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📍 Riyadh / Tehran

Saudi Arabia has carried out a series of unpublicized military strikes against Iran in direct retaliation for attacks launched against the Kingdom during the recent Middle East conflict, according to a report by Reuters. The secret operation marks a dramatic escalation in the long-standing regional rivalry, revealing that Riyadh took direct kinetic action against Iranian soil.

Two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials confirmed that the Saudi strikes targeted specific military assets inside Iran. These operations were reportedly conducted in response to various attacks on Saudi infrastructure and territory carried out by Iranian-backed proxies and the regime itself during the height of the regional war.

The strikes remained unpublicized until now, as both Riyadh and Tehran sought to manage the risk of a full-scale, direct regional conflagration. However, the revelation of these secret missions underscores the intensity of the "shadow war" that has been simmering alongside the broader U.S.-led operations in the region.

The news comes at a critical moment, as President Trump weighs his own "significant" military action against Tehran following the collapse of peace negotiations. The fact that Saudi Arabia has already successfully struck targets inside Iran may influence the Pentagon's current planning for a final, "shattering" offensive to neutralize the regime’s remaining strategic infrastructure.

Follow @middleast24 for breaking updates on the Saudi-Iran escalation.

📍 Riyadh / Tehran

Saudi Arabia has carried out a series of unpublicized military strikes against Iran in direct retaliation for attacks launched against the Kingdom during the recent Middle East conflict, according to a report by Reuters. The secret operation marks a dramatic escalation in the long-standing regional rivalry, revealing that Riyadh took direct kinetic action against Iranian soil.

Two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials confirmed that the Saudi strikes targeted specific military assets inside Iran. These operations were reportedly conducted in response to various attacks on Saudi infrastructure and territory carried out by Iranian-backed proxies and the regime itself during the height of the regional war.

The strikes remained unpublicized until now, as both Riyadh and Tehran sought to manage the risk of a full-scale, direct regional conflagration. However, the revelation of these secret missions underscores the intensity of the "shadow war" that has been simmering alongside the broader U.S.-led operations in the region.

The news comes at a critical moment, as President Trump weighs his own "significant" military action against Tehran following the collapse of peace negotiations. The fact that Saudi Arabia has already successfully struck targets inside Iran may influence the Pentagon's current planning for a final, "shattering" offensive to neutralize the regime’s remaining strategic infrastructure.

Follow @middleast24 for breaking updates on the Saudi-Iran escalation.

📍 Washington / Islamabad

A diplomatic firestorm erupted following a CBS News report alleging that Pakistan provided a "safe haven" for Iranian military assets, including a sophisticated intelligence-gathering plane, to protect them from potential U.S. airstrikes. The report, citing senior American sources, claims that Islamabad allowed Iranian aircraft to remain stationed on its soil throughout the conflict, raising serious questions about the mediator's neutrality.

The revelation drew an immediate and sharp reaction from Senator Lindsey Graham, who warned that such actions would be a betrayal of Pakistan's role in the peace process. "If this is true, Pakistan’s role as a mediator must be reconsidered," Graham stated, suggesting that sheltering the regime's "eyes and ears" while negotiating on their behalf is unacceptable to Washington.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a swift rebuttal, calling the CBS report "misleading." Islamabad maintains that the Iranian aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase are strictly for transporting diplomatic delegations involved in the ongoing negotiations.

The controversy comes at a critical moment, as frustration grows in the White House over the stalled talks. With President Trump already describing Iran’s latest response as "unacceptable," the allegation that Pakistan is protecting Iranian military hardware could provide the justification for a significant shift in U.S. strategy toward both Tehran and Islamabad.

Follow @middleast24 for more updates

📍 Washington / Islamabad

A diplomatic firestorm erupted following a CBS News report alleging that Pakistan provided a "safe haven" for Iranian military assets, including a sophisticated intelligence-gathering plane, to protect them from potential U.S. airstrikes. The report, citing senior American sources, claims that Islamabad allowed Iranian aircraft to remain stationed on its soil throughout the conflict, raising serious questions about the mediator's neutrality.

The revelation drew an immediate and sharp reaction from Senator Lindsey Graham, who warned that such actions would be a betrayal of Pakistan's role in the peace process. "If this is true, Pakistan’s role as a mediator must be reconsidered," Graham stated, suggesting that sheltering the regime's "eyes and ears" while negotiating on their behalf is unacceptable to Washington.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a swift rebuttal, calling the CBS report "misleading." Islamabad maintains that the Iranian aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase are strictly for transporting diplomatic delegations involved in the ongoing negotiations.

The controversy comes at a critical moment, as frustration grows in the White House over the stalled talks. With President Trump already describing Iran’s latest response as "unacceptable," the allegation that Pakistan is protecting Iranian military hardware could provide the justification for a significant shift in U.S. strategy toward both Tehran and Islamabad.

Follow @middleast24 for more updates

📍 Abuja / Ankara

Turkey finalized a comprehensive military agreement with Nigeria to establish a major military training facility on Nigerian soil, marking a significant escalation in Ankara’s strategy to embed itself within the security architectures of African nations. The deal, finalized during the 2026 Antalya Diplomacy Forum, includes the transfer of advanced defense technologies and specialized training for Nigerian special forces in counter-terrorism and drone operations.

Critics point to this move as a clear continuation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s aggressive "Third Way" foreign policy, which seeks to position Turkey as an indispensable power broker across the continent.

By establishing this "Center of Excellence" and deploying 200 Nigerian personnel to Turkey for instruction, Ankara is effectively linking Nigeria’s long-term military readiness to Turkish industrial and educational ecosystems.
This pattern of interventionism is already well-established elsewhere in Africa.

In Sudan, Turkey has maintained a alliance with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s military regime, providing critical support to the Sudanese Armed Forces even as the country remains gripped by a devastating civil war.

Similarly, Turkey’s growing military presence in Somalia and its recent takeover of the Abéché airbase in Chad suggest a calculated effort to create a logistical bridge from the Red Sea to the Atlantic.

By leveraging drone sales, including the TB2 and Akıncı platforms, and these new training hubs, Turkey is increasingly accused of exploiting regional instabilities to displace traditional security partners and secure its own strategic and commercial interests.

Follow @middleast24 for updates on Turkey’s geopolitical expansion.

📍 Abuja / Ankara

Turkey finalized a comprehensive military agreement with Nigeria to establish a major military training facility on Nigerian soil, marking a significant escalation in Ankara’s strategy to embed itself within the security architectures of African nations. The deal, finalized during the 2026 Antalya Diplomacy Forum, includes the transfer of advanced defense technologies and specialized training for Nigerian special forces in counter-terrorism and drone operations.

Critics point to this move as a clear continuation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s aggressive "Third Way" foreign policy, which seeks to position Turkey as an indispensable power broker across the continent.

By establishing this "Center of Excellence" and deploying 200 Nigerian personnel to Turkey for instruction, Ankara is effectively linking Nigeria’s long-term military readiness to Turkish industrial and educational ecosystems.
This pattern of interventionism is already well-established elsewhere in Africa.

In Sudan, Turkey has maintained a alliance with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s military regime, providing critical support to the Sudanese Armed Forces even as the country remains gripped by a devastating civil war.

Similarly, Turkey’s growing military presence in Somalia and its recent takeover of the Abéché airbase in Chad suggest a calculated effort to create a logistical bridge from the Red Sea to the Atlantic.

By leveraging drone sales, including the TB2 and Akıncı platforms, and these new training hubs, Turkey is increasingly accused of exploiting regional instabilities to displace traditional security partners and secure its own strategic and commercial interests.

