Author: Gulf News Week

Despite Iran’s vulnerable position, any US strikes could risk triggering a protracted conflict, analysts say.Washington, DC – Donald Trump says his goal in Iran is to “win”.But the United States president has no easy path to victory against an ideological Iranian governing system fighting for survival, analysts say.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran says 3,000 people arrested as antigovernment protests subsidelist 2 of 3Analysis: Why a ‘quick and clean’ US attack on Iran won’t be easylist 3 of 3Iran in limbo: What’s next for country under internet blackout?end of listIran is likely to meaningfully retaliate against any attack…

Former UK prime minister’s role on Trump-led Gaza oversight committee expected to spur widespread condemnation.President Donald Trump has named former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to his so-called “Board of Peace“, which is expected to oversee the United States president’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.The White House said on Friday that Blair would be among the board’s founding executive members, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US declares phase two of…

Nothing changes on ground for Palestinians needing ‘food, shelter, safety’, who see Trump’s plan as ‘distant, abstract’.Israeli attacks have killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza in the latest violations of its tenuous ceasefire with Hamas, a day after the United States announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the besieged territory.A 10-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and an elderly woman were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday, as members of a planned Palestinian technocratic committee sat down for the first time in Cairo to…

Internet access remains cut off as the streets of Tehran, other Iranian cities are largely calm after widescale unrest.The Iranian authorities say at least 3,000 people have been arrested in weeks of antigovernment demonstrations, state news agencies reported, as the mass protests have largely been quelled.The streets of the Iranian capital Tehran and other parts of the country were comparatively calm on Friday amid a heavy presence of security forces.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran in limbo: What’s next for country under internet blackout?list 2 of 3Iran holds more funerals after deadly unrestlist 3 of 3Analysis: Why…

The army enters the city of Deir Hafer in governorate of Aleppo and begins to comb neighbourhoods after the SDF withdrawal.The Syrian army is preparing to take control of areas previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).The forces on Saturday entered the city of Deir Hafer in the governorate of Aleppo and began combing the neighbourhoods after the SDF withdrawal.On Friday night, the Syrian army launched an operation against the Kurdish fighters in Deir Hafer, located some 50km (30 miles) east of the city of Aleppo, ordering Kurdish fighters to leave the area.media’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Zaalanah,…

Heavy presence of armed forces on streets as Iranians stay home in wake of deadly protests – and trials of ‘rioters’ set to start.Tehran, Iran – Most of Iran’s 90 million-strong population remains cut off from the rest of the world more than one week after an unprecedented, state-imposed communications blackout amid nationwide protests, which began in December and quickly turned deadly.The Iranian government abruptly cut off all internet access across the 31 provinces of the vast country on the night of January 8 when protests swelled into mass demonstrations against the clerical leadership, days after shopkeepers first shuttered their…

Rights group says Palestinian children are ‘increasingly targets’ as Israeli military and settler violence soars.Israeli troops have shot and killed a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank, as a wave of intensified Israeli military and settler violence across the territory continues.Mohammed Naasan, 14, was killed on Friday after Israeli forces stormed and opened fire in the village of al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, assaulting residents.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Wary of Israeli appropriation, Palestine lists 14 sites with UNESCOlist 2 of 3Israel carries out raids and demolitions, arrests dozens across West Banklist 3 of 3Israel kills 10 in…

United Nations peacekeepers say a drone ‘dropped a grenade’ on its troops as Israel continued attacks on Lebanon.Israeli strikes have killed two people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Public Health said an “Israeli enemy strike” on a vehicle in Mansuri in southern Lebanon had killed one person.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Lebanon army says phase one of disarming non-state groups in south completelist 2 of 3Israeli forces kill one person in series of attacks on southern Lebanonlist…

Donald Trump has boxed himself in by promising to ‘help’ Iran’s protesters. But he has few good options for military operations that he can control.Illiberal systems often look most permanent just before they change. But moments of upheaval can also produce a different illusion: That the system is one dramatic external blow away from collapse. With Iran convulsed by unprecedented protests against the country’s leadership, it is tempting to imagine that the United States’ air power could deliver the final shove.That temptation misreads how the Islamic Republic actually survives. Coercive cohesion is the cement of the system: The ability of…

WFP says $700m needed before March in order to prevent the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis from worsening.Food aid to war-torn Sudan could run out within months unless hundreds of millions of additional dollars are pledged, the United Nations has warned.Marking more than 1,000 days of the country’s civil war, the UN’s World Food Programme on Thursday issued a plea for $700m to fund its work in Sudan. The money is needed to prevent what it says is already the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis from getting worse.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Gaza’s new year…