behalf of the UAE in October 2025. The UK government has been criticised by human rights organisations for continuing arms sales to the UAE despite being told at the UN Security Council that UK-manufactured arms were being used by the RSF in Sudan, with the UAE covertly acting as an intermediary. Sudan has faced a full UN arms embargo since 2024. Arms exports from the UK to the UAE licensed in 2025 included components for military vehicles, components for drones and gun silencers, according to UK government data. Benedict told MEE that “the UAE has been a known hub for arms diversion for years and the UK government has long been aware of weapons being routed through the Emirates to conflict zones like Sudan and Libya. “The UK government has committed to help end the conflict in Sudan and to work to prevent atrocities, but it still hasn’t suspended all arms sales to the UAE, which it must do immediately,” she said. The UAE has upscaled its multinational lobbying push amid a major fallout with its erstwhile ally, Saudi Arabia, over the UAE’s controversial backing of secessionist movements in Yemen, Libya, and Somalia.. push({}); Lobbying for Ellison's Oracle FGS has also registered as a lobbyist for the Gulf state in the US, where it has also represented the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland. According to contract agreements disclosed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, FGS was enlisted by the UAE “to influence US policy with respect to bilateral relations, such as trade and investment matters, geopolitical strategic issues, and cultural programs. “This will include meeting with government policy makers and opinion leaders, outreach to media, think tanks, public policy and trade organizations, business leaders, issue experts and academics,” the contract adds. The most recent disclosures on the UK’s registrar of consultant lobbyists state that FGS’s other UK clients include Oracle, the US tech multinational co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison with strong ties to the Trump administration. Oracle has provided significant funding to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a think tank founded and chaired by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The think tank attracted controversy in February 2025 when it emerged that its staff members were involved in drafting plans for a post-war Gaza dubbed the “Trump Riviera” that appeared to condone ethnic cleansing of the territory’s Palestinian population. Blair now serves as an executive on US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, which is set to govern the besieged enclave following the planned cessation of Israeli hostilities. UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0