Follow @middleast24 for updates on Turkey’s geopolitical expansion.

📍 Washington

President Donald Trump is reportedly on the verge of ordering a significant and severe military offensive against Iran, marking a dramatic shift from weeks of defensive posturing. According to a CNN report citing senior administration sources, the President is "seriously considering" a return to large-scale kinetic operations as his frustration with the stalled peace negotiations reaches a breaking point.

The move follows Trump’s blunt rejection of Tehran’s latest peace proposal, which he dismissed as "garbage" and "totally unacceptable." Speaking to reporters on Monday, the President declared that the fragile ceasefire in place since April is now on "massive life support," signaling that the window for a diplomatic resolution has virtually closed.

Sources indicate that Trump is particularly incensed by what he perceives as a complete lack of flexibility from the Iranian leadership regarding nuclear concessions and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The proposed military action would involve high-intensity strikes aimed at permanently neutralizing Iran’s remaining strategic assets. While some advisors continue to push for a diplomatic path, a dominant faction within the Pentagon is reportedly advocating for this decisive blow to force an immediate Iranian surrender.

Tehran has responded to the threat of renewed war with a chilling ultimatum, warning that it will escalate uranium enrichment to 90%, weapons-grade level, if American bombs begin to fall. With Trump scheduled to depart for China today, military analysts are closely watching for a potential "pre-departure" strike that could ignite a full-scale regional conflagration.

Follow @middleast24 for breaking updates on the U.S. military’s next

📍 Washington

President Donald Trump is reportedly on the verge of ordering a significant and severe military offensive against Iran, marking a dramatic shift from weeks of defensive posturing. According to a CNN report citing senior administration sources, the President is "seriously considering" a return to large-scale kinetic operations as his frustration with the stalled peace negotiations reaches a breaking point.

The move follows Trump’s blunt rejection of Tehran’s latest peace proposal, which he dismissed as "garbage" and "totally unacceptable." Speaking to reporters on Monday, the President declared that the fragile ceasefire in place since April is now on "massive life support," signaling that the window for a diplomatic resolution has virtually closed.

Sources indicate that Trump is particularly incensed by what he perceives as a complete lack of flexibility from the Iranian leadership regarding nuclear concessions and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The proposed military action would involve high-intensity strikes aimed at permanently neutralizing Iran’s remaining strategic assets. While some advisors continue to push for a diplomatic path, a dominant faction within the Pentagon is reportedly advocating for this decisive blow to force an immediate Iranian surrender.

Tehran has responded to the threat of renewed war with a chilling ultimatum, warning that it will escalate uranium enrichment to 90%, weapons-grade level, if American bombs begin to fall. With Trump scheduled to depart for China today, military analysts are closely watching for a potential "pre-departure" strike that could ignite a full-scale regional conflagration.

Follow @middleast24 for breaking updates on the U.S. military’s next

📍Brussels, Belgium

The Council of the European Union restored the full application of the 1977 EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement on Monday, repealing the 2011 decision that partially suspended trade provisions in response to human rights abuses under Bashar al-Assad's regime. The move reinstated provisions removing quantitative restrictions on Syrian imports including oil, petroleum products, gold, precious metals, and diamonds.

The Council said the conditions that justified the 2011 suspension no longer existed following Assad's fall in December 2024 and the EU's subsequent lifting of most economic sanctions on Syria in 2025.

The decision marked one of the most concrete signals yet of Syria's reintegration into the international economic order under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Syria has kept itself out of the regional war, pursued a US-led reconstruction framework, and attracted significant Gulf investment including a Saudi commitment of $2 billion to redevelop Aleppo's airports and Qatar's $7 billion pledge to energy projects.

Caesar sanctions were lifted earlier this year, and Visa and Mastercard completed their first trial transactions inside Syria last week for the first time in 15 years.

The EU framed Monday's decision as a political signal of renewed engagement and support for Syria's peaceful transition and socio-economic recovery.

Full restoration of the 1977 agreement opened the door to normalized trade relations between Syria and the bloc's 27 member states, a relationship that had been effectively frozen for 14 years under the weight of Assad's brutal repression of his own people.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Brussels, Belgium

The Council of the European Union restored the full application of the 1977 EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement on Monday, repealing the 2011 decision that partially suspended trade provisions in response to human rights abuses under Bashar al-Assad's regime. The move reinstated provisions removing quantitative restrictions on Syrian imports including oil, petroleum products, gold, precious metals, and diamonds.

The Council said the conditions that justified the 2011 suspension no longer existed following Assad's fall in December 2024 and the EU's subsequent lifting of most economic sanctions on Syria in 2025.

The decision marked one of the most concrete signals yet of Syria's reintegration into the international economic order under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Syria has kept itself out of the regional war, pursued a US-led reconstruction framework, and attracted significant Gulf investment including a Saudi commitment of $2 billion to redevelop Aleppo's airports and Qatar's $7 billion pledge to energy projects.

Caesar sanctions were lifted earlier this year, and Visa and Mastercard completed their first trial transactions inside Syria last week for the first time in 15 years.

The EU framed Monday's decision as a political signal of renewed engagement and support for Syria's peaceful transition and socio-economic recovery.

Full restoration of the 1977 agreement opened the door to normalized trade relations between Syria and the bloc's 27 member states, a relationship that had been effectively frozen for 14 years under the weight of Assad's brutal repression of his own people.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Rome, Italy | Via US State Department

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the conflict in Sudan as "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises ever" during a press conference in Rome on May 8, following a meeting with Pope Leo XIV and Italian officials.

Rubio said the United States pushed for a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan to establish safe havens for aid distribution and called on all parties to allow unimpeded access to civilians caught in the crossfire.
Rubio warned that the conflict had transformed into a proxy war, with outside actors fueling the fighting through weapons transfers and territorial access.

"Sudan has become in some way sort of a proxy engagement between multiple countries that are behind some of the elements that are fighting," Rubio said. "There are other countries that are not directly involved but have allowed their national territories to be used as a way to ship weaponry."

What Rubio did not name, @middleast24 can: the SAF's Islamist militias, particularly the al-Baraa Ibn Malik Battalion, the armed wing of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, trained and supported by Iran's IRGC and designated a US terror group in September 2025, represent the most dangerous external influence operating inside Sudan's war. SAF General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan has rejected every peace proposal, conditioning any end to the war on total military victory. Sudan's conflict has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced 13 million since April 2023, making it the deadliest active conflict in the world.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Rome, Italy | Via US State Department

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the conflict in Sudan as "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises ever" during a press conference in Rome on May 8, following a meeting with Pope Leo XIV and Italian officials.

Rubio said the United States pushed for a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan to establish safe havens for aid distribution and called on all parties to allow unimpeded access to civilians caught in the crossfire.
Rubio warned that the conflict had transformed into a proxy war, with outside actors fueling the fighting through weapons transfers and territorial access.

"Sudan has become in some way sort of a proxy engagement between multiple countries that are behind some of the elements that are fighting," Rubio said. "There are other countries that are not directly involved but have allowed their national territories to be used as a way to ship weaponry."

What Rubio did not name, @middleast24 can: the SAF's Islamist militias, particularly the al-Baraa Ibn Malik Battalion, the armed wing of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, trained and supported by Iran's IRGC and designated a US terror group in September 2025, represent the most dangerous external influence operating inside Sudan's war. SAF General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan has rejected every peace proposal, conditioning any end to the war on total military victory. Sudan's conflict has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced 13 million since April 2023, making it the deadliest active conflict in the world.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Abu Dhabi, UAE

The United Arab Emirates transferred $100 million to the Board of Peace to fund the training of a new Palestinian police force for Gaza, the largest single transfer the US-led body has received since its founding. An Emirati security firm will train a planned force of 27,000 officers in Egypt and Jordan. All recruits will be vetted by Israel's Shin Bet before deployment, including Palestinians who previously worked as civilian employees under Hamas.

