US Secretary Rubio says 'Iran is in a lot of trouble' "Iran is in a lot of trouble," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, in remarks given at the ASEAN meeting in the Philippines. Rubio stated that Iran is facing "hyperinflation, runaway inflation, high foocosts" and that its military "suffered a tremendous amount of damage".
Mamdani says he doesn't have authority to arrest Netanyahu, but US government does Submitted by Rayhan Uddin on Wed, 07/22/2026 - 10:10 New York City mayor said he reviewed every avenue available to carry out ICC warrant against 'architect of a horrific genocide' New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in video released on 21 July 2026 (NYC Mayor's Office via YouTube/Handout via Reuters) Off New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said that he does not have the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged the US government to do so if the Israeli prime minister visits the country. The mayor made the remarks in a social media video on Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump said Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America". "Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people," Mamdani said in the two-minute clip that has since garnered more than 30m views.
Will Burnham liberate Labour's Palestine policy from Starmer's dead hand ? Submitted by Avi Shlaim on Mon, 07/20/2026 - 11:37 A substantive change would involve calling Israel’s actions a genocide, implementing trade sanctions, banning all arms sales to Israel and, last but not least, the repeal of the ban on Palestine Action Andy Burnham speaks after being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the country's next prime minister, during 'Labour’s Special Conference' in central London on 17 July, 2026 (AFP) On Former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s poor performance in the domestic political arena has undoubtedly played a part in his downfall only two years after his landslide victory in the 2024 general election. But even his severest critics seem to agree that his performance on the world stage was of a much higher order.
Rubio says US open to talks on Middle East conflict, but Iran not serious US State Secretary Marco Rubio said that Washington is willing to engage, negotiate and settle differences with Iran regarding the ongoing conflict in the region. "If they're serious, we're serious. If they're not, then we will do what's necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies," Rubio said during a visit to Manila, Philippines.
Trump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia: Report US President Donald Trump has officially approved a landmark agreement with Saudi Arabia that will provide the Gulf country with a civilian nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reported citing US officials. The new deal, which would last 30 years, could potentially make way for uranium enrichment in the kingdom's territory. The initiative is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars, and is designed to give US companies a key role in developing Saudi Arabia’s nuclear infrastructure while shutting out other foreign competitors.
'This will be your legacy': Aoun seeks financing for Lebanon, pressure on Israel Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday largely steered clear of the potential minefield that comes with being in front of the press alongside US President Donald Trump, as the two leaders met for the very first time at the White House. The sit-down is a highly coveted opportunity for Aoun, who assumed office just two weeks before Trump's inauguration in January 2025. The last Lebanese president to sit in the Oval Office was Michel Sleiman in 2009, with former President Barack Obama.
'This will be your legacy': Aoun seeks financing for Lebanon, pressure on Israel Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Tue, 07/21/2026 - 18:21 In return, Trump allows US airlines to fly to Lebanon for the first time in decades US President Donald Trump laughs while shaking hands with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun during their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on 21 July 2026 (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Off Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday largely steered clear of the potential minefield that comes with being in front of the press alongside US President Donald Trump, as the two leaders met for the very first time at the White House. The sit-down is a highly coveted opportunity for Aoun, who assumed office just two weeks before Trump's inauguration in January 2025. The last Lebanese president to sit in the Oval Office was Michel Sleiman in 2009, with former President Barack Obama.
Lebanon president says he insisted on 'full Israeli withdrawal' in Trump talks Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says he stressed the need for Israel to pull its troops from his country during his meeting on Tuesday with US counterpart Donald Trump. "President Aoun emphasized the urgent need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories, affirming that this constitutes an essential step toward consolidating stability, enabling the Lebanese state to fully extend its sovereignty—through its own forces alone—and moving forward with the implementation of the joint tripartite framework," the presidency said in a statement to X. This comes after the Lebanese army reported that Israeli troops fired near Lebanese soldiers during the Lebanese army's deployment into one of the pilot zones in the country's south, as per the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement.
Netherlands to ban goods from Israeli settlements The Dutch government announced on Tuesday that it will ban products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian starting on 22 September. The decision follows similar measures taken by Ireland, Belgium, and Spain. The Dutch foreign ministry added that, through these measures, the Netherlands is strengthening its commitment to fulfilling its international legal obligation not to contribute to the continuation Israel's unlawful occupation of Palestinian terriroty, as per the advice from the ICJ.
Lebanon’s president thanks Trump for Israel framework agreement Speaking during a press conference with US President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun hailed the US-brokered framework deal signed with Israel. “I would like to thank President Trump and his team for the historic achievement we did together…the signing of the framework agreement with [the] ultimate objective of ending the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel forever,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported Aoun as saying, in a post on X. Aoun told Trump that the deal “will be your legacy…together we will be able to achieve this objective,” according to Khodr.
Iran’s foreign minister calls actions of French diplomats ‘unacceptable’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday in a call to his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot that the conduct of two French diplomats in Tehran was “unconventional”, “unprofessional” and “unacceptable”. This comes after Barrot warned of “consequences” for Iranian security services detaining two of their diplomats on Monday.
