Middle East | Pakistan

United States President Donald Trump told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the ceasefire he helped broker in the Gaza conflict had ushered in the “historic dawn of a new Middle East”. “And after so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity,” he said. “This is not only the end of a war … This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.“ Trump’s lightning visit to Israel came ahead of a summit in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh co-chaired by the American president, who has declared the conflict in Gaza “over”. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in its jails. Addressing the Israeli parliament, Trump called the agreement that brought about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the captives held by Hamas a triumph as he thanked mediators from the...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held urgent telephone discussions with the ambassadors of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and stability, ARY News reported. During his call with Qatar’s Ambassador Ali Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater, PM Shehbaz expressed deep concern over the recent Iranian missile strike on a US military base […]

Iran on Monday struck a retaliatory missile attack targeting the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, while launching a missile operation called “Annunciation of victory” against US bases in Iraq and Qatar, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. A day earlier, President Donald Trump said US air strikes “totally obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites, as Washington joined Israel’s war with Tehran in a flashpoint moment for the Middle East. The strikes drew threats from Tehran to retaliate, with US military installations in the region a potential target. The following are significant US facilities in the Middle East: Bahrain Home to the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. Qatar The 24-hectare Al Udeid Air Base, in the desert outside the capital Doha, is the forward headquarters for US Central Command, which directs US military operations in a huge swathe of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to K...

President Asif Ali Zardari has called for urgent dialogue and diplomatic engagement to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East, expressing deep concern over the rising tensions in the region.

June 22: U.S. forces have struck Iran’s key nuclear sites, drawing threats from Tehran to retaliate, with U.S. military installations in the region a potential target. Following are significant U.S. military bases or facilities in the Middle East: BAHRAIN: Home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the […]

ISLAMABAD: The PTI patron-in-chief, Imran Khan, has delayed his party’s countrywide protest for at least two weeks owing to the situation in the Middle East. This was announced by Mr Khan’s sisters, Noreen Niazi and Uzma, after they met their brother in Adiala Jail on Tuesday. Mr Khan’s third sister, Aleema, was not allowed to meet her brother. Talking to the media, Ms Niazi said her brother was “well aware of the international situation” and said that Pakistan should remain united during Iran-Israel war. Ms Uzma said the world already knew about Mr Khan’s stance against Israel. Earlier, Mr Khan had called upon his supporters to start preparations for countrywide protests after Eidul Azha. PTI Central Infor­mation Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram also confirmed that Mr Khan has delayed the protests for two weeks. “We are passing through very sensitive time. So it has been decided that the party will not hold any protest for two weeks,” Mr Akram told Dawn. Raoof Hasan, the head of PTI’s political think tank, stat...

Nationwide protests against President Donald Trump, tensions in the Middle East amid Israel’s strikes on Iran and expected rainy weather in Washington on Saturday could dampen spirits at a military parade on the US Army’s 250th anniversary, set to feature tanks on the streets and aircraft flying overhead. Trump, whose 79th birthday is also on Saturday, will preside over the parade. Week-long protests in Los Angeles against Trump’s immigration crackdown have spread to multiple cities including Chicago, New York, San Antonio, Texas, and Washington. The Republican president has ordered National Guard troops and US Marines to Los Angeles, a heavily Democratic city — a deployment that California Governor Gavin Newsom has challenged in court. Anti-Trump groups are planning to hold nearly 2,000 demonstrations of varying sizes across the country to coincide with the parade. Many are taking place under the theme “No Kings,” asserting that no individual is above the law. The protests, if they go as planned, would repre...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because “it could be a dangerous place”, adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, according to US and Iraqi sources. The four US and two Iraqi sources did not say what security risks had prompted the decision, and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than four per cent. A US official said the State Department had authorised voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait. The State Department updated its worldwide travel advisory on Wednesday evening to reflect the latest US posture. “On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel due to heightened regional tensions,” the ...