The money is badly needed. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the Palestinian technocratic body meant to govern the strip during the transition, has still not entered Gaza three months after its creation. The International Stabilization Force, meant to eventually replace the IDF on the ground, has troop pledges from four countries but has not deployed a single soldier.

Gaza analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib called the transfer "an excellent step that could serve as the nucleus for Gaza's new security architecture, free from Hamas," but said the real test is how the force gets deployed. He argued it should focus first on the 59% of Gaza beyond the yellow line, creating safe zones with housing, sanitation, and schools to pull Gazans away from Hamas-controlled areas. Hamas has refused full disarmament, the core condition for reconstruction to begin.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Abu Dhabi, UAE

The United Arab Emirates transferred $100 million to the Board of Peace to fund the training of a new Palestinian police force for Gaza, the largest single transfer the US-led body has received since its founding. An Emirati security firm will train a planned force of 27,000 officers in Egypt and Jordan. All recruits will be vetted by Israel's Shin Bet before deployment, including Palestinians who previously worked as civilian employees under Hamas.

The money is badly needed. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the Palestinian technocratic body meant to govern the strip during the transition, has still not entered Gaza three months after its creation. The International Stabilization Force, meant to eventually replace the IDF on the ground, has troop pledges from four countries but has not deployed a single soldier.

Gaza analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib called the transfer "an excellent step that could serve as the nucleus for Gaza's new security architecture, free from Hamas," but said the real test is how the force gets deployed. He argued it should focus first on the 59% of Gaza beyond the yellow line, creating safe zones with housing, sanitation, and schools to pull Gazans away from Hamas-controlled areas. Hamas has refused full disarmament, the core condition for reconstruction to begin.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

"The Naysayers Were Proven Wrong. Iran Is Weakened and We're Now in Diplomacy" Gregg Roman

📍Studio | @middleast24 Podcast

"They didn't set off a nuclear device somewhere in the Middle East. Iran is weakened. We're in diplomacy. This was a big success but it's not done yet."

Gregg Roman, @realgreggroman Executive Director of the Middle East Forum, joined Dan Feferman and Hayvi Bouzo for the sharpest, most clear-eyed breakdown of the US-Iran war we've aired. Who actually won? What was realistically achieved? Is this ceasefire a genuine opening or Iran buying time again?

Watch the full episode on YouTube now. Link in bio.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

"The Naysayers Were Proven Wrong. Iran Is Weakened and We're Now in Diplomacy" Gregg Roman

📍Studio | @middleast24 Podcast

"They didn't set off a nuclear device somewhere in the Middle East. Iran is weakened. We're in diplomacy. This was a big success but it's not done yet."

Gregg Roman, @realgreggroman Executive Director of the Middle East Forum, joined Dan Feferman and Hayvi Bouzo for the sharpest, most clear-eyed breakdown of the US-Iran war we've aired. Who actually won? What was realistically achieved? Is this ceasefire a genuine opening or Iran buying time again?

Watch the full episode on YouTube now. Link in bio.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Tel Aviv, Israel

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Tal Dvir and his biotech company Matricelf, engineered the world's first personalized human spinal cord grown from a patient's own blood cells. The process takes a patient's blood cells, reprograms them into stem cells, and uses them to build a 3D spinal cord implant tailored to the individual. The implant fuses with healthy tissue above and below the injury site, reconnecting the nervous system and eliminating the rejection risk that comes with donor tissue.

Animal trials produced extraordinary results. More than 80% of mice with chronic paralysis regained full walking ability after receiving the implant. Among animals with recent injuries, the success rate reached 100%. Israel's Ministry of Health granted preliminary approval for compassionate use trials in eight human patients, making Israel the first country in the world to authorize the procedure. The first surgery is expected imminently.

"This is undoubtedly a matter of national pride," Prof. Dvir said. "The technology was developed here in Israel, at Tel Aviv University and at Matricelf, and from the very beginning it was clear to us that the first-ever surgery would be performed in Israel, with an Israeli patient." More than 15 million people worldwide live with spinal cord injuries. If the trials succeed, it could redefine what recovery means for all of them.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Tel Aviv, Israel

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Tal Dvir and his biotech company Matricelf, engineered the world's first personalized human spinal cord grown from a patient's own blood cells. The process takes a patient's blood cells, reprograms them into stem cells, and uses them to build a 3D spinal cord implant tailored to the individual. The implant fuses with healthy tissue above and below the injury site, reconnecting the nervous system and eliminating the rejection risk that comes with donor tissue.

Animal trials produced extraordinary results. More than 80% of mice with chronic paralysis regained full walking ability after receiving the implant. Among animals with recent injuries, the success rate reached 100%. Israel's Ministry of Health granted preliminary approval for compassionate use trials in eight human patients, making Israel the first country in the world to authorize the procedure. The first surgery is expected imminently.

"This is undoubtedly a matter of national pride," Prof. Dvir said. "The technology was developed here in Israel, at Tel Aviv University and at Matricelf, and from the very beginning it was clear to us that the first-ever surgery would be performed in Israel, with an Israeli patient." More than 15 million people worldwide live with spinal cord injuries. If the trials succeed, it could redefine what recovery means for all of them.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia condemned Iran's drone attacks on the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait in the strongest terms on Sunday, calling them "treacherous attacks" targeting the territories and territorial waters of fellow Gulf states. The Saudi Foreign Ministry demanded an immediate halt to what it described as blatant aggression and called on Iran to cease all attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz or disrupt international shipping routes. "The Kingdom renews its support for all measures taken by the fraternal Gulf states to protect their security and stability," the ministry said.

The condemnations came after the UAE intercepted two Iranian drones, a drone struck a cargo ship in Qatari waters, and Kuwait confirmed hostile drones entered its airspace for the first time since the ceasefire took effect on April 8. Qatar called the Kuwait attack a blatant violation of sovereignty. Bahrain described the strikes as a dangerous escalation threatening regional security. The Arab League joined the condemnation, and Syria, which has kept itself out of the regional war under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, also denounced Iran's attacks as a flagrant violation of international law.

Iran launched Operation Epic Fury's regional retaliation by striking Gulf states including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar following the US-Israel campaign that began February 28. Sunday's drone attacks marked the most significant breach of the ceasefire since it took effect, coming days after US forces disabled Iranian tankers attempting to break the naval blockade and Iranian forces fired on three US Navy destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia condemned Iran's drone attacks on the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait in the strongest terms on Sunday, calling them "treacherous attacks" targeting the territories and territorial waters of fellow Gulf states. The Saudi Foreign Ministry demanded an immediate halt to what it described as blatant aggression and called on Iran to cease all attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz or disrupt international shipping routes. "The Kingdom renews its support for all measures taken by the fraternal Gulf states to protect their security and stability," the ministry said.

The condemnations came after the UAE intercepted two Iranian drones, a drone struck a cargo ship in Qatari waters, and Kuwait confirmed hostile drones entered its airspace for the first time since the ceasefire took effect on April 8. Qatar called the Kuwait attack a blatant violation of sovereignty. Bahrain described the strikes as a dangerous escalation threatening regional security. The Arab League joined the condemnation, and Syria, which has kept itself out of the regional war under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, also denounced Iran's attacks as a flagrant violation of international law.