US announces trade deal with Jordan The US announced on Tuesday that they will be entering a trade deal with Jordan which would remove barriers for US exporters and provide new access for critical US industries. According to a statement from the White House, Jordan will remove non-tariff trade barriers and expand market access for US goods, including agricultural products and motor vehicles, as part of the deal. This comes amid renewed Iranian strikes on Jordan, which killed two US military personnel on Friday.
Trump: Iran ‘desperate to meet’ for talks Speaking to reporters in the White House on Tuesday, Trump claimed that the Iranians “want to meet desperately to try and end [the war] because they’re getting decimated”, adding that “until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest”. He said that the US military is “degrading” Iran’s military capabilities “at levels that nobody thought was possible”, but admitted that Iran “did slip something through in Jordan” after an Iranian strike on the country killed two US service members. Trump also claimed that if the US strikes hadn’t knocked out Iran’s nuclear sites last year, Iran “would have a nuclear weapon, and you wouldn’t have Israel”.
Ed Miliband, the new UK foreign secretary, on Israel, Iraq, Syria and Iran Submitted by Rayhan Uddin on Tue, 07/21/2026 - 14:55 Middle East Eye breaks down former Labour leader's views on key foreign policy issues Britain's Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband leaves 10 Downing Street in London on 20 July 2026 (AFP/Henry Nicholls) Off Having initially been tipped for the role of chancellor, former Labour leader Ed Miliband has been appointed foreign secretary by Andy Burnham, the UK 's new prime minister. Accepting the role, Miliband said that it was an “honour and privilege” to take up the position. “My parents came to Britain as Jewish refugees from the Nazis,” he said.
Aoun seeks Trump backing for Israel pullback as south Lebanon ‘pilot zones’ begin Submitted by Adam Chamseddine on Tue, 07/21/2026 - 13:34 Beirut touts the Lebanese president’s Washington trip as proof direct talks work, but critics fear the agreement with Israel could draw the army into confrontation with Hezbollah A Lebanese army vehicle drives past first responders near the entrance to the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya as troops deploy to the village on 21 July 2026 (Fadel Itani/AFP) Off Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is in Washington for a high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump, as the first “pilot zone” operations under a US-brokered framework agreement with Israel began in southern Lebanon . The visit, which includes meetings with senior US officials, Lebanese diaspora figures and Washington-based think tanks, is being viewed in Beirut as one of the most consequential foreign trips of Aoun’s presidency. It is the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the White House in nearly two decades, and follows the highest-level Lebanese meetings with a US president since former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Barack Obama in 2011.
Pakistan PM urges all sides to ‘exercise restraint’ during talks with Iranian minister Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting on Tuesday with Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni in which he called for restraint from all warring sides amid escalating regional tensions in the US war on Iran. In a statement to X, Sharif’s office said that the prime minister “urged all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could further destabilise the region,” as well as adding that Pakistan would continue to act as mediator between the US and Iran. ISLAMABAD: 21 July 2026.
Iran's president says communication with the supreme leader is increasing, state media reports Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement delivered today that his communication with the supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is increasing day by day, according to state media.
General Ghalibaf's gamble: An IRGC veteran takes on Iran’s hardliners to pursue diplomacy Submitted by MEE correspondent on Tue, 07/21/2026 - 09:35 Mohammad Ghalibaf has undergone a striking evolution, the infamous 'jihadist manager' now championing talks with the US despite his own conservative camp’s opposition Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, dressed in an IRGC uniform, chairs a session in Tehran on 1 February 2026 (Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency/AFP/HO) Off Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran 's parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States , is facing perhaps the greatest political test of his career. A lifelong conservative and former Revolutionary Guard commander, he is trying to steer the Islamic Republic out of its confrontation with Washington through diplomacy, while fending off fierce attacks from hardliners who accuse him of abandoning Iran's strategic leverage. A senior political source who spoke to Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity described Ghalibaf as a conservative pragmatist who favours repairing relations with the West while preserving Iran's strategic partnership with China .
Exclusive: President of ICC oversight body confirms no finding of retaliation by Khan Submitted by Sondos Asem on Mon, 07/20/2026 - 14:01 In a letter to court member states, Paivi Kaukoranta reiterates ASP bureau has not upheld allegations of misconduct against prosecutor raised by staff in his own office ASP President Paivi Kaukoranta at a Hague meeting in December 2025 (ICC/Flickr) Off The president of the International Criminal Court’s oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, wrote to member states last week to confirm that no retaliation allegations made against Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan have been established by members of the executive bureau. Paivi Kaukoranta confirmed in a letter dated 17 July that the 21-member bureau had failed to reach the required majority to confirm any finding of misconduct in relation to retaliation allegations brought by two members of Khan’s office staff during the UN-led investigation. Kaukoranta, a Finnish diplomat, made a decision to outsource the misconduct probe into Khan to the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) in November 2024.
'You can neither threaten us, nor bribe us', Iran's Araghchi tells US, Israel Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said during an interview that was released on Sunday that he resisted attempts by the United States and Israel to bribe his country. “In the negotiations before the 12-day war, they had come to bribe, not to bribe me, to bribe the Islamic Republic, saying we will do this and that, we will build this and that. I told them there that our enrichment is not for sale … I said there: no bribes and no threats.
