JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday began his sixth trip to the Middle East since the eruption of conflict between Israel and Hamas, his latest bid to compel Israel to ease its assault on the battered territory and identify a post-conflict plan that could lead to a Palestinian state. State … Read more
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel this week as part of his sixth urgent mission to the Middle East since the Israelis’ war with Hamas began in October, as relations between the two countries have soured dramatically in recent weeks. The visit comes amid a flurry of … Read more
A franchise operator that runs Starbucks outlets in the Middle East and North Africa region said Tuesday that it will lay off 2,000 workers amid calls for boycotts of the American coffee giant linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. “As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we … Read more
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Middle East on Thursday with public divisions between the United States and Israel at perhaps their worst level since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began in October. Wrapping up a four-nation Mideast trip — his fifth to the region since the conflict … Read more
JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran issued a warning Sunday to the U.S. over potentially targeting two cargo ships in the Mideast long suspected of serving as forwarding operating base for Iranian commandos, just after America and the United Kingdom launched a massive airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The statement from Iran on the Behshad and … Read more
JERUSALEM — Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out during Israel’s war against Hamas, the U.S. Navy’s top Mideast commander told The Associated Press on Monday. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy’s 5th Fleet, stopped short of saying Tehran directed individual attacks by the … Read more
CAIRO — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his latest urgent Mideast tour on Thursday in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as American officials claimed modest success in getting wide regional support for planning for reconstruction and governance in Gaza after Israel’s war with Hamas ends. But progress is uncertain because … Read more
MANILA, Philippines — A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers marched Tuesday in an annual procession in the Philippines’ capital, carrying a centuries-old black statue of Jesus. Many said they were praying for peace in the Middle East, where tens of thousands of Filipinos work, as fears rise of a spread of the Israel-Hamas … Read more
AL ULA, Saudi Arabia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that four key Arab nations and Turkey have agreed to begin planning for the reconstruction and governance of Gaza once Israel’s war against Hamas ends. Blinken, who is on an urgent Mideast mission aimed primarily at preventing the conflict from spreading as … Read more
AMMAN, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Sunday with Jordan’s king and foreign minister and visited a World Food Program warehouse in Amman as he pressed ahead with an urgent Middle East diplomatic mission to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza from spreading. On his fourth visit to the region in … Read more