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Jordan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Jordan Times
King to media figures: Jordan will always be Gaza's biggest supporter
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday affirmed that Jordan has been, and will remain, the greatest support for Gaza's people, who are suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe unlike anything witnessed in recent history. During a meeting with media figures at Al Husseiniya Palace, His Majesty said Jordan will continue to provide everything it can out of its sense of moral, humanitarian, and Arab duty, highlighting the Kingdom's diplomatic efforts, including recent meetings with the leaders of Germany and Canada, and ongoing coordination with Arab leaders and international partners to press for an end to the war on Gaza and step up the humanitarian response, according to a Royal Court statement. 'The suffering of our brethren in Gaza strikes at the very sense of our humanity, not just because it is happening at our doorstep, but also because this country was built on compassion, on standing with those who suffer,' the King said. His Majesty also added, 'No matter how much we do, it can never measure up to the scale of the horror Palestinians in Gaza endure every single day—not when entire families are being erased and children are being starved.' 'But that doesn't mean that we are not doing everything in our power. We are. And we will continue to do so, relentlessly and without hesitation. Not because we have to, and certainly not because we are looking to take credit, but because we are not a nation that looks away or turns its back on neighbours in need,' the King continued. His Majesty said he is aware that there isn't a single Jordanian who is not angry and horrified by what is happening in Gaza, 'and I have no doubt that every Jordanian wants to help stop the suffering in any and every way he or she can.' Everyone is distraught, the King added, but people express their grief differently. 'We must respect all perspectives and individual choices, without judgements, accusations, personal attacks, or public shaming. We must always choose respect, unity and empathy,' His Majesty said. The King also called for a balance between grief and solidarity with Gaza, and continuing to live life as normal, as this is an indispensable national duty, the statement said. 'Stopping normal life and damaging the national economy does not serve the interests of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. They would be the first to say they want a strong ally in Jordan,' His Majesty stressed. His Majesty noted the importance of citizens continuing to be productive in order to stimulate the economy and work for a better future, adding that moving forward with their lives does not mean forgetting the pain of what is happening in Gaza, according to the statement. The King said Gaza needs a strong Jordan, reaffirming that the Kingdom will not deviate from its firm Arab values, and will continue to modernise and develop, and support its Arab brethren. Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi and Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh attended the meeting.
Times of Oman
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
His Majesty exchanges New Hijri Year greetings with leaders of Arab, Islamic nations
Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has exchanged congratulatory messages with leaders of Arab and Islamic countries on the occasion of the new Hijri year 1447 and the commemoration of the noble Prophet's migration (Hijrah). In his messages, His Majesty extended his warmest greetings and sincere wishes to the leaders and their peoples, praying that this blessed occasion brings prosperity, peace, and continued progress to the Islamic nation and the world at large. In return, the leaders conveyed their heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty the Sultan, expressing their hopes for a year filled with blessings, peace, and harmony for Oman and the entire Muslim world.
Washington Post
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump had visions of Middle East ‘peace.' Netanyahu had other ideas.
You're reading an excerpt from the WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. A month ago, President Donald Trump went to the Saudi capital and spoke grandiosely of peace. Before a gathering of Arab leaders, he heralded the 'dawn of a bright new day for the great people of the Middle East.' Fractious conflicts would end, broken fences would mend. Trump decried the past generation of failed U.S. interventions and nation-building projects in the region. He offered 'a new path' to the theocratic regime in Tehran and said he would be 'happy' to forge a deal with Iran to make 'the world a safer place.' With his penchant for ahistorical superlatives, Trump declared that, 'for the first time in a thousand years, the world will look at this region not as a place of turmoil and strife, and war and death, but as a land of opportunity and hope.' But the events of recent days portend more turmoil and strife. The exchange of deadly strikes and missile barrages between Israel and Iran has led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, and has tipped the Middle East back into crisis. The countries' neighbors are calling for de-escalation, and Trump has appealed, somewhat limply, for an end to hostilities and a diplomatic deal. Talks that had been scheduled in Oman between the United States and Iranian interlocutors were called off. The conflict flared early Friday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government announced its intent to target Iran's nuclear and ballistic weapons programs. The resulting attacks hit numerous Iranian facilities and military installations, as well as neighborhoods populated with civilians. Iranian retaliation followed, and Israel's robust air defense systems were not able to thwart all the bombardments. Waves of strikes and reprisals continued through the weekend. There's no immediate end in sight. Netanyahu has spent many years inveighing against the threat of Iran and appears to be following through on a long-standing desire to defang its regime. He narrowly survived a vote in Israel's parliament last week that could have collapsed his government, but now has galvanized broad public support for a new war. 'We are here because we are in the midst of an existential struggle that all Israeli citizens understand,' Netanyahu said Sunday afternoon in the central Israeli city of Bat Yam, where Iranian missiles had struck residential structures and killed 10 people. In an interview on Fox News, the Israeli leader suggested that the ongoing Israeli military campaign could result in the toppling of the Islamic republic 'because the regime in Iran is very weak.' As my colleagues reported, Netanyahu, a wily strategist, appears to have shed his inhibitions and is pressing Israel's perceived advantage. In the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by Hamas, the Israeli war machine has delivered hammer blows to a range of Iranian regional allies and proxies — including Hamas in war-ravaged Gaza, Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, as well as targets in Syria, whose Iran-friendly regime collapsed last year. The post-Oct. 7 developments 'changed the thinking in Israel in terms of its capability and taking risks,' Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence official, said to my colleagues. 