Iran launched Operation Epic Fury's regional retaliation by striking Gulf states including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar following the US-Israel campaign that began February 28. Sunday's drone attacks marked the most significant breach of the ceasefire since it took effect, coming days after US forces disabled Iranian tankers attempting to break the naval blockade and Iranian forces fired on three US Navy destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Washington, D.C., USA

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cut through the noise on the Israel-Lebanon conflict with a statement that much of Western media has refused to make clearly. "The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it's Hezbollah," Rubio told reporters at a White House press briefing. "Israel's problem is with Hezbollah. Unfortunately, Hezbollah happens to be inside of Lebanon conducting attacks against Israel. Both the Lebanese and the Israelis are victims of Hezbollah."

Rubio explained that the Iranian-backed terrorist organization operates inside Lebanese civilian areas, launches attacks on Israel from those areas, and turns Lebanese people into human shields in the process. The Lebanese people, he said, are paying the price. That is precisely why calls to disarm Hezbollah matter far beyond Israel's security and go to the heart of Lebanese sovereignty. Washington has been working with Beirut toward a framework in which vetted units of the Lebanese Armed Forces would develop the training and capability to dismantle Hezbollah, so Israel would not have to do it.

Hezbollah initiated the current round of conflict on March 2 by firing in support of Tehran. US-facilitated peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled for May 14 and 15 in Washington, with the ceasefire expiring May 17. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem called on the Lebanese government to cancel the talks, describing them as pointless. Lebanon's cross-sectarian political bloc, which includes Sunni members of parliament and Christian leadership, rejected Qassem's demand and confirmed its participation.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Washington, D.C., USA

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cut through the noise on the Israel-Lebanon conflict with a statement that much of Western media has refused to make clearly. "The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it's Hezbollah," Rubio told reporters at a White House press briefing. "Israel's problem is with Hezbollah. Unfortunately, Hezbollah happens to be inside of Lebanon conducting attacks against Israel. Both the Lebanese and the Israelis are victims of Hezbollah."

Rubio explained that the Iranian-backed terrorist organization operates inside Lebanese civilian areas, launches attacks on Israel from those areas, and turns Lebanese people into human shields in the process. The Lebanese people, he said, are paying the price. That is precisely why calls to disarm Hezbollah matter far beyond Israel's security and go to the heart of Lebanese sovereignty. Washington has been working with Beirut toward a framework in which vetted units of the Lebanese Armed Forces would develop the training and capability to dismantle Hezbollah, so Israel would not have to do it.

Hezbollah initiated the current round of conflict on March 2 by firing in support of Tehran. US-facilitated peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled for May 14 and 15 in Washington, with the ceasefire expiring May 17. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem called on the Lebanese government to cancel the talks, describing them as pointless. Lebanon's cross-sectarian political bloc, which includes Sunni members of parliament and Christian leadership, rejected Qassem's demand and confirmed its participation.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍 Greece / Libya

The Greek government has issued an urgent high-alert warning, revealing that over half a million migrants are currently massing on the Libyan coast, prepared to launch a massive cross-continental "invasion" of Europe. Migration Minister Thanos Plevris sounded the alarm on Sunday, cautioning that human trafficking syndicates are exploiting stabilizing weather to prepare a wave of arrivals that could overwhelm European security forces and infrastructure.

The looming crisis is being fueled by a controversial decision in Spain, where the government recently granted legal residency to 500,000 undocumented individuals. Officials in Athens warn that this "legalization trap" has acted as a powerful psychological trigger for hundreds of thousands of Africans, convincing them that European borders are effectively open. Experts fear this move has created an unstoppable "pull factor," incentivizing a desperate and dangerous surge toward the Mediterranean.

In response to the imminent threat, Greece has taken the extraordinary step of suspending asylum claims for all arrivals from the Libyan route and flooding the sea with naval patrols. With Greek islands like Crete already seeing a sharp spike in arrivals, the continent now faces a decisive moment: a total collapse of border control or a brutal military-led maritime standoff.

Follow @middleast24 for more updates

📍 Greece / Libya

The Greek government has issued an urgent high-alert warning, revealing that over half a million migrants are currently massing on the Libyan coast, prepared to launch a massive cross-continental "invasion" of Europe. Migration Minister Thanos Plevris sounded the alarm on Sunday, cautioning that human trafficking syndicates are exploiting stabilizing weather to prepare a wave of arrivals that could overwhelm European security forces and infrastructure.

The looming crisis is being fueled by a controversial decision in Spain, where the government recently granted legal residency to 500,000 undocumented individuals. Officials in Athens warn that this "legalization trap" has acted as a powerful psychological trigger for hundreds of thousands of Africans, convincing them that European borders are effectively open. Experts fear this move has created an unstoppable "pull factor," incentivizing a desperate and dangerous surge toward the Mediterranean.

In response to the imminent threat, Greece has taken the extraordinary step of suspending asylum claims for all arrivals from the Libyan route and flooding the sea with naval patrols. With Greek islands like Crete already seeing a sharp spike in arrivals, the continent now faces a decisive moment: a total collapse of border control or a brutal military-led maritime standoff.

Follow @middleast24 for more updates

🇺🇲 WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s formal response to the U.S.-led peace proposal, describing the counter-offer as "unacceptable." Shortly after receiving Tehran's proposal, that was delivered via Pakistani mediators, the President expressed dissatisfaction with Tehran’s terms, signaling a potential breakdown in the diplomatic track:
"I don't like the Iranian answer to the proposal; it is unacceptable".

Follow @middleast24 for more updates

🇺🇲 WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s formal response to the U.S.-led peace proposal, describing the counter-offer as "unacceptable." Shortly after receiving Tehran's proposal, that was delivered via Pakistani mediators, the President expressed dissatisfaction with Tehran’s terms, signaling a potential breakdown in the diplomatic track:
"I don't like the Iranian answer to the proposal; it is unacceptable".

Follow @middleast24 for more updates

Iran Is Arming Sudan's Military. Here Is What Tehran Wants in Return.

Iran has been supplying Sudan's Armed Forces with Mohajer-6 combat drones, confirmed by Western officials and satellite imagery showing cargo flights from Bandar Abbas to Port Sudan. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo publicly credited Iranian drones with turning the tide against his forces around Khartoum.

The support extends beyond hardware. Reports say members of the al-Baraa Ibn Malik Battalion, the armed wing of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood and designated a US terror organization in September 2025, received training in Iran to operate these systems. The battalion operates with documented IRGC ties and fights embedded within the SAF.

Tehran's payoff is strategic access to the Red Sea. Analysts at Critical Threats and the Royal United Services Institute both concluded Iran supplied the SAF in exchange for future naval basing rights along Sudan's coast, extending Iran's arc of influence from the Persian Gulf through Yemen and into the Horn of Africa.

Iran's ongoing war with the US and Israel has slowed but not stopped those deliveries. Sudan remains a low-cost, high-value theater for Tehran, and analysts warn the arrangement is not designed to end Sudan's war. It is designed to outlast it.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

Iran Is Arming Sudan's Military. Here Is What Tehran Wants in Return.

Iran has been supplying Sudan's Armed Forces with Mohajer-6 combat drones, confirmed by Western officials and satellite imagery showing cargo flights from Bandar Abbas to Port Sudan. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo publicly credited Iranian drones with turning the tide against his forces around Khartoum.

The support extends beyond hardware. Reports say members of the al-Baraa Ibn Malik Battalion, the armed wing of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood and designated a US terror organization in September 2025, received training in Iran to operate these systems. The battalion operates with documented IRGC ties and fights embedded within the SAF.

