Mena Today

Britain said on Friday it was temporarily withdrawing UK staff from its embassy in Iran due to the ongoing security situation there.

In a twist worthy of a Hollywood screenplay, Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) has become an unlikely lifeline for thousands of Israelis and international travelers desperately trying to flee the region — and, dare we say, an unexpected winner in the middle of regional chaos.

For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warnings about Iran’s nuclear ambitions were widely dismissed as political theater. 

Iran said it would continue to defend itself against Israel during a UN Security Council session on Friday, while Israel's UN ambassador vowed that his country would not stop its attacks until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled.

Switzerland said on Friday it will lift a raft of economic sanctions imposed on Syria, including the Middle Eastern country's central bank.

The Trump administration said on Friday it had issued fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting eight entities, one vessel and one person for their alleged role in providing sensitive machinery for Tehran's defense industry.

Researchers at Israel's prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science have been scrambling to save their experiments after an Iranian missile destroyed a building containing dozens of cutting-edge laboratories.

Norway plans to raise its defence spending to 3.5% of the country's GDP, and also aims to use an additional 1.5% for broader security related purposes, its prime minister said on Friday, in line with a planned common goal among NATO states.

The United Arab Emirates has announced the creation of a new Ministry of Foreign Trade, as part of its efforts to strengthen its position in the global economy and diversify its trade partnerships. 

European foreign ministers are set to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday aiming to create a pathway back to diplomacy over its contested nuclear programme despite the U.S. considering joining Israeli strikes against Iran. 

Regimes that were hostile to the Jewish state, or doubted its effectiveness, are now reconsidering.

Syria this week carried out its first international bank transfer via the SWIFT international payment system since the outbreak of the country’s 14-year civil war, central bank governor Abdelkader Husriyeh said on Thursday, a milestone in Syria’s push to reintegrate into the global financial system.