WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is preparing to send additional troops to the Middle East in response to mounting concerns over Iran, which Washington blames for attacks on oil tankers last week, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military on Monday released new images it says showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) removing an unexploded limpet mine from a Japanese-owned tanker that was attacked on June 13 in the Gulf of Oman, as Washington blames Tehra... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that Iran had so far faithfully stuck to internationally-agreed curbs on uranium enrichment and that Moscow was unaware of any statement suggesting that Tehran intended to stop doing so. Iran said earlier on Monday... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers on Monday to step up sanctions against Iran swiftly should it go through with a plan to exceed an enriched uranium limit set by a 2015 nuclear deal. Locked in a stand-off with W... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will quit a treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons unless European powers save a separate 2015 atomic deal that Washington abandoned last year, a senior Iranian lawmaker told the semi-official Fars news agency on Monday. “There is ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he regretted Iran’s announcement that it would exceed the allowed enriched uranium limit, but that Paris would hold talks with Iran and its partners to avoid any further escalation in the region... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday after Saudi Arabia said producer club OPEC and Russia should restrict supplies to current levels, while Washington’s withdrawal of a tariff threat against Mexico removed a cloud over the global economy. However, ... More »
SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crude oil imports slipped 8% in May from an all-time peak hit the month before, customs data showed, as the world’s top importer of the commodity curbed shipments from Iran amid tightening U.S. sanctions on that country. C... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than 1% on Monday, extending losses of over 3% from Friday, when crude markets slipped to their biggest monthly losses in six months amid stalling demand and as trade wars fanned fears of a global economic slowdown. F... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to even out a trade imbalance with the United States and expressed confidence, despite Japanese wariness, that “good things” would come from North Korea. Trump i... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday, extending losses from last week when crude dropped the most this year on concerns the Sino-U.S. trade war could trigger a broad economic slowdown, although OPEC’s supply cuts provided some support. U.S. West Tex... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump, declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran, swept aside objections from Congress on Friday to complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates ... More »
TORONTO (Reuters) – Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou described her house arrest in Vancouver as “restricted to a limited space” even as she spent her past six months in a six-bedroom, multi-million dollar Canadian home. Meng, 47, has access to top l... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two Democrats with U.S. military experience who are vying for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination shifted the focus of the race to foreign policy on Sunday, criticizing Republican President Donald Trump for escalating tensions with ... More »
(Reuters) – Huawei Technologies’ founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei said on Saturday the growth of the Chinese tech giant “may slow, but only slightly” due to recent U.S. restrictions. In remarks to the Japanese press and reported s.nikkei.com/2VMJSaT by... More »
DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two Saudi oil tankers were among vessels targeted by a “sabotage attack” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, condemning it as an attempt to undermine the security of global crude supplies. The UA... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union fully supports the international nuclear accord with Iran and wants rival powers to avoid any further escalation over the issue, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday. “We will continue to support it ... More »
(Reuters) – Huawei Technologies Co Ltd lawyer James Cole’s prior work at the U.S. Department of Justice created conflicts of interest that should disqualify him from defending the Chinese company in a case of alleged bank fraud and sanctions violations, U.S. p... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices tumbled on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would sharply hike tariffs on Chinese goods this week, risking the derailment of trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (W... More »
WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The United States is expected to announce on Monday that buyers of Iranian oil need to end imports soon or face sanctions, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, triggering a 3 percent jump in crude prices to their ... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. intelligence has accused Huawei Technologies of being funded by Chinese state security, The Times said on Saturday, adding to the list of allegations faced by the Chinese technology company in the West. The CIA accused Huawei of receiving fund... More »
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sharply criticised U.S. military intervention in the Middle East on Monday as he began a first official visit to Iraq, aimed at shoring up Tehran’s influence and expanding trade ties. The visit also sends a ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia plans to cut its crude oil exports in April to below 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while keeping its output “well below” 10 million bpd, a Saudi official said on Monday, as the kingdom seeks to drain a supply glut and support ... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian traders will export raw sugar to Iran for March and April delivery, five trade sources said, the first Indian sugar sales to Tehran in at least five years as Iran struggles to secure food supplies under sanctions imposed by the United... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Fighting between parties and factions in Iran is a “deadly poison” undermining foreign policy, Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying in an interview published on Tuesday, a day after he resigned as Iranian foreign minister. Zarif’s comme... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked Iran’s Foreign Ministry during his visit to Tehran on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Rouhani’s comments come a day afte... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who announced his resignation on Monday, is at the frontline of the battle against America, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Rouhan... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – European Union countries have reached an agreement on how to regulate Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday, declining to give details on the compromise. “Regarding the gas directive, we have reached an agr... More »
PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi said she first had doubts about the 1979 Islamic Revolution when members of the Shah’s regime were executed on the rooftop of a school housing its leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. She ha... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A British-Iranian aid worker who has been jailed in Tehran is going on hunger strike in protest at her treatment, her employer and her husband said. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was ar... More »
LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) – The U.S. case against the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Canada last month, centers on the company’s suspected ties to two obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that opera... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army said it entered Manbij on Friday for the first time in years, after the Kurdish YPG militia urged Damascus to protect the town from the threat of Turkish attacks. It was unclear whether the government forces had spread out in... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army entered Manbij on Friday for the first time in years, it said in a statement, after the Kurdish YPG militia urged the government of President Bashar al-Assad to protect the town from Turkish attacks. The army said it would gu... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi that the U.S. is still committed to fighting Islamic State in Iraq and other areas despite its planned troop withdrawal from Syria, Abdul Mahdi’s office said on... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said that the U.S. military presence in Syria had been “a mistake, illogical and a source of tension”, in Tehran’s first reaction to President Donald Trump’s planned pull-out. Trump has begun what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troop... More »
ADEN (Reuters) – The head of a United Nations advance team tasked with monitoring a ceasefire between the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen’s Hodeidah has arrived in Yemen, U.N. and local officials said on Saturday. The s... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards launched war games in the Gulf on Saturday, state television reported, after a U.S. aircraft carrier entered the waterway amid rising tension with Washington over reimposed U.S. sanctions. Television showed a... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will quit in February after falling out with Donald Trump over the president’s foreign policies, including the surprise decision this week to pull troops out of Syria and plan a drawdown in Afghanistan. Mattis, a r... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israeli airliners would be able to overfly Sudan en route to South America, part of Israel’s drive to improve ties with Muslim countries and isolate arch-foe Iran. Encouraged by the Tr... More »
TORONTO/BEIJING (Reuters) – A top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies is due back in a Canadian court on Monday where she’ll fight for her freedom with the help of pressure from Beijing against prosecutors’ claims she cannot be trusted. Huawei ... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Iran has the ability to build ballistic missiles with a broader range, a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Monday, according to the semi-official Fars News agency. Iran’s missiles currently cover a range of 2000 kilo... More »
TORONTO/BEIJING (Reuters) – The CFO of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] argued that she should be released on bail while awaiting an extradition hearing, citing her longstanding ties to Canada, properties she owns in Vancouver and fears for her heal... More »
TORONTO (Reuters) – A top executive of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] argued that she should be let out on bail while awaiting an extradition hearing due to severe hypertension and fears for her health while incarcerated in Canada, court documents... More »
(Reuters) – The arrest in Canada of a top Chinese technology executive for possible extradition to the United States has roiled markets and cast doubt on a recent U.S.-China trade truce. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who is a... More »
VANCOUVER/LONDON (Reuters) – Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial officer faces U.S. accusations that she covered up her company’s links to a firm that tried to sell equipment to Iran despite sanctions, a Canadian prosecutor said on Friday, arguing aga... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Qatar’s decision to quit OPEC shows the frustration of small producers at the dominant role of a Saudi and Russia-led panel, a top Iranian official said, adding that any supply cuts should come only from countries that had increased output. ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Iran has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus among backyard poultry in the north of the country, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday, citing a report from Iran’s agriculture ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday condemned what he described as Iran’s testing of a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads as a violation of the international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear pro... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran’s expansion in the region, according to U.S. and Arab offic... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel launched its newest air defense system on Monday on the Syrian frontier, where Damascus’s Russian-backed forces have been routing rebels, as Moscow sent envoys for what it called “urgent” talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ... More »
WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump told Iran it risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have suffered before” if the Islamic Republic made more threats against the United States. His words, spelled out in capit... More »
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Kurdish security forces killed gunmen who had stormed a government building in the Kurdish city of Erbil on Monday and took hostages in an attack suspected of being carried out by Islamic State, security officials said, Armed with pisto... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Iran’s vice president acknowledged on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions would hurt the economy, but promised to “sell as much oil as we can” and protect banking. Eshaq Jahangiri said Washington was trying to stop Iran’s petrochemical, steel and co... More »
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – The president of OPEC defended the oil producer group on Monday against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent demands for higher oil output, saying OPEC does not shoulder the blame. “OPEC alone cannot be blamed for all the problems ... More »
AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – South Syrian rebels said on Friday they had agreed to cease fire and start handing over heavy weapons in a deal mediated by Russia that will restore state sovereignty over areas they hold in Deraa province after a fierce government off... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces seized control of the Nassib border crossing with Jordan on Friday, a military news service run by the Lebanese group Hezbollah said, after Russia concluded a surrender agreement with rebels in the area. Source: http... More »
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian rebels in Deraa province who are not willing to reconcile with the government will leave to insurgent-held areas of the north under a Russian-brokered agreement that will also restore Syrian state sovereignty over a border crossing wit... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – President Hassan Rouhani promised Iranians the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new U.S. sanctions, a day after traders massed outside parliament to protest against a sharp fall in the value of the national currenc... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army has seized a chunk of territory from rebels in the southwest, Syrian state media and a war monitor said on Tuesday, the first major government advance in an offensive near the Jordanian border. Meanwhile two Israeli missiles ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Political turmoil in Italy, the euro zone’s third largest economy, could hit economic growth in Germany and affect the whole euro zone, the Berlin-based DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said on Wednesday. The likelihood of snap Italian... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is worried by signs of weakening in the network of multilateral organizations and agreements designed to foster international cooperation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday. Merkel blamed the fraying of the multilateral order o... More »
WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) – The United States on Sunday said it hopes to use strong shared interests that have emerged with its European Union partners in recent months to move forward on addressing Iran’s nuclear program, missile development and role in reg... More »
TEHRAN (Reuters) – The European Union is not doing enough to preserve the benefits for Iran from the 2015 international nuclear pact following the withdrawal of the United States, Iran’s foreign minister told the EU’s energy chief on Sunday. Miguel Arias Canet... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army resumed its offensive against Islamic State militants in south Damascus on Monday after a short ceasefire to allow women, children and old people leave, state television said. The Syrian army and its allies have been battling... More »
CANNES, France (Reuters) – Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Palme d’Or at Cannes on Saturday for “Shoplifters”, a critically acclaimed family drama with unguessable plot twists. The award, to a director who has won prizes at the festival before, def... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan said he plans to take greater control of the economy after presidential elections next month and the central bank will have to take note of what the president says and act accordingly. His comments helped pushed the... More »
HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban fighters threatened the provincial capital of Farah in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, with fighting underway on the outskirts of the city where government forces were defending two police districts, officials and residen... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to German, French and British counterparts in recent days to discuss cooperation over Iran, a State Department spokeswoman said on Monday a week after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from th... More »
CANNES, France (Reuters) – Despite being banned from making movies, Jafar Panahi delivered one at Cannes which tackles the hot topic of the moment: the problems women actors face in a male-dominated world. “3 Faces” is the story of a famous actress, Bahnaz Jaf... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah and its political allies won more than half the seats in Lebanon’s first parliamentary election in nine years, according to unofficial preliminary results cited by politicians and Lebanese media. The r... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hezbollah’s gains in the Lebanese election on Sunday show that the state is indistinguishable from the Iranian-backed Shi’ite group and that Israel should not distinguish between them in any future war, an Israeli security cabinet ministe... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is traveling to the United States on Sunday for a two-day visit, during which he will meet Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser John Bolton, Britain said. The discussions in Washingt... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is expected to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear agreement on May 12. Tehran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain, and the United States in 2015. Iran... More »