Tehran's payoff is strategic access to the Red Sea. Analysts at Critical Threats and the Royal United Services Institute both concluded Iran supplied the SAF in exchange for future naval basing rights along Sudan's coast, extending Iran's arc of influence from the Persian Gulf through Yemen and into the Horn of Africa.

Iran's ongoing war with the US and Israel has slowed but not stopped those deliveries. Sudan remains a low-cost, high-value theater for Tehran, and analysts warn the arrangement is not designed to end Sudan's war. It is designed to outlast it.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Tehran, Iran

Iran executed Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old aerospace engineering graduate, on Monday on charges of espionage for the CIA and Mossad.

Shakourzadeh worked at a scientific organization involved in satellite activities and was convicted of sharing classified information with foreign intelligence services after allegedly being recruited through LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Google calls.

The regime's judiciary-linked Mizan outlet said he had "knowingly and willingly" passed classified satellite and personnel data to both agencies.

Rights groups and human rights organizations rejected the charges as fabricated and the execution as a political killing.

The Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights organization said Shakourzadeh spent nine months in solitary confinement and endured severe physical and psychological torture before being forced to sign a confession he later publicly disavowed.

In a letter written from prison, Shakourzadeh wrote: "I was arrested on fabricated espionage charges and, after eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement, was forced into a false confession. Do not let another innocent life be taken in silence." The regime executed him anyway.

Shakourzadeh was a top-ranked graduate who chose to remain in Iran rather than emigrate, one of the few elite engineers who stayed.

His execution brought the total number of Iranians put to death on espionage or national security charges since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28 to at least 21, according to the UN human rights office.

Rights groups described the accelerating executions as a deliberate campaign of political terror, using espionage charges as cover to silence anyone the regime views as a threat during wartime.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Tehran, Iran

Iran executed Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old aerospace engineering graduate, on Monday on charges of espionage for the CIA and Mossad.

Shakourzadeh worked at a scientific organization involved in satellite activities and was convicted of sharing classified information with foreign intelligence services after allegedly being recruited through LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Google calls.

The regime's judiciary-linked Mizan outlet said he had "knowingly and willingly" passed classified satellite and personnel data to both agencies.

Rights groups and human rights organizations rejected the charges as fabricated and the execution as a political killing.

The Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights organization said Shakourzadeh spent nine months in solitary confinement and endured severe physical and psychological torture before being forced to sign a confession he later publicly disavowed.

In a letter written from prison, Shakourzadeh wrote: "I was arrested on fabricated espionage charges and, after eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement, was forced into a false confession. Do not let another innocent life be taken in silence." The regime executed him anyway.

Shakourzadeh was a top-ranked graduate who chose to remain in Iran rather than emigrate, one of the few elite engineers who stayed.

His execution brought the total number of Iranians put to death on espionage or national security charges since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28 to at least 21, according to the UN human rights office.

Rights groups described the accelerating executions as a deliberate campaign of political terror, using espionage charges as cover to silence anyone the regime views as a threat during wartime.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍 Southern Lebanon

Sources told ME24 that the death toll among members of the Houthi movement in southern Lebanon has risen to 43. The group has been increasingly active in the region as part of the broader regional escalation.

According to the information obtained by ME24, the group’s leadership decided to bury the bodies inside Lebanese territory.

This decision was made due to the current difficulty and logistical risks of transporting the remains back to Yemen under the ongoing maritime blockade and regional tensions.
The sources added that the Houthi leadership has already been formally notified of the names of those killed. This incident highlights the direct involvement of Yemeni Houthi personnel in the fighting along the Lebanese border.

Follow @middleast24 for updates on regional proxy activity.

📍 Southern Lebanon

Sources told ME24 that the death toll among members of the Houthi movement in southern Lebanon has risen to 43. The group has been increasingly active in the region as part of the broader regional escalation.

According to the information obtained by ME24, the group’s leadership decided to bury the bodies inside Lebanese territory.

This decision was made due to the current difficulty and logistical risks of transporting the remains back to Yemen under the ongoing maritime blockade and regional tensions.
The sources added that the Houthi leadership has already been formally notified of the names of those killed. This incident highlights the direct involvement of Yemeni Houthi personnel in the fighting along the Lebanese border.

Follow @middleast24 for updates on regional proxy activity.

📍 Tehran / Gulf Region

The Iranian regime expanded its threats against regional neighbors, warning Bahrain and other Gulf nations that supporting a U.S.-backed United Nations resolution concerning the Strait of Hormuz will lead to "severe consequences." Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian parliament, warned that these countries risk losing access to the strategic waterway "forever."

The warning specifically targets the coalition of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, all of whom have co-sponsored the draft resolution alongside the United States. Azizi singled out Bahrain as a "microstate," asserting that by siding with Washington, Manama and its allies are closing the doors of the Strait of Hormuz to themselves. Tehran maintains that the passage is a vital artery under its sovereign control and has characterized the resolution as a politically motivated attempt to legitimize the U.S. naval blockade.

The draft resolution calls for Iran to immediately cease all attacks, mining operations, and "illegal tolling" in the Strait, where maritime traffic has dropped by over 90% since late February. While the latest version of the text removed a clause that could have triggered immediate military action, it remains under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, allowing the Security Council to consider "effective measures," including sanctions, if Iran fails to comply.

Tensions have been further exacerbated by Bahrain's recent arrest of 41 individuals allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a move that drew swift condemnation from Tehran and messages of solidarity from Kuwait and other Gulf partners.

Follow @middleast24 for updates on the diplomatic and military standoff in the Gulf.

📍 Tehran / Gulf Region

The Iranian regime expanded its threats against regional neighbors, warning Bahrain and other Gulf nations that supporting a U.S.-backed United Nations resolution concerning the Strait of Hormuz will lead to "severe consequences." Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian parliament, warned that these countries risk losing access to the strategic waterway "forever."

The warning specifically targets the coalition of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, all of whom have co-sponsored the draft resolution alongside the United States. Azizi singled out Bahrain as a "microstate," asserting that by siding with Washington, Manama and its allies are closing the doors of the Strait of Hormuz to themselves. Tehran maintains that the passage is a vital artery under its sovereign control and has characterized the resolution as a politically motivated attempt to legitimize the U.S. naval blockade.

The draft resolution calls for Iran to immediately cease all attacks, mining operations, and "illegal tolling" in the Strait, where maritime traffic has dropped by over 90% since late February. While the latest version of the text removed a clause that could have triggered immediate military action, it remains under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, allowing the Security Council to consider "effective measures," including sanctions, if Iran fails to comply.

Tensions have been further exacerbated by Bahrain's recent arrest of 41 individuals allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a move that drew swift condemnation from Tehran and messages of solidarity from Kuwait and other Gulf partners.

Follow @middleast24 for updates on the diplomatic and military standoff in the Gulf.

📍 Southern Lebanon

Recently the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have significantly intensified and expanded their aerial campaign across Lebanon, striking deep into Hezbollah strongholds well beyond the southern border. The expanded operations targeted military infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley, areas south of Beirut, and the Chouf Mountains.

This military escalation comes as a direct response to repeated and systematic violations of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah over the past week. The group has launched multiple drone swarms and anti-tank missiles targeting Israeli sovereign territory, striking civilian communities and IDF positions along the northern border.

In addition to destroying strategic assets, the IDF has focused on eliminating Hezbollah militants actively operating in the field. Military officials emphasized that these strikes are a necessary defensive measure to neutralize ongoing threats and hold the group accountable for its persistent disregard for the standing truce.

Follow @middleast24 for real-time updates on the escalating conflict in Lebanon.

