Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

Israel’s president chooses Netanyahu to form government

Posted on by

Reuven Rivlin frustrated after talks between ruling party and opposition stall

Israel’s president has tasked Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a coalition government, throwing a lifeline to the incumbent prime minister after an inconclusive election threatened to end his political career.

Reuven Rivlin’s offer does not guarantee Netanyahu will lead Israel’s next administration. Before that can happen, Netanyahu has up to six weeks to forge a majority coalition in Israel’s parliament.

Continue reading...

Contractor, actor … protest leader? The Egyptian exile driving rare dissent

Posted on by

Mohamed Ali is unlikely source of viral videos about corruption that have stirred resentment

Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets across Egypt since Friday in a rare show of public dissent against Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s rule. But the call for demonstrations came from an unlikely source: a contractor and part-time actor living in exile in Barcelona, who has made bold corruption claims in a string of viral videos.

Mohamed Ali is a former military contractor who addresses Egyptians from his apartment, shirt often unbuttoned and cigarette in hand. His colloquial style of speech, sometimes swearing in an accent more working class than his own, is intended to present a man-of-the-people appeal. Ali has called for a million Egyptians to march on Friday.

Continue reading...

US patience with Iran not inexhaustible, warns Saudi Arabia

Posted on by

Saudi minister says military response to attack on oil facilities still being considered

Saudi Arabia has said that US patience with Iran is not inexhaustible and warned that military options are still being considered following the attack on the Aramco oil facilities earlier this month.

The Saudi foreign affairs minister, Adel al-Jubeir, also said the UN-commissioned report into the origins of the attack will be available fairly soon, and described the EU’s Monday statement ascribing responsibility to Iran as “very significant”.

Continue reading...

EU nations lead condemnation of Saudi human rights record

Posted on by

Statement read out at UN human rights council meeting denounces alleged use of torture and unlawful detentions

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has been heavily censured by two dozen largely western countries who took aim at its worsening record for alleged use of torture, unlawful detentions and unfair trials of critics, including female activists and journalists.

The joint statement, which was read out at a meeting of the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva, represents the second time in six months that the body has criticised the kingdom, following a similar statement in March.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson calls for ‘Trump deal’ to fix Iran nuclear standoff

Posted on by

PM says president could come up with better pact, in apparent shift from European position

Boris Johnson has sided with Donald Trump in calling the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran a “bad deal”, while praising the US president as a “very brilliant negotiator” capable of achieving a better one.

The prime minister’s remarks, made in a NBC interview, marked a sharp change in UK rhetoric. British leaders, including Johnson, had until now upheld the 2015 accord between six major powers and Iran as a major diplomatic achievement.

Continue reading...

Saudi Arabia oil attack: Boris Johnson says UK believes Iran responsible

Posted on by

En route to the UN general assembly in New York, prime minister raises possibility that the British military could become involved

The UK now believes Iran was responsible for a major attack earlier this month on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, Boris Johnson has said, also raising the possibility that the British military could become involved in helping secure the Saudis against future aggression.

Speaking to reporters on his plane en route to the UN general assembly (UNGA) in New York, the prime minister said there was “a very high degree of probability” that Iran was behind the drone and missile attack two major oil installation on 14 September.

Continue reading...

Israeli Arab parties back Gantz for PM in bid to oust Netanyahu

Posted on by

Joint List alliance endorse ex-military chief although say they don’t support his policies

Israeli Arab political parties have broken with longstanding precedent and endorsed the ex-military chief Benny Gantz for prime minister, in a bid to prevent the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu, from forming the next government.

The dramatic move came after the mainly Arab Joint List alliance won 13 seats in Tuesday’s polls, making the bloc the third-largest force in the 120-seat parliament.

Continue reading...

Hundreds of Egyptians arrested in latest wave of protests against Sisi

Posted on by

Younger generation takes to the streets in defiance of six-year ban on demonstrations

Hundreds of Egyptians have been swept up in a campaign of arrests targeting protesters, as demonstrations against Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s rule continue.

The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), a Cairo-based NGO, reported on Sunday that at least 220 people had been arrested since protests began on Friday night. The organisation said it had set up an “emergency room” to deal with the spike in arrests, and that at least 100 more people were likely to have been detained after protests in Suez, Alexandria and Giza. Another NGO, the Egyptian Centre for Economic & Social Rights, stated it had recorded at least 274 arrests since the demonstrations began.

Continue reading...

Iran warns presence of foreign powers in Gulf raises ‘insecurity’

Posted on by

President Hassan Rouhani says international forces should ‘stay away’ to de-escalate regional crisis

Iran has accused foreign powers of raising Gulf’s “insecurity”.

President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday denounced the presence of international powers in the Gulf, adding that Iran would propose a peace plan, after the US ordered reinforcements to the region.

Continue reading...

UN Yemen envoy welcomes Houthi offer to halt attacks on Saudi Arabia

Posted on by

Proposal by Iran-backed rebels ‘could send message of the will to end the war,’ says Martin Griffiths

The United Nations envoy for Yemen has welcomed an offer from the country’s Houthi rebels to halt all attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying it could bring an end to years of bloody conflict.

Implementation of the initiative by the Houthis “in good faith could send a powerful message of the will to end the war,” special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths said.