'When you don't have Syria, when Hamas is nonexistent, and without Hezbollah, you can do almost whatever you want.' But, Citrinowicz warned, there doesn't appear to be that much strategic thinking about what comes next. 'So we expand [attacks] into [Iran's] energy sector, so we fight a war of attrition that never ends,' he said. 'And then what?' Trump and his allies have said that the United States was not involved in Israel's unilateral act. According to the Wall Street Journal, in a phone call last Monday, Trump explicitly told Netanyahu to refrain from striking Iran. But the United States' removal of myriad personnel in the region ahead of the attacks indicated a degree of coordination regarding the strikes, while Netanyahu is receiving vociferous support from Republican hawks in Washington. On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said that, if diplomacy fails, the United States should 'go all in to make sure that when this operation is over, there's nothing left standing in Iran regarding their nuclear program.' Graham backed the United States directly entering the war. 'If that means providing bombs … if it means flying with Israel, fly with Israel,' he said. The fraught moment has split opinion within the American right, with influential conservative voices like broadcaster Tucker Carlson denouncing Washington 'warmongers.' Trump, no matter his social media posts championing peace and diplomacy, has not done much to set the table for meaningful peace in the region. The war in Gaza smolders on, and polling shows that a majority of Jewish Israelis support the forced transfer of its Palestinian population. There's little likelihood of the necessary political conditions emerging in Israel that could be the prelude to a grand diplomatic deal that would normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and usher in Trump's promised 'bright new day.' Instead, an expanding war is in the offing. Netanyahu is wielding Israel's military preeminence in the Middle East and calling the bluff of an increasingly weak and battered regime in Tehran. Israel's ability to wipe out a whole cadre of Iran's top military officials showed how far its spy agencies have penetrated the country. With its proxies enfeebled and sensitive military and nuclear facilities under bombardment, Tehran's options are narrowing. But backing Iran's regime into a corner raises the stakes even more. Iran may decide to strike out at other targets on its borders or attempt to shut down shipping in the Persian Gulf, an escalation that would probably draw in the United States. Western diplomats should 'be clear eyed that this was a major attack initiated by Israel, designed to up the ante against Tehran and drag the region into confrontation,' noted Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, in an email. It's not clear how much of Iran's nuclear capacity remains intact, but it may decide now is the moment to rush toward the production of a weapon. 'Iran has limited options to respond directly,' wrote Kenneth Pollack, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute and a former top U.S. national security official. 'The danger, however, is that Israel has opened a Pandora's box: the worst Iranian response might also be the most likely—a decision to withdraw from its arms control commitments and build nuclear weapons in earnest.' Writing on X, Vali Nasr, a professor of Middle East and international studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, reacted to footage depicting a residential area in Tehran struck by Israel: 'The more of this sort of attacks on civilian targets and neighborhoods, the more Israel will be making the case with the Iranian public that the country should get nuclear weapons.' Abbas Amanat, a professor emeritus of history at Yale University and an Iran scholar, argued that the war is thinning the grounds for talks. 'If Iran wants to negotiate with the Americans, they have to have something to negotiate about,' he told me. Amanat said that neither Israeli nor U.S. officials appear to be reckoning with the profound uncertainty that would follow a collapse of the regime. 'If you're engaging in a campaign of this scale, what is the future of Iran?' he asked. Does Israel imagine 'a country subordinated' to its interests — a scenario that's highly unlikely. Or, Amanat asked, do they seek the disintegration of the Iranian state, akin to what unfolded in Libya in the wake of NATO's intervention in its 2011 civil war. That would lead, Amanat said, to 'total chaos' and 'a wasteland' — a wasteland, as an ancient Roman once put it, that even Trump would struggle to call peace.
Al Jazeera
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Arab states 'haven't taken substantive action' to end Israel's war on Gaza
As Arab leaders meet in Iraq, Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, says that while Arab states express a desire to end Israel's war on Gaza, they haven't taken 'substantive action'.
Russia Today
18-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Putin invites Arab leaders to Moscow summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited the heads of state and government of Arab League countries to attend the first Russia-Arab summit, scheduled for October 15 in Moscow. The Kremlin published the invitation on its official website on Saturday, as Arab leaders gathered in Baghdad to discuss the war in Gaza. 'We intend to further actively develop constructive dialogue with the League of Arab States, as well as friendly relations with all its members,' Putin said. 'In this regard, I would like to invite all leaders of your organization's member states, as well as the Secretary-General of the League, to take part in the first Russia-Arab summit, which we plan to hold on October 15.' He added that the meeting will take place 'in a difficult international situation,' referring to the 'sharp escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation' and 'numerous civilian casualties.' The Arab League, he went on to say, has proven itself to be 'an effective mechanism for multilateral dialogue and joint response to the challenges and threats faced by the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa.' At the 34th Arab League Summit held on Saturday, regional leaders collectively condemned Israel's military actions in Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire, and pledged financial support for the enclave's reconstruction. The Kremlin highlighted Moscow's support for Arab-led efforts to resolve regional crises through diplomacy, as well as the importance of adhering to 'the generally recognized norms of international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.' Russia and Arab nations have deepened relations in recent years, with Putin traveling to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in December 2023. In Abu Dhabi, he was welcomed by President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as a 'dear friend,' with both leaders stressing the importance of enhanced cooperation to ensure regional stability. Putin described the relationship as 'unprecedentedly high' and called the UAE Russia's main trading partner in the Arab world. The two sides discussed collaboration in energy and advanced technology.