📍 Southern Lebanon

Recently the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have significantly intensified and expanded their aerial campaign across Lebanon, striking deep into Hezbollah strongholds well beyond the southern border. The expanded operations targeted military infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley, areas south of Beirut, and the Chouf Mountains.

This military escalation comes as a direct response to repeated and systematic violations of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah over the past week. The group has launched multiple drone swarms and anti-tank missiles targeting Israeli sovereign territory, striking civilian communities and IDF positions along the northern border.

In addition to destroying strategic assets, the IDF has focused on eliminating Hezbollah militants actively operating in the field. Military officials emphasized that these strikes are a necessary defensive measure to neutralize ongoing threats and hold the group accountable for its persistent disregard for the standing truce.

Follow @middleast24 for real-time updates on the escalating conflict in Lebanon.

📍Cairo, Egypt

The World Bank approved an $800 million financing package for Egypt on Friday, supplemented by a $200 million British guarantee, to support private sector job creation, macroeconomic stability, and Egypt's green transition. The bank increased Egypt's original $500 million allocation by $300 million, citing economic shocks from the Iran war.

Egypt's economy took a severe hit from the regional war. Suez Canal revenues, one of Cairo's primary foreign currency earners, collapsed after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and global shipping froze or rerouted. Tourism dried up as the war scared off European and Gulf visitors. Oil prices above $120 a barrel drove up Egypt's energy import costs. Remittances from Egyptians working in Gulf states fell as the Gulf absorbed its own war damage. The World Bank package is partly economic rescue and partly geopolitical insurance. A collapsing Egypt of 105 million people on the borders of Gaza, Sudan, Libya, and Israel is a scenario Western institutions cannot afford to let play out.

The money arrives as Egypt faces sustained criticism for its conduct along the Gaza border. Egyptian military commanders have long been accused of taking direct financial cuts from smuggling operations through the Philadelphi Corridor, which Egypt patrols under its peace treaty obligations.

Large-scale smuggling operations, including the recent documented movement of 11,000 cartons of cigarettes valued at tens of millions of shekels on Gaza's black market, do not move without Egyptian military cooperation. Hamas taxes every major shipment entering Gaza, using the revenue to sustain its military infrastructure while demanding the international community treat Gaza as a humanitarian emergency.

Egypt also controls the Rafah crossing and has faced sustained criticism for inconsistent enforcement that gives Cairo political leverage over Gaza while benefiting Hamas economically. International lenders continue to funnel billions into Cairo with Egypt's border conduct remaining a largely unaddressed liability.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Cairo, Egypt

The World Bank approved an $800 million financing package for Egypt on Friday, supplemented by a $200 million British guarantee, to support private sector job creation, macroeconomic stability, and Egypt's green transition. The bank increased Egypt's original $500 million allocation by $300 million, citing economic shocks from the Iran war.

Egypt's economy took a severe hit from the regional war. Suez Canal revenues, one of Cairo's primary foreign currency earners, collapsed after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and global shipping froze or rerouted. Tourism dried up as the war scared off European and Gulf visitors. Oil prices above $120 a barrel drove up Egypt's energy import costs. Remittances from Egyptians working in Gulf states fell as the Gulf absorbed its own war damage. The World Bank package is partly economic rescue and partly geopolitical insurance. A collapsing Egypt of 105 million people on the borders of Gaza, Sudan, Libya, and Israel is a scenario Western institutions cannot afford to let play out.

The money arrives as Egypt faces sustained criticism for its conduct along the Gaza border. Egyptian military commanders have long been accused of taking direct financial cuts from smuggling operations through the Philadelphi Corridor, which Egypt patrols under its peace treaty obligations.

Large-scale smuggling operations, including the recent documented movement of 11,000 cartons of cigarettes valued at tens of millions of shekels on Gaza's black market, do not move without Egyptian military cooperation. Hamas taxes every major shipment entering Gaza, using the revenue to sustain its military infrastructure while demanding the international community treat Gaza as a humanitarian emergency.

Egypt also controls the Rafah crossing and has faced sustained criticism for inconsistent enforcement that gives Cairo political leverage over Gaza while benefiting Hamas economically. International lenders continue to funnel billions into Cairo with Egypt's border conduct remaining a largely unaddressed liability.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Jerusalem, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a CBS News 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday that he wants to phase out all American financial military support to Israel, bringing the current $3.8 billion annual aid package down to zero over the next decade. "I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have," Netanyahu said. "I think it's time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support. I want to start now. I don't want to wait for the next Congress."

Netanyahu said he had already raised the idea directly with President Trump and with Israeli officials, whose "jaws dropped" at the proposal. The current memorandum of understanding, which commits the United States to providing $38 billion in military financing to Israel between 2018 and 2028, has long enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington.

Netanyahu's call to end it represented a significant strategic statement about Israeli self-sufficiency, coming from a prime minister who has spent decades cultivating the US-Israel relationship as a cornerstone of Israeli security.

Netanyahu also addressed the war with Iran in the interview, saying it was "not over" because enriched uranium, active enrichment sites, ballistic missile programs, and Iranian proxy networks all remained. "If this regime is weakened or possibly toppled, it's the end of Hezbollah, it's the end of Hamas, it's probably the end of the Houthis," he said, "because the whole scaffolding of the terrorist proxy network that Iran built collapses."

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Jerusalem, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a CBS News 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday that he wants to phase out all American financial military support to Israel, bringing the current $3.8 billion annual aid package down to zero over the next decade. "I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have," Netanyahu said. "I think it's time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support. I want to start now. I don't want to wait for the next Congress."

Netanyahu said he had already raised the idea directly with President Trump and with Israeli officials, whose "jaws dropped" at the proposal. The current memorandum of understanding, which commits the United States to providing $38 billion in military financing to Israel between 2018 and 2028, has long enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington.

Netanyahu's call to end it represented a significant strategic statement about Israeli self-sufficiency, coming from a prime minister who has spent decades cultivating the US-Israel relationship as a cornerstone of Israeli security.

Netanyahu also addressed the war with Iran in the interview, saying it was "not over" because enriched uranium, active enrichment sites, ballistic missile programs, and Iranian proxy networks all remained. "If this regime is weakened or possibly toppled, it's the end of Hezbollah, it's the end of Hamas, it's probably the end of the Houthis," he said, "because the whole scaffolding of the terrorist proxy network that Iran built collapses."

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Damascus, Syria

Syria conducted its first electronic payment trial through Visa and Mastercard networks on May 9, in an official ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, ending more than 15 years of isolation from the global financial system. Syrian company Bimera completed the transaction using a Paymera point-of-sale terminal, with both networks successfully processing payments. Qatar National Bank launched card acceptance and digital payment services on the ground within days of the technical integration being completed.

Syria's Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh said the move will facilitate money transfers for Syrians at home and abroad, integrating the country into the global financial system and allowing visitors to use international cards inside Syria for the first time in over a decade. The trial remains a controlled test rather than a full public rollout, with 4,200 point-of-sale terminals currently deployed and plans to expand to 50,000 devices before the end of 2026.

Syria's reconnection to global payment networks followed the lifting of Caesar sanctions and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. President Ahmed al-Sharaa has kept Syria out of the regional war and positioned the country within a US-led reconstruction framework, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Gulf states actively investing in rebuilding infrastructure. The return of Visa and Mastercard marked one of the most concrete signs yet that Syria was rejoining the international economic order.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Damascus, Syria

Syria conducted its first electronic payment trial through Visa and Mastercard networks on May 9, in an official ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, ending more than 15 years of isolation from the global financial system. Syrian company Bimera completed the transaction using a Paymera point-of-sale terminal, with both networks successfully processing payments. Qatar National Bank launched card acceptance and digital payment services on the ground within days of the technical integration being completed.