Continue reading...

Protesters and police clash in Egypt for second day running

Posted on by

Teargas and live rounds fired at demonstrators in Suez after crowds call for the removal of president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Egyptian security forces have clashed with hundreds of anti-government protesters in the port city of Suez in a second day of demonstrations against the Sisi regime, firing tear gas and live rounds.

A heavy security presence was also maintained in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Saturday, the epicentre of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, after protests in several cities on Friday called for the removal of general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Continue reading...

Iran says it will destroy any aggressor as tensions build in Gulf

Posted on by

Iran’s foreign minister not confident war can be avoided, but promises any conflict will not be ‘limited’

Iran has threatened to pursue and destroy any aggressor, and says war may be unavoidable in the wake of drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oilfields and a US troop build-up in the Gulf.

A day after the head of Iran’s elite Republican Guards said on state TV that “limited aggression will not remain limited,” the Iranian foreign minister told American network CBS that he was not confident that war could be avoided, while again denying Iranian involvement in the attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Continue reading...

Trump’s week of dithering over Iran makes America look weak and foolish

Posted on by
The president’s misconceived Middle East policy has been laid bare, and few allies will rush to the rescue

They must be laughing their socks off in Tehran. The days following last weekend’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities, blamed by the US on Iran, have seen an almost comical display of indecision, confusion and bluster by the leader of the world’s most powerful country. As a result, Iran looks stronger … and Donald Trump looks like a clown.

If Iranian leaders intended to call Trump’s bluff, they have succeeded – for now at least. The president’s immediate reaction to the attacks was to declare the US “locked and loaded” for retaliatory strikes. Then he remembered he’s opposed to fighting wars in the Middle East and hopes to be re-elected next year.

Continue reading...

Egyptian forces fire teargas at anti-Sisi protesters in Cairo

Posted on by

At least 55 people reported arrested over protests calling for President Sisi to stand down

Hundreds of Egyptians took to the streets in Cairo and other cities in rare protests against the country’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, responding to an online call for a demonstration against government corruption.

Videos shared on social media showed protesters in central Cairo as well as the port cities of Alexandria and Suez, demanding that Sisi leave office. Protests also occurred in the towns of Damietta, Damanhur and Mahalla.

Continue reading...

US to deploy more troops to Saudi Arabia after attack on oil industry

Posted on by

Trump has for now decided not to authorize an immediate military strike on Iran in response to attack

The Pentagon on Friday announced it will deploy additional US troops and missile defense equipment to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as Donald Trump has at least for now put off any immediate military strike on Iran in response to the attack on the Saudi oil industry.

The US defense secretary, Mark Esper, told Pentagon reporters this is a first step to beef up security and he would not rule out additional moves down the road. General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more details about the deployment will be determined in the coming days, but it would not involve thousands of US troops.

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison lands in US promising ‘another 100 years’ of friendship

Posted on by

Australia and the US will discuss trade, the Middle East and collaboration on space exploration during prime minister’s visit

Scott Morrison has declared his week-long visit to the US – his first as prime minister – will lay the foundations for another hundred years of mateship between Australia and America.

Arriving at the Joint Base Andrews on Thursday night Washington time, the Australian prime minister said the visit would improve the defence, security and economic partnership between the two countries, and joint activities in the Indo-Pacific region and the Middle East.

Continue reading...

Netanyahu struggles to hold on to power as Gantz claims victory

Posted on by

Blue and White leader rejects offer to serve under Likud after close-run Israeli election

Benjamin Netanyahu is furiously manoeuvring to cling to office after his rival Benny Gantz refused to serve under him in a government of national unity following an inconclusive election.

Gantz’s Blue and White alliance is two seats ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s Likud party, according to results published by Israeli media with 97% of the vote counted.

Continue reading...

Iran threatens ‘all-out war’ if action taken over Saudi oil strike

Posted on by

Foreign minister’s comments further inflame tensions in Persian Gulf after oil attacks

Iran’s foreign minister has warned that any attack on his country after a series of missile strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry would result in “all-out war”.

Javad Zarif also demanded that Riyadh hand over the evidence that it claimed proved the attack came from Iran, and not from Houthi-occupied Yemen.

Continue reading...

Saudi oil attack shines light on geopolitical truth and lies

Posted on by

Disentangling responsibility has been made so much harder by casual peacetime mendacity

Truth is notoriously the first casualty in war, but even more so in the run-up to a war.

The Middle East finds itself in the strange position at the moment where an undoubted crime has been committed, an apparent perpetrator has come forward providing elaborate supporting details of the weapon used, the motive and timing, but the victim refuses to believe the confessor, and instead accuses a third party.

Continue reading...

How did attack breach Saudi defences and what will happen next?

Posted on by

Escalation is dangerous because infrastructure could be exposed to retaliation

Saudi Arabia’s state-of-the-art missile defence systems could do nothing to stop the swarm of drones and cruise missiles that struck some of its most important oil infrastructure at the weekend. They were designed to deal with different threats – and they were looking in the wrong direction.

The audacious strike against the Abqaiq petroleum processing facilities and Khurais oil field on Saturday morning – which the Saudis say was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran” – has exposed the limits of the defences of the world’s largest military spender per capita.

Continue reading...