Mena Today

Iran is betting it can outlast Washington by turning the Middle East's trade routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure into pressure points that steadily raise the cost of confrontation, according to Gulf officials and analysts.

Conflicting signals from the United States and Iran over the status of talks to end their five-month-old war boosted uncertainty on Tuesday, with the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting risks to global energy flows.

Spanish authorities should have anticipated the consequences of a court ruling that weakened a key deterrent against illegal migration and contributed to last week's mass crossings into the enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco, a senior Moroccan official said on Monday.

President Donald Trump warned Monday, in a Truth Social post, that the US naval blockade on Iran would only be lifted in the event of a "deal" or "total surrender."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Monday that the EU increase its support to Morocco to help prevent a repeat of the chaotic attempted influx of 50,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week.

Iran said on Monday there were no talks under way with the United States and no plans for any meetings, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump, who had cited talks he said would take place that afternoon as justification for calling off attacks.

The British band Massive Attack said its members were detained by Singapore police and "isolated and separately questioned" after the two performers raised a Palestinian flag at their concert in the city-state last Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement after earlier saying he had called off an imminent attack in hopes of quickly reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear capabilities.

Iran executed two of its citizens on Monday on charges of espionage and cooperation with Israel, Iranian state media reported, amid an increase in executions for offences relating to national security.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ members meeting online Sunday agreed to raise oil production quotas for September, even as war rages across the Middle East.

Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï reiterated his support Sunday for the US-brokered framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel in late June, describing it during his Sunday homily as a "national path to resolving outstanding issues, consolidating a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, and preserving the state's sovereignty over its entire territory."

Moroccan authorities granted provisional release to rapper El Mahdi Lyoubi, known by his stage name Mehdi Black Wind, after three weeks in detention. He remains under prosecution for "offending state institutions," his lawyers told AFP.