Syria's Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh said the move will facilitate money transfers for Syrians at home and abroad, integrating the country into the global financial system and allowing visitors to use international cards inside Syria for the first time in over a decade. The trial remains a controlled test rather than a full public rollout, with 4,200 point-of-sale terminals currently deployed and plans to expand to 50,000 devices before the end of 2026.

Syria's reconnection to global payment networks followed the lifting of Caesar sanctions and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. President Ahmed al-Sharaa has kept Syria out of the regional war and positioned the country within a US-led reconstruction framework, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Gulf states actively investing in rebuilding infrastructure. The return of Visa and Mastercard marked one of the most concrete signs yet that Syria was rejoining the international economic order.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Tan-Tan, Morocco

US and Moroccan forces recovered the remains of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a 27-year-old American Air Defense Artillery officer, from the Atlantic Ocean on May 9, following a week-long search operation involving more than 600 personnel, frigates, helicopters, and drones. A Moroccan military search team located Key's body along the shoreline approximately one mile from where he and a fellow soldier reportedly entered the water.

Key and a second US soldier went missing after falling from a cliff during an off-duty recreational hike in Morocco, where they were participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise. The search and rescue operation drew personnel from the United States, Morocco, and other military allies. The search for the second missing soldier continued as of Sunday.

Brigadier General Curtis King mourned Key's loss in an official statement. "Today, we mourn the loss of 1st Lt. Kendrick Key, whose remains were recovered in Morocco. Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates, and all who knew and served alongside him." Lt. Col. Chris Couch, Key's commanding officer, described him as "a selfless, inspirational leader whose unwavering dedication to his soldiers and their development leaves an enduring legacy within our ranks." Key was 27 years old.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Tan-Tan, Morocco

US and Moroccan forces recovered the remains of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a 27-year-old American Air Defense Artillery officer, from the Atlantic Ocean on May 9, following a week-long search operation involving more than 600 personnel, frigates, helicopters, and drones. A Moroccan military search team located Key's body along the shoreline approximately one mile from where he and a fellow soldier reportedly entered the water.

Key and a second US soldier went missing after falling from a cliff during an off-duty recreational hike in Morocco, where they were participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise. The search and rescue operation drew personnel from the United States, Morocco, and other military allies. The search for the second missing soldier continued as of Sunday.

Brigadier General Curtis King mourned Key's loss in an official statement. "Today, we mourn the loss of 1st Lt. Kendrick Key, whose remains were recovered in Morocco. Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates, and all who knew and served alongside him." Lt. Col. Chris Couch, Key's commanding officer, described him as "a selfless, inspirational leader whose unwavering dedication to his soldiers and their development leaves an enduring legacy within our ranks." Key was 27 years old.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍South Padre Island, Texas, USA

Israeli water technology company IDE Technologies and Houston-based US Desalination LLC announced the formation of RGV-Desal LLC, a joint venture to design, finance, and operate a $1 billion seawater desalination plant on South Padre Island in South Texas. The facility will draw seawater from the Gulf of Mexico and use advanced reverse osmosis technology to produce up to 50 million gallons of fresh drinking water per day, with capacity to expand further as the region grows. The project will be entirely privately funded.

IDE Technologies brought decades of experience building some of the largest desalination plants in the world, including facilities in Israel, the United States, China, India, and Australia. The company designed the Carlsbad plant in southern California, which now supplies 10% of the San Diego region's drinking water. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino said the Rio Grande Valley had reached a breaking point with its traditional water sources. "We need to have other options, we need to have other sources," he said. "Relying on the Rio Grande is no longer a viable option."

The plant will serve both municipal utilities and industrial users across one of America's fastest-growing regions, which has long depended on an increasingly stressed and drought-prone water supply. The US-Israel partnership represented exactly the kind of practical, privately funded cooperation that turns Israeli innovation into solutions at American scale.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍South Padre Island, Texas, USA

Israeli water technology company IDE Technologies and Houston-based US Desalination LLC announced the formation of RGV-Desal LLC, a joint venture to design, finance, and operate a $1 billion seawater desalination plant on South Padre Island in South Texas. The facility will draw seawater from the Gulf of Mexico and use advanced reverse osmosis technology to produce up to 50 million gallons of fresh drinking water per day, with capacity to expand further as the region grows. The project will be entirely privately funded.

IDE Technologies brought decades of experience building some of the largest desalination plants in the world, including facilities in Israel, the United States, China, India, and Australia. The company designed the Carlsbad plant in southern California, which now supplies 10% of the San Diego region's drinking water. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino said the Rio Grande Valley had reached a breaking point with its traditional water sources. "We need to have other options, we need to have other sources," he said. "Relying on the Rio Grande is no longer a viable option."

The plant will serve both municipal utilities and industrial users across one of America's fastest-growing regions, which has long depended on an increasingly stressed and drought-prone water supply. The US-Israel partnership represented exactly the kind of practical, privately funded cooperation that turns Israeli innovation into solutions at American scale.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

"They End Up Immensely Resentful of the Countries That Took Them In!"

Europe's Immigration Crisis Explained by @stefan_tompson founder of @visegrad.24 on The Middle East Breakdown Podcast, now live on Youtube.

"They End Up Immensely Resentful of the Countries That Took Them In!"

Europe's Immigration Crisis Explained by @stefan_tompson founder of @visegrad.24 on The Middle East Breakdown Podcast, now live on Youtube.

📍Beirut, Lebanon | Via Lebanese Television

A Lebanese citizen confronted a Hezbollah supporter on live television in a moment that captured the growing fury among ordinary Lebanese toward the Iranian-backed terrorist organization. The man told the Hezbollah supporter directly: "Elon Musk is planning to take his family to Mars and you're loading Katyusha rockets with trash (Israel) dumps in the sea!"

The clip spread rapidly across Lebanese social media and reflected a sentiment that has been building for months.

Hezbollah initiated the current round of conflict on March 2 by firing rockets and drones in support of Tehran, dragging Lebanon into a war the Lebanese state did not sanction and the Lebanese public did not want.

The economic and physical destruction that followed has accelerated a reckoning that polls and political developments had already signaled, with an estimated 40% of Lebanese Shia now either supporting or undecided on normalization with Israel, and a cross-sectarian bloc in parliament backing direct peace talks with Israel in Washington.

The confrontation was raw, unscripted, and broadcast to a national audience, and it said plainly what Lebanese politicians have been saying more carefully: Hezbollah's war serves Iran, not Lebanon, and the Lebanese people are paying the price.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Beirut, Lebanon | Via Lebanese Television

A Lebanese citizen confronted a Hezbollah supporter on live television in a moment that captured the growing fury among ordinary Lebanese toward the Iranian-backed terrorist organization. The man told the Hezbollah supporter directly: "Elon Musk is planning to take his family to Mars and you're loading Katyusha rockets with trash (Israel) dumps in the sea!"

The clip spread rapidly across Lebanese social media and reflected a sentiment that has been building for months.

Hezbollah initiated the current round of conflict on March 2 by firing rockets and drones in support of Tehran, dragging Lebanon into a war the Lebanese state did not sanction and the Lebanese public did not want.

The economic and physical destruction that followed has accelerated a reckoning that polls and political developments had already signaled, with an estimated 40% of Lebanese Shia now either supporting or undecided on normalization with Israel, and a cross-sectarian bloc in parliament backing direct peace talks with Israel in Washington.

