Will They Or Won’t They? Saudi Recognition of Israel Is the $64,000 Question

By Dr. James M. Dorsey October 7, 2020 BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,771, October 7, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Will the Saudis formalize relations with Israel or will they not? Odds are that Saudi Arabia is not about to formalize relations with Israel—but the kingdom, its image tarnished by multiple missteps, is seeking to ensure that it is […]

Trump picks up another Nobel Peace Prize nomination from Europe after diplomatic victories

Laura Huhtasaari hailed Trump’s efforts to ‘build peace in the world.’ Adam Shaw | Fox News Video Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize again State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus discusses the nomination on ‘Fox and Friends.’ President Trump has picked up another nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, after a Finnish member of the European Parliament (MEP) […]

US Expands Sanctions Against Iran’s Financial and Banking Infrastructure

THE MEDIA LINE STAFF 10/09/2020 The United States has applied new economic sanctions targeting 18 Iranian banks to add further pressure on the country’s financial sector. The move freezes any US assets held by the banks, bars Americans from working with these institutions and sanctions those doing business with the banks. This new move could […]

IAEA: Iran short of bomb-making materials but ‘amount is growing by the month’

October 11, 2020 “Iranians continue to enrich uranium, and to a much higher degree than they have committed themselves to,” says nuclear watchdog agency. By Paul Shindman, World Israel News The head of the international nuclear watchdog agency says Iran is enriching uranium at a levels beyond which the Iranians themselves had planned, a published […]

In rebuke of US, China backs Iran nuclear deal, calls for Mideast security forum

After meeting with Iran’s Zarif, Beijing says support for 2015 agreement would be condition for entry to proposed new regional platform By AFP Today, 10:32 am BEIJING — China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has called for a new forum to defuse tensions in the Middle East after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart where he […]

Israel to ‘immediately’ bring over 2,000 Ethiopian Jews

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told his Ethiopian counterpart that his country has the intention to “immediately” bring over some 2,000 Ethiopian Jews. The announcement came Friday after a phone call with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Netanyahu’s office said the decision comes “out of his commitment to the continued aliyah of Jews to Israel.”Some 13,000 […]

Ceasefire due to enter force in Nagorno-Karabakh after Moscow deal

He did not provide details on the talks but said the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group would mediate. REUTERS OCTOBER 10, 2020 10:26 Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh were due to halt hostilities later on Saturday after a deal was struck in Moscow between Baku and Armenia to […]

Armenia and Azerbaijan may sign truce in next 24 hours: France

News Desk2020-10-09 BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:20 P.M.) – The Elysee Palace in the French capital, Paris, announced that the two parties to the conflict in the Karabakh region may sign a truce today or tomorrow that puts an end to the fighting that has lasted since September 27th. The AFP quoted the French presidential palace as […]

US hits Iran’s entire financial sector with sanctions

Move introduces penalties for non-Iranian institutions that work with banks in the Islamic Republic, effectively cutting them off from the international financial system By Matthew Lee Today, 8:00 pmUpdated at 10:48 pm   WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has blacklisted virtually all of Iran’s financial sector, dealing another blow to an economy that is […]

Assad: No talks with Israel without return of Golan Heights to Syria 

Statement dispels speculation Damascus may negotiate with Jerusalem in order to lift US sanctions that shattered its economy By TOI staff Today, 11:29 pm   Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Russian state news Thursday that peace talks with Israel would only take place if the Israelis return the Golan Heights to […]

France could support other than two-state solution

  The French Ambassador to Israel, Eric Danon, has said that his country might update its position regarding the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Al-Quds Al-Araby reported on Wednesday. Danon apparently made his comments during a discussion initiated by Allent, a pro-Israel lobby group in Europe. “We will not negotiate on behalf of the […]

Taliban welcome Trump withdrawing troops from Afghanistan by Christmas

By REUTERS OCTOBER 8, 2020 12:05 The Taliban on Thursday welcomed an announcement by President Donald Trump on pulling out US troops by Christmas. It was “a positive step towards the implementation of (the) Doha agreement,” a spokesman for the Islamist group, Mohammad Naeem, said in a statement.Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday: “We should […]