President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to two sources briefed on the meeting. This was the first meeting between MBS and a representative of the incoming Trump administration since the November elections. Trump appointed Witkoff, a … Read more
In an unprecedented encounter, leaders of a group dubbed the “Syrian Government in Exile” (SGE) engaged in a remarkable dialogue session with the Israeli public, offering a vision of unprecedented cooperation and mutual understanding between Syria and Israel. The online meeting was organized by Tom Wegner, founder of the Middle East Center, a platform … Read more
(JTA) — WASHINGTON — The killing of an Israeli Chabad rabbi in the United Arab Emirates shocked many and illustrated the dangers Jews face around the world. But if the aim of the attack was to to undermine the Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE and other Arab nations, Middle East analysts say it … Read more
Iran has a new Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi. He is pushing for closer ties with the Gulf countries, according to Iranian state media. This push comes on the four year anniversary of the Abraham Accords. The Accords were signed in Washington on September 15. They led to peace between … Read more
On September 17, 1978, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat concluded the historic Egypt-Israeli peace accord at Camp David under the beaming and watchful eye of US president Jimmy Carter. Three years and nine months later, on June 6, 1982, the First Lebanon War – a conflict that shook the … Read more
The United Arab Emirates does not expect to resume talks with the US about a multi-billion dollar deal for F-35 warplanes, irrespective of who is elected to the White House in November, a senior UAE government official said on Saturday. Reuters reported on Friday that the UAE was planning to resume negotiations to purchase … Read more
A diplomatic crisis has erupted between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over a shipment of dates with pits. N12 Diplomatic Correspondent Yaron Avraham reports that the Israeli Agriculture Ministry recently banned the import of a 100-kilogram shipment of dates with pits from the UAE, insisting that only pitted dates are allowed. This … Read more
The Middle East appears to be perpetually at a crossroads. Several years ago, from 2017-2019, the region was on the verge of defeating ISIS and emerging from decades of extremism. At the time, it seemed that Iran and Turkey were ascendant and that the Arab states would have a hard time righting their ships … Read more
Every Israeli headline, along with important political statements, are picked up by regional media, including pro-Iranian ones like Al-Mayadeen, as well as media in the UAE like Al-Ain. The interest in Israel’s media landscape, along with domestic political discussions about what may come next on the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, are of intense interest … Read more
The Israeli government might not be in the position to proceed with Saudi normalization given that such a deal requires a pathway to Palestinian statehood, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The Saudis have been very clear that [normalization] would require calm in Gaza, and it would require … Read more