The confrontation was raw, unscripted, and broadcast to a national audience, and it said plainly what Lebanese politicians have been saying more carefully: Hezbollah's war serves Iran, not Lebanon, and the Lebanese people are paying the price.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

The Muslim Brotherhood Didn't Start in Gaza or Beirut. Dr. Walid Phares Explains Where It Really Came From

📍Studio | @middleast24 Exclusive

Most people know the name. Very few understand the origin. @walidphares foreign policy expert and author of Future Jihad, sat down with Middle East 24 to trace the Muslim Brotherhood back to its roots, and explain how a movement founded in 1928 Egypt became the ideological engine behind decades of regional destabilization, from Hamas in Gaza to the Brotherhood networks now operating inside Western institutions and media.

Understanding where the Brotherhood came from is the only way to understand what it is doing today, and why Qatar has invested billions in keeping its ideology alive and spreading.

Watch the full documentary "Understanding the Muslim Brotherhood" on our YouTube channel now. Link in bio.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

The Muslim Brotherhood Didn't Start in Gaza or Beirut. Dr. Walid Phares Explains Where It Really Came From

📍Studio | @middleast24 Exclusive

Most people know the name. Very few understand the origin. @walidphares foreign policy expert and author of Future Jihad, sat down with Middle East 24 to trace the Muslim Brotherhood back to its roots, and explain how a movement founded in 1928 Egypt became the ideological engine behind decades of regional destabilization, from Hamas in Gaza to the Brotherhood networks now operating inside Western institutions and media.

Understanding where the Brotherhood came from is the only way to understand what it is doing today, and why Qatar has invested billions in keeping its ideology alive and spreading.

Watch the full documentary "Understanding the Muslim Brotherhood" on our YouTube channel now. Link in bio.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Gaza Strip

Gazans reported the smuggling of 11,000 cartons of cigarettes into the Gaza Strip through Egypt, in an operation valued at tens of millions of shekels on the local black market.

The shipment, believed to have entered through Egyptian-controlled crossings and tunnel networks along the Philadelphi Corridor, will generate significant profits for Hamas, which controls taxation and black market trade inside Gaza and takes a cut from every major smuggling operation that moves through its territory.

The operation underscored how Hamas continues to exploit the population it governs as an economic resource, taxing black market goods at every level while ordinary Gazans pay inflated prices on the street.

Egypt, which controls the Rafah crossing and patrols the Philadelphi Corridor under its peace treaty obligations, has faced repeated criticism for failing to prevent and even being complicit in tunnel smuggling that feeds Hamas coffers.

Large-scale operations of this scale do not move without some degree of Egyptian cooperation.

Hamas launched the October 7, 2023 massacre, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostage, and has refused full disarmament, a core condition of any ceasefire agreement and a prerequisite for Gaza reconstruction under the Board of Peace framework led by envoy Nikolay Mladenov.

Smuggling revenue from operations like this one allows Hamas to sustain its military and political infrastructure while demanding the international community treat Gaza as a humanitarian emergency.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Gaza Strip

Gazans reported the smuggling of 11,000 cartons of cigarettes into the Gaza Strip through Egypt, in an operation valued at tens of millions of shekels on the local black market.

The shipment, believed to have entered through Egyptian-controlled crossings and tunnel networks along the Philadelphi Corridor, will generate significant profits for Hamas, which controls taxation and black market trade inside Gaza and takes a cut from every major smuggling operation that moves through its territory.

The operation underscored how Hamas continues to exploit the population it governs as an economic resource, taxing black market goods at every level while ordinary Gazans pay inflated prices on the street.

Egypt, which controls the Rafah crossing and patrols the Philadelphi Corridor under its peace treaty obligations, has faced repeated criticism for failing to prevent and even being complicit in tunnel smuggling that feeds Hamas coffers.

Large-scale operations of this scale do not move without some degree of Egyptian cooperation.

Hamas launched the October 7, 2023 massacre, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostage, and has refused full disarmament, a core condition of any ceasefire agreement and a prerequisite for Gaza reconstruction under the Board of Peace framework led by envoy Nikolay Mladenov.

Smuggling revenue from operations like this one allows Hamas to sustain its military and political infrastructure while demanding the international community treat Gaza as a humanitarian emergency.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Doha, Qatar | Via @Khalidalhail / X

Qatari opposition Khalid Al-Hail laid out the mechanics of Qatar's influence operation in a video clip that spread widely on Sunday, describing a coordinated propaganda loop built around Al Jazeera, Qatar-linked NGOs, and paid influencers.

"Every single crisis that happened in any country in the Middle East started by Al Jazeera," Al-Hail said.

"They start a propaganda machine, fake news, then they take it to an NGO that belongs to them, then they give it legitimacy within their media."

Al-Hail described how Qatar used this model to amplify Muslim Brotherhood movements across the region, pointing to Egypt, Tunisia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia as countries targeted by the same playbook.

Paid influencers, he said, were deployed to spread the messaging beyond Al Jazeera's own reach, giving the operation a grassroots appearance while the funding and direction came from Doha. "That's why Qatar is a threat to the region," he said, "and whatever they are doing at the current time is basically opposing any values in the West."

Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood and built Al Jazeera as the ideological backbone of that network, using the channel to challenge Saudi Arabia and project soft power across the Arab world.

The operation Al-Hail described is not new, but his willingness to name it publicly, as a Qatari citizen, made the clip notable.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

📍Doha, Qatar | Via @Khalidalhail / X

Qatari opposition Khalid Al-Hail laid out the mechanics of Qatar's influence operation in a video clip that spread widely on Sunday, describing a coordinated propaganda loop built around Al Jazeera, Qatar-linked NGOs, and paid influencers.

"Every single crisis that happened in any country in the Middle East started by Al Jazeera," Al-Hail said.

"They start a propaganda machine, fake news, then they take it to an NGO that belongs to them, then they give it legitimacy within their media."

Al-Hail described how Qatar used this model to amplify Muslim Brotherhood movements across the region, pointing to Egypt, Tunisia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia as countries targeted by the same playbook.

Paid influencers, he said, were deployed to spread the messaging beyond Al Jazeera's own reach, giving the operation a grassroots appearance while the funding and direction came from Doha. "That's why Qatar is a threat to the region," he said, "and whatever they are doing at the current time is basically opposing any values in the West."

Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood and built Al Jazeera as the ideological backbone of that network, using the channel to challenge Saudi Arabia and project soft power across the Arab world.

The operation Al-Hail described is not new, but his willingness to name it publicly, as a Qatari citizen, made the clip notable.

Follow @middleast24 for stories from across the region.

"LEBANON IS FACING A SHADOW GOVERNMENT"

Analysis by @tony_bouloss

"LEBANON IS FACING A SHADOW GOVERNMENT"

Analysis by @tony_bouloss

In exclusive remarks to @middleast24 , several Lebanese citizens said the real investment for Lebanon is “peace and a normal life,” calling for security, stability, and an end to years of conflict.

Some interviewees openly backed full diplomatic relations and an exchange of ambassadors between Lebanon and Israel, saying religion should not stand in the way of peace.

Others pointed out that several Arab countries already normalized ties with Israel, asking: “If normalization brought stability to others, why not Lebanon too?”

In exclusive remarks to @middleast24 , several Lebanese citizens said the real investment for Lebanon is “peace and a normal life,” calling for security, stability, and an end to years of conflict.

Some interviewees openly backed full diplomatic relations and an exchange of ambassadors between Lebanon and Israel, saying religion should not stand in the way of peace.

Others pointed out that several Arab countries already normalized ties with Israel, asking: “If normalization brought stability to others, why not Lebanon too?”

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