1 week ago Iran says a US nuclear deal isn't imminent and that its enrichment program must continue

Senior Iranian officials on Thursday dismissed speculation about an imminent nuclear deal with the United States, emphasizing that any agreement must fully lift sanctions and allow the country’s nuclear program to continue

Economics

1 week ago The Guardian view on a new Syria: nurturing fragile hope amid the rubble | Editorial

Sanctions relief thanks to Donald Trump’s unexpected embrace of the new president gives a shattered country the chance to rebuildThe startled joy that greeted Bashar al-Assad’s fall less than six months ago was always shadowed by the fear of what might follow. Hundreds of thousands of the six million Syrians who fled abroad during 14 years of war have returned. Yet the mood has inevitably grown more sober, and last week Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, warned that the fractured country could be weeks away from “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions”.Mr Rubio was defending Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to lift sanctions after meeting the country’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa – a former al-Qaida fighter who until months ago had a $10m US bounty on his head, but who is also, in Mr Trump’s considered view, a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy”. Whatever the trigger, the suspension of some sanctions by the US, and the lifting of some EU and UK measur...

Politics

2 w. ago EU to lift economic sanctions on Syria to aid recovery of war

Move comes one week after Trump announced all US sanctions on Syria would be liftedThe EU has agreed to lift economic sanctions on Syria in an effort to help the war-torn country recover after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.After the decision by EU foreign ministers on Tuesday, the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote on X: “We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria.” Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Trump makes the Gulf states feel powerful, but the real test is: can they stop Israel’s war? | Nesrine Malik

The US president’s deference to his Middle Eastern allies is hollow if they cannot affect what happens in their own back yardDonald Trump’s visit to the Middle East last week was an exercise in disorientation. Both in terms of rebalancing the relationship between the US and the region, and in scrambling perceptions. In Riyadh, he told the Saudi royals there would be no more “lectures on how to live”. He lifted sanctions on Syria so that the country may have a “fresh start”, and he fawned over the camels and lavish architecture (“as a construction guy,” he said at one Qatari palace, “this is perfect marble”). Never has Trump appeared more in his element, surrounded by the wealth of sovereigns, the marshalling power of absolute monarchies, and their calculated self-orientalisation and over-the-top flattery.The same man who enacted the Muslim ban in his first term was strolling around mosques and shrugging off the radical path to power of the Syrian president: “Handsome guy Tough past,...

Politics

3 w. ago UN chief ‘alarmed’ as Israel launches major ground offensive in Gaza – Middle East crisis live

United Nations secretary general António Guterres called on Saturday for a permanent and immediate ceasefire Israel launches major offensive in GazaAn Iraqi political official, speaking to the Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment, said that Iran’s al-Quds force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the Arab League summit and “conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations” for a nuclear deal and a demand for the lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some leaders are expected to miss the talks that come straight after US president Donald Trump’s Gulf tour. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza overnight as UN human rights chief warns of ‘ethnic cleansing’ – Middle East crisis live

UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk says ‘we must stop the clock on this madness’Israel launches major offensive in GazaAn Iraqi political official, speaking to the Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment, said that Iran’s al-Quds force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the Arab League summit and “conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations” for a nuclear deal and a demand for the lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some leaders are expected to miss the talks that come straight after US president Donald Trump’s Gulf tour. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Now my kids have a future’: Syrians dare to dream again after years as a pariah state

Promise to lift US sanctions brings closer the opportunity for fresh start that began with toppling of Bashar al-AssadIn 2006, Ahmed al-Sharaa was sitting in a US prison in Iraq, then an al-Qaida fighter waging jihad against what he viewed as an American occupation of the Middle East. Nearly two decades later, on Wednesday, he posed for a photo with the US president Donald Trump in Riyadh after discussing normalising ties with Israel and granting US access to Syrian oil.The transformation of Sharaa over the last 20 years from al-Qaida fighter to the president of Syria, sharing the world’s stage with foreign leaders like Trump, is staggering. For Syrians, the pace of change has been whiplash-inducing. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump signs $200bn Qatar deal after hailing meeting with Syria’s ‘young, attractive’ president: Live updates

Donald Trump said ending sanctions on Syria would give the country a ‘chance for greatness’ after meeting with Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa

Politics

3 w. ago Trump signs $200bn Qatar deal after hailing meeting with Syria’s ‘young, attractive’ president in Middle East tour

Donald Trump said ending sanctions on Syria would give the country a ‘chance for greatness’ after meeting with Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa

Politics

3 w. ago Trump meets Syria’s ‘attractive, tough’ president after lifting US sanctions

US president meets Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia as lifting of sanctions is met with jubilation in DamascusUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has met Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia, telling the former jihadist he had an “extraordinary opportunity”, and said Washington is exploring normalising ties with Damascus, a day after an announcement that all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted.The US president met Sharaa, a former militant who fought against US forces in Iraq and had a $10m US bounty on his head until December 2024, alongside the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for about half an hour before a conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as part of his four-day visit to the Middle East. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump signs $200bn Qatar deal after hailing meeting with Syria’s ‘young, attractive’ president in Middle East tour: Live

Donald Trump said ending sanctions on Syria would give the country a ‘chance for greatness’ after meeting with Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa

Politics

3 w. ago US and Qatar sign defense and aviation deal as Trump says of emir: ‘we just like each other’ – live

US president says $200bn Boeing order is ‘largest order of jets’ in its history and is full of praise for Qatar’s leader and country’s marble palacesThe meeting between Donald Trump and Syria’s president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia was the culmination of months of diplomacy by the Syrians, as well as their Turkish and Saudi allies, who believed face time with Trump would help end Syria’s international isolation, writes William Christou.Damascus had prepared a pitch to Trump that included access to Syrian oil, reassurances of Israel’s security and a proposal to build a Trump tower in Damascus. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago US and Qatar sign defense and aviation deal as Trump say of emir: ‘we just like each other’ – live

US president says $200bn Boeing order is ‘largest order of jets’ in its history and is full of praise for Qatar’s leader and country’s marble palacesThe meeting between Donald Trump and Syria’s president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia was the culmination of months of diplomacy by the Syrians, as well as their Turkish and Saudi allies, who believed face time with Trump would help end Syria’s international isolation, writes William Christou.Damascus had prepared a pitch to Trump that included access to Syrian oil, reassurances of Israel’s security and a proposal to build a Trump tower in Damascus. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Donald Trump praises Syrian leader as ‘attractive guy, tough guy’ as trip continues in Qatar – US politics live

US president met Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia before heading to Doha amid growing controversy over Qatar luxury plane gift The meeting between Donald Trump and Syria’s president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia was the culmination of months of diplomacy by the Syrians, as well as their Turkish and Saudi allies, who believed face time with Trump would help end Syria’s international isolation, writes William Christou.Damascus had prepared a pitch to Trump that included access to Syrian oil, reassurances of Israel’s security and a proposal to build a Trump tower in Damascus. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump arrives in Qatar after hailing meeting with Syria’s ‘young, attractive’ president in Middle East tour: Live

Donald Trump said ending sanctions on Syria would give the country a “chance for greatness” after meeting with Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa

Politics

3 w. ago Trump meets with new 'young, attractive' Syrian leader after pledging to drop sanctions on war

President Donald Trump met with Syria 's new leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Wednesday morning during his trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .

Politics

3 w. ago Trump meets with new 'young, attractive' Syrian leader after pledging to drop sanctions on wartorn country

President Donald Trump met with Syria 's new leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Wednesday morning during his trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .

Politics

3 w. ago Trump meets Syria’s president after lifting US sanctions on country

Meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia seen as key towards recognition of new Syrian authority’s legitimacyUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has met Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia and said that Washington is exploring normalising ties with Syria, a day after an announcement that all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted.The US president and Sharaa met before a conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), part of Trump’s four-day visit to the Middle East, where he is expected to court Gulf allies for investments in the US. Trump is due to land in Doha next, where he will meet with Qatari leader, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump claims ‘it was an honor’ to lift Syrian sanctions after meeting president in Middle East visit: Live

Donald Trump said ending sanctions on Syria would give the country a “chance for greatness” after meeting with Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa

Politics

3 w. ago Syria offered to build Trump Tower in Damascus before presidents’ meeting

Syria also offered the US president a Ukraine-style mineral deal

Politics