ANKARA (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister said on Thursday U.S. demands to change its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers were unacceptable as a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Europeans to “fix” the deal loomed. Trump has warned that unless E... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – A Saudi Arabian court began the trial of two Jordanians accused of spying against the kingdom for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya said on Monday. The charges under consideration by the Specialized Criminal Court i... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army began an intense bombardment of a rebel enclave near Homs on Monday, a war monitor said, as President Bashar al-Assad pushed to recapture all the remaining areas his forces have besieged. The attack comes as Syrian state tele... More »
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – The United States is deeply concerned by Iran’s “destabilizing and malign activities”, new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. The former CIA director was speaking on a fly... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on a hastily-arranged visit to the Middle East as the United States aims to muster support for new sanctions against Iran. The visit to Riyadh, Jerusalem and Amman just two d... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A day after being sworn in as the new U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo landed in Brussels for talks with key allies in Europe on heightened Russian aggression and ways to strengthen the NATO military alliance. Pompeo, a former Army off... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East. Pompeo, a former Army officer w... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Monday to kick off a three-day state visit expected to be dominated by U.S.-European differences on the Iran nuclear deal and trade. It will be T... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s central bank has banned the country’s banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, over money-laundering concerns, the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday as the country tries to halt a currency crisis. “Banks and c... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The first big showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies is set for Wednesday when the justices hear a challenge to the lawfulness of his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Commerce is banning American companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp for seven years for violating the terms of a sanctions violation case, U.S. officials told Reuters. The Chi... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has banned American companies from selling telecommunications equipment to China’s ZTE Corp after the Chinese company illegally shipped telecom equipment to Iran and North Korea, the Commerce Department said on Monday. ... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The prospect of Western military action in Syria that could lead to confrontation with Russia hung over the Middle East on Friday but there was no clear sign that a U.S.-led attack was imminent. International chemical weapons experts were tr... More »
WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday promised quick, forceful action in response to a deadly suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, appearing to suggest a potential military response. Trump told a meeting with milita... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a two-day visit to Turkey from Tuesday where he will meet his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the Kremlin said on Monday. Putin and Erdogan will also officia... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to cut prices for all crude grades it sells to Asia in May to reflect weaker prices for its Middle East benchmark Dubai crude, trade sources said on Monday. The official selling price (OSP) for fl... More »
FILE PHOTO: A boy is seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh/File Photo AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s rebel-held city of Douma faces a “catastrophic” situation after becoming the main have... More »
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shakes hands with French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2018. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS TEHRAN (Reuters) – After a day of tough talking in Tehran on Monday, France’s foreign minist... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syrian government officials removed trauma kits and surgical supplies from trucks that are part of an inter-agency convoy heading into the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta, a World Health Organization (WHO) official told Reuters on ... More »
A Russian soldier is seen at Wafideen camp in Damascus, Syria March 1, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian military said a five-hour truce had begun in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta on Friday, the fourth such truce in as many days, the Interfax... More »
A child and a man are seen in hospital in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh BEIRUT (Reuters) – A family of nine was killed in Syrian government bombardment of the rebel enclave of eastern Ghou... More »
French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a news conference during European Union leaders informal summit in Brussels, Belgium, February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday told his Turkish counterpar... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A plan to truck oil from Iraq’s northern Kirkuk fields to Iran cannot be fully implemented at this stage due to security concerns, the head of the Iran-Iraq chamber of commerce said on Monday. Iraq and Iran have agreed to swap up to 60,000 b... More »
Relatives of passengers who were believed to have been killed in a plane crash react near the town of Semirom, Iran, February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Tasnim News Agency DUBAI (Reuters) – All 65 passengers and crew were feared dead in a plane crash in central Iran on... More »
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrive to a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, February 16, 2018. REUTERS/Cem Ozdel ANKARA (Reuters) – The United States and Turkey agreed on Friday to try to rescue a strategic relati... More »
Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday that U.S. proposals regarding the disputed Lebanon-Israel maritime border were "unacceptable", state news agency NNA said. More »
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein talks to reporters in Jakarta, Indonesia February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta GENEVA (Reuters) – The top United Nations human rights official called on Iran on Friday to halt executions of young peo... More »
