US sending more troops to Gulf, Trump announces Iran sanctions Washington, United States | AFP | The United States announced Friday that it was sending military reinforcements to the Gulf region following attacks on Saudi oil facilities that it attributes to Iran, just hours after President Donald Trump ordered new …
Read More »Iran warns of ‘World War III’
Iranian FM warns US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war: CNN Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian FM has warned that a US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war, CNN has reported. This came hours after Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Iran’s foes Thursday of agitating for war, as Washington and …
Read More »Trump orders increase in Iran sanctions as Germany extends Saudi arms ban
Washington, United States | AFP | Trump has ordered government to ‘substantially increase’ Iran sanctions but in Berlin, Germany has extended Saudi arms exports ban as tensions rise in the Middle East. Trump announced what he said would be substantial new sanctions against Iran in the first response to what US …
Read More »Wall Street sinks as skyrocketing oil prices rattle nerves
New York, United States | AFP | US stocks sank into the red on Monday as attacks on Saudi crude production and record jumps in oil prices whipped up investor anxieties about the global economy. Saturday’s devastating attacks on Abqaiq — the world’s largest oil processing facility — and the …
Read More »Amnesty chief Naidoo says US strike would worsen Mideast suffering
Washington, United States | AFP | The head of Amnesty International warned Monday that a US military intervention in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran would only aggravate suffering in the Middle East. The rights group’s secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said the world instead should …
Read More »Iran refutes US accusations over Saudi oil attacks
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran on Sunday dismissed US accusations it was behind drone attacks on Saudi oil installations, suggesting the United States was seeking a pretext to retaliate against the Islamic republic. “Such fruitless and blind accusations and remarks are incomprehensible and meaningless,” foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi …
Read More »Could Trump gamble big on Iran? Skepticism reigns
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump is not afraid of surprises but could he take one of the biggest shifts of all in his foreign policy — easing sanctions on Iran? Washington is widely skeptical that Trump will shift course on Iran, with his hawkish advisors long …
Read More »Iran poses loyalty test for ‘British Trump’ Johnson
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Iran’s seizure and continued detention of a UK-flagged tanker deals Boris Johnson an immediate loyalty test: Britain’s new prime minister may have to choose between Gulf escorts led by Europe or by the United States. Which way Johnson leans could set the tone for a …
Read More »US orders new troops to Middle East to counter Iran ‘threat’
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States announced Friday it was deploying 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East in response to what the Pentagon called an “campaign” of recent attacks approved by Iran’s top leadership. The escalation of the US military presence follows a decision in early …
Read More »Tehran says Trump’s ‘genocidal taunts won’t end Iran’
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday the “genocidal taunts” of US President Donald Trump will not “end Iran”, as tensions spike between the two countries. “Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. Economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won’t ‘end Iran’,” …
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