12 h. ago Former UK Middle East minister accused of breaching transparency rules in Bahrain advisory role

Conservative Lord Tariq Ahmad denies contact while in office with King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful CoexistenceA former UK Middle East minister has been accused of breaching transparency rules over a paid advisory role with an influential Bahraini centre that has links to the Gulf state’s government.The Conservative peer Tariq Ahmad, who denies wrongdoing, was cleared by a watchdog to take up his role as a paid adviser to the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence (KHC). Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago No breakthrough on Middle East peace as Trump and Netanyahu meet

US president hails ‘tremendous success’ with Israel and claims progress on plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza

Politics

2 w. ago Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as Qatar calls for peace talks – Middle East crisis live

At least 49 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health staff sayEmirates extended its cancellation of flights to and from Iran’s capital Tehran until July 5 due to the “regional situation“, it said in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reports.The Dubai-based airline said it will recommence operations to Baghdad on 1 July and Basra on 2 July. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Caught in the crossfire, Qatar again finds itself Middle East peace broker

The US has turned to Qatar to mediate between Iran and Israel, despite one of the parties firing missiles at the tiny but staggeringly rich nationMiddle East crisis – live updatesCaught in the crossfire, Qatar on Monday night found itself in the unusual position of being asked by the US to mediate to end a war where one of the two parties was firing missiles at it. But then there are few countries as multifaceted as Qatar, or few conflicts quite as tangled as the Iran-Israel war.It seems Monday’s heavily signalled Iranian attack on Qatar’s 60-acre Al Udeid airbase, the largest US military facility in the Middle East, may even have become the opening to resume diplomacy. The attack, which caused no casualties, cleared the ground for Donald Trump and Qatar to work together to secure the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran. It once again highlights Qatar’s role as professional mediator – a bespoke service this tiny but massively wealthy country makes available from the Democratic...

Events

3 w. ago Karoline Leavitt dismisses MAGA dissent on Iran while praising Trump for ‘steps towards peace’

Karoline Leavitt has responded to Republican criticism following Donald Trump’s strikes in Iran, claiming that the president is taking steps to "successfully implement peace in the Middle East.”

Politics

3 w. ago No matter what Trump says, the US has gone to war – and there will be profound and lasting consequences | Simon Tisdall

Trump has fallen slap bang into the trap laid for him by Netanyahu. His reckless gamble makes a nuclear weapon for Iran more, not less, likelyBombing will not make Iran go away. US bombs will not destroy the knowhow needed to build a nuclear weapon or the will do so, if that is what Tehran wants. The huge attack ordered by Donald Trump will not halt ongoing open warfare between Israel and Iran. It will not bring lasting peace to the Middle East, end the slaughter in Gaza, deliver justice to the Palestinians, or end more than half a century of bitter enmity between Tehran and Washington.More likely, Trump’s rash, reckless gamble will inflame and exacerbate all these problems. Depending on how Iran and its allies and supporters react, the region could plunge into an uncontrolled conflagration. US bases in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the region, home to about 40,000 American troops, must now be considered potential targets for retaliation – and possibly British and allied forces,...

Politics

4 w. ago A Biden official says Israel committed war crimes. Who else will come forward? | Ahmed Moor

The administration lied to obscure a genocide. Now a former spokesperson is revealing the disconnect between words and realityPoliticians lie, and the people around them do too. When it’s convenient – when the whole world is pulsing with revulsion, for example – they begin to reveal flavors of the truth.The Biden administration lied more than most, its public-facing members particularly. Its policy in Palestine was to embrace the Israelis in a “bear hug” – to smother them with love. And there’s thin cover for a genocide beyond lies.Ahmed Moor is a writer and fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace Continue reading...

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