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2 weeks ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Peter Oborne |John Rees |Marco Carnelos
“Make the West great again”: This was the headline slogan uttered by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Meloni’s trip to the US was highly anticipated at a tense moment in transatlantic relations, fuelled by Trump’s unorthodox stance on the war in Ukraine and his decision to target the world - allies included - with hefty tariffs.
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1 month ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Yasmine El-Sabawi |Marco Carnelos
US President Donald Trump's private appeal to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - while publicly threatening all-out war - may now be paying off. For the first time since a brief attempt in 2021 under former president Joe Biden, the US and Iran will be engaging in supposedly "indirect" talks that could quickly become "direct", depending on whose narrative you accept.
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1 month ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Marco Carnelos
A senior US official is expected to tell Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday that he needs to get stricter on Hezbollah to unlock desperately needed financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, current and former US and Arab officials told Middle East Eye. US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus is expected to arrive in Beirut on Friday for meetings with Aoun and other Lebanese officials.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Marco Carnelos
One of US President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Europe, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban, said in February that the US could bring an end to the war in Ukraine in less than six months. The US’s whirlwind bid to resume relations with Russia and end the war has left Europe reeling. The Arab Gulf will be closely watching what that could mean for energy prices and the oil trade.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Marco Carnelos |Jonathan Steele
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to visit Turkey next week as part of his regional tour, sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. Lavrov is expected to be in Ankara on 24-25 February, according to one of the sources. Earlier this week, Lavrov informed the Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, that there would be high-level talks with the Syrian government next week, which could indicate a visit by the Russian foreign minister to Syria as well.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Jonathan Steele |Marco Carnelos
The lengthy phone call last week between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and their ensuing discussions on ending the Ukraine war, have understandably dominated global news in recent days. European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, are in a state of shock, especially after US Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald |Marco Carnelos
Russia has said the US better understands its position on Ukraine following contentious talks held in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has been seeking to score a diplomatic win and boost relations with Washington by hosting the talks, which have been condemned by the Ukrainians for not including them in discussions. Riyadh is also hosting a major Arab summit on the future of Gaza this week.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Areeb Ullah |Marco Carnelos
A key organiser of the pro-Palestine march in Central London in January pleaded "not guilty" on Thursday to breaking protest restrictions after police arrested him. Chris Nineham, 62, the Stop the War Coalition's vice-chair, appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court and pleaded not guilty to two counts of breaking the Public Order Act.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Maha Hussaini |Mera Aladam |Marco Carnelos
Dozens of caravans and bulldozers have entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing awaiting entry into Gaza, as Hamas has said it will abide by the ceasefire deal and release Israeli captives as scheduled. Israeli authorities are expected to allow these vehicles through the Philadelphia corridor that runs along Egypt's boundary with Gaza and then into the Palestinian enclave via the Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Maha Hussaini |Mera Aladam |Marco Carnelos
Dozens of caravans and bulldozers have entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing awaiting entry into Gaza, as Hamas has said it will abide by the ceasefire deal and release Israeli captives as scheduled. Israeli authorities are expected to allow these vehicles through the Philadelphia corridor that runs along Egypt's boundary with Gaza and then into the Palestinian enclave via the Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing.
