Mena Today

There is a mistake many still make when speaking about Iran. They turn the argument into theology, as if the central question were a religious word like taqiyya. 

U.N. Security Council members have begun negotiating resolutions to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including a Bahraini draft that would authorise the use of "all necessary means" — language France has warned will be difficult to adopt.

The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry confirmed Tuesday that a Moroccan national working as a contractor for the UAE was killed during what it described as "a routine mission », correcting earlier reports that suggested the victim was an Emirati soldier.

Lebanese Christian leader Samir Geagea delivered a verdict Tuesday that many Lebanese have long wanted to hear but few dared to say out loud: Hezbollah is "finished" in Lebanon,  and Iran, not the Lebanese state, will foot the bill for the destruction it caused.

Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander and senior figure in the hardline political faction on Tuesday to replace the powerful head of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes last week.

There is no direct Qatari mediation between the United States and Iran, but Doha supports all formal and informal diplomatic channels to end the war, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

A long-delayed economic initiative between Israel and Jordan is gaining renewed momentum, as both governments move to advance the “Jordan Gateway” project despite ongoing regional tensions. 

Lebanon has taken the extraordinary step of declaring Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Shibani persona non grata, ordering him to leave Lebanese territory by Sunday at the latest,  in a move that marks one of the most significant diplomatic ruptures in the two countries' modern history.

Israel's military will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, the first time Israel has clearly spelled out its intent to seize swathes of territory that make up nearly a tenth of Lebanon. 

Apparent U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hit a headquarters of Iraq's umbrella group for Iran-backed Shi'ite militia and a residence belonging to its leader on Tuesday, an escalation of U.S.-Israeli strikes on one of Tehran's main regional allies.

Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed the bombing of the Islamic Republic's power plants and other energy infrastructure because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.

Iran's veteran supreme leader and a host of other top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes but the ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate in the war that began on February 28.