EU Special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Magdalena Grono referred to the joint efforts by Armenian and Turkish governments on re-establishing railway connection between the two countries. “Warmly welcome today’s meeting of the Joint Armenia-Turkey Working Group for rehabilitation and operationalisation of the Gyumri-Kars railway. The EU fully supports…
Reuters. The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday (April 28) it quit OPEC and OPEC+, dealing a heavy blow to the oil exporting groups and their de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Iran war has caused a historic energy shock and unsettled the global economy. The stunning loss of the…
Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome air defense system with troops to operate it early in the war with Iran, two Israeli officials and one U.S. official tell Axios. The military, security and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the UAE has reached new heights during the war. The unprecedented deployment of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in St. Petersburg on Monday (April 27) and told him he hoped the Iranian people would weather what he described as a “difficult period” and that peace would soon prevail, Reuters reports. Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore…
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would not allow individuals such as the man who opened fire during a reception attended by him to alter the course of the United States. “We will not allow people like this to change the course of our country,” Trump said in an interview with…
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Turkey could consider taking part in demining operations in the Strait of Hormuz following a possible peace agreement between Iran and the United States, Reuters reports. Fidan, speaking to reporters in London on Friday evening, said a technical team was expected to carry out mine‑clearing work in…
Today marks the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As we honor the 1.5 million Armenians murdered by the Ottoman Empire across modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Armenia, we must refuse to let history repeat itself, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced in his address on April 24. “In 2020, the military forces of Azerbaijan…
US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz in the event the current ceasefire with Iran falls apart, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, CNN reports. The options, among several sets of target types under consideration, include strikes with a particular focus on “dynamic…
Ambassador of Russia to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial on April 24 to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. The embassy said in a press release that Ambassador Kopyrkin and the military attaché laid flowers at the Eternal Flame. The embassy highlighted in its statement that in 1995,…
Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is, US President Donald Trump said. “They just don’t know! The infighting is between the “Hardliners,” who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the “Moderates,” who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY! We have total…
Lebanese and Israeli envoys will meet for the second time in two weeks in Washington on April 23, building on nascent contacts between the states, with Lebanon hoping for the extension of a shaky ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. The 10-day, US-mediated ceasefire is set to expire on April 26. Underlining its fragility,…
Slovakia will be ready to lift its veto on the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia only once oil supply via the Druzhba pipeline resumes, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday. He said, as quoted by the Guardian, he would wait “until the oil actually starts flowing.” Fico added that…
Reuters. EU countries have agreed to widen sanctions against Iran to include those responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday (April 21). Kallas also said she had asked foreign affairs ministers at their meeting in Luxembourg to bolster the EU’s naval mission in the Middle…
Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (April 20) called the strikes carried out by the U.S. last year under the code name Operation Midnight Hammer a “complete and total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear sites, as talks between the two countries remain uncertain. The 2025 attack was the U.S. military’s only offensive action in…
Israel’s prime minister, foreign minister and military on Monday condemned the desecration of a crucifix smashed by an Israeli soldier in a southern Lebanese village home to Christians. A photo that emerged online over the weekend shows a soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the…
U.S. President Donald Trump told The New York Post that an American delegation led by Vice President J.D. Vance is traveling to Islamabad to hold negotiations with Iran. The delegation also includes the President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner. Trump emphasized that the United States and Iran are inclined toward negotiations and…
The United States military seized an Iranian container ship near the Gulf in the early hours of Monday, sending tensions spiralling hours before Washington is due to send negotiators to Pakistan for talks aimed at ending their war, Al Jazeera reports. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) and President Donald Trump claimed the Touska was…
The achievement of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan will make a significant contribution not only in the South Caucasus, but also across the entire region, as well as on a global scale. This was stated by Vice President of Turkey Cevdet Yilmaz. “In conditions of a fully peaceful environment, an entirely new atmosphere will be…
“The Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “But the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.” Trump said he expects the process to…
US President Donald Trump addressed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz on his Truth Social page. “The Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with…
US President Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire after meeting in Washington to try and strike a peace deal, The Hill reports. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had an “excellent conversation” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “These two Leaders…
Reuters. The U.S. military said late on Tuesday (April 14) that American forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea through a blockade. In a post on X, U.S. Central Command said “an estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea.” Talks to…
A 14-year-old student shot at least nine people dead including eight of his fellow pupils and wounded 13 others at a middle school in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday (April 15), officials said, in the country’s second school shooting in two days. Eight students and one teacher died in the attack in the province of…
Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter not to give Iran weapons, and Xi responded that China was not supplying Tehran, the U.S. president told Fox Business Network in an interview that aired on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Trump, in the interview taped on Tuesday, did not say when the letters were…
Reuters. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered support to Pope Leo on Tuesday (April 14), after the pontiff was sharply criticised by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump set off the furore by calling Leo “terrible” in a long tirade on Sunday (April 12). He subsequently posted an AI image depicting himself as a Jesus-like…
Reuters. A U.S. judge dismissed on Monday (April 13) Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over an article asserting the U.S. president’s name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but said Trump could re-file the case. Miami-based U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles…
Britain and France will this week co-host talks aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, including discussions on what President Emmanuel Macron described as a possible strictly defensive naval mission, Reuters reports. The talks are intended to bring together Britain, France and other countries willing to join a peaceful multinational…
The U.S. military vowed to blockade all Iranian ports starting Monday, part of efforts to force Tehran into agreeing to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz and accepting a peace deal. Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at U.S.-allied countries, AP reports. …
The Israeli military said Saturday it had struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon within the last 24 hours, among them rocket launchers. “In the last 24 hours, the army struck more than 200 Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. The Israeli air force continues to strike Hezbollah infrastructure and aid the ground forces…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said on Saturday. Macron also referred to the upcoming European Political Community Summit, scheduled to take place in Yerevan on May 4 next year, reiterating France’s…
