Americas

Pakistan vows to counter Indo-US defense cooperation

Islamabad has conveyed its strong reservations to Washington for its deepening defence ties with New Delhi, viewing the development as a direct threat to the country’s security interests.

US says Saudi Arabia-Israel normalisation difficult but possible

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that establishing diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv is difficult but possible, reasserting that Washington is pushing to normalise ties between the two sides.

Trump heard discussing sensitive Iran document in audio recording: Report

Media outlets have released an audio recording in which former US President Donald Trump purportedly boasts about having a classified document during a 2021 meeting. The ex-president was seemingly talking about holding a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran, citing then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

US says expected “a lot more bloodshed” in Russia following Wagner insurrection

As the picture became more clear to US intelligence analysts that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was about to mobilize his troops inside Russia, the expectation was that his march toward Moscow would encounter much more resistance and be “a great deal more violent and bloody.”

Blinken defends Biden on labeling China’s Xi a “dictator”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has backed President Joe Biden’s remarks calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator, saying the American leader “speaks for all of us.”

US suspected Wagner preparing to take military action against Russia: Report

US intelligence agencies strongly suspected that Evgeny Prigozhin was planning a major move against the Russian government, days before the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group ordered his troops to march on Moscow, The New York Times reported, citing sources. Washington kept silent because it “had little interest” in helping Russia out, the report revealed.

China summons U.S. envoy following Biden’s derogatory remarks

Beijing has reportedly summoned the U.S. ambassador to China as a diplomatic rebuke, escalating its anger against US President Joe Biden after he referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator”.

Wall Street Journal reporter detention appeal denied by Moscow court

An appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against his detention has been denied by Moscow City Court on Thursday.

US House moving to make Iran sanctions permanent

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced a bipartisan bill to make the 1996 sanctions against Tehran permanent.

Biden labels China’s president a ‘dictator’

US President Joe Biden has called his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a “dictator”. The American leader claims Beijing was humiliated after one of its weather balloons accidentally strayed into American airspace earlier this year.

Moscow: Washington plotting to interfere in Russian elections

The United States has openly embraced the goal of destabilizing Russia, with an eye on the 2024 presidential election, Russia's  Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated. The remarks came after US President Joe Biden publicly declared that President Vladimir Putin of Russia “cannot remain in power."

Xi tells Blinken: World needs stable China-U.S. relations

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday ended a high-stakes visit to Beijing with an unexpected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the meeting, the china's leader stressed the world needs steady relations between Beijing and Washington after a period of simmering tensions.

Beijing-Washington relations hit all-time lowest: China’s FM

Beijing-Washington relations have hit the lowest level since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang said at a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Biden’s senior ME adviser visits S. Arabia to discuss possible normalization with Israel

Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s senior Middle East adviser, has reportedly traveled to Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi officials that will focus on the administration's efforts to reach a normalization agreement between the kingdom and Tel Aviv, two US officials told Axios.

Blinken meets Chinese FM on high-stakes mission to cool China-US tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and top diplomat Wang Yi on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to cool Washington-Beijing tensions.

US sends fighter jets to Middle East, citing Russia ‘increasingly unsafe’ activity

The United States has sent F-22 jets to the Middle East in response to the “increasingly unsafe” activity by Russian aircraft in the region.

Oman says Iran, US ‘close’ on prisoner swap

Iran and the United States are close to finalizing a deal on the release of American inmates held in Tehran, Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi told Al-Monitor.

Washington bid to isolate Tehran, Moscow with sanctions ‘impossible’: Russian envoy to Iran

Russian Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Yurievich Dedov has said it is “impossible” for the United States and its allies to succeed in isolating Iran and Russia through sanctions.

Report reveals FBI’s watchlist bias: 98% of names are Muslim

A Muslim group in the US has disclosed that the FBI's secret watchlist is overwhelmingly targeting Muslims, with more than 98% of the entries being Muslim names.

Pentagon says 22 U.S. troops injured in Syria helicopter mishap

Twenty-two U.S. service members were wounded in a helicopter "mishap" in northeast Syria on Sunday, the U.S. military announced late on Monday, without disclosing the cause of the incident or detailing the severity of the injuries.

U.S. official denies any talks with Iran on temporary deal

Washington and Tehran are not discussing an interim nuclear agreement, an American official has said, but the United States has reportedly told Iran of steps that might trigger a crisis and also those that may create a better climate between the long-time antagonists.

US envoy to UN calls for probe into “Iran’s transfer of drones to Russia”

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, has called for an investigation into reports of “Iran’s transfer of combat drones to Russia” for use in the war against Ukraine.

US lawmakers call on Europe to immediately initiate Iran sanctions snapback

Thirty-five US House members sent a bipartisan letter to British, French and German leaders urging them to immediately initiate the snapback mechanism of the United Nations’ sanctions on Iran under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Tehran has repeatedly warned against the European governments’ “provocative and unconstructive" policies towards the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

US says drone plant Russia building with Iran help could be fully operational by 2024

The US believes that a combat drone manufacturing plant Russia is building with Iran’s help could be fully operational by early next year, National Security Council official John Kirby has stated. Kiev and its allies have accused Tehran of sending attack drones to Moscow, an allegation Iran denies.

Document reveals MbS threatened to damage US economy

A classified document has disclosed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) threatened to impose significant economic costs on Washington after US President Joe Biden warned Riyadh over its decision to slash oil production last fall.

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