Mena Today

Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday, days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.

Morocco has been elected this week to the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), reinforcing its growing diplomatic role on the continent.

Massad Boulos, U.S. Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs, held talks on Saturday with UAE Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, underscoring the strategic importance of U.S.-UAE cooperation amid mounting regional challenges.

At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the northern and southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Hamas civil defence said, in what Israel's military called a response to ceasefire violations.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed at a White House meeting on Wednesday that the U.S. would work to reduce Iran's oil exports to China, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials briefed on the issue. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will attend U.S. President Donald Trump's first formal Board of Peace meeting on February 19, two Israeli officials said on Saturday.

Bangladesh's next prime minister, Tarique Rahman's priorities include improving the economy, law and order and governance, he said on Saturday, in his first public comments after his party's convincing parliamentary election victory.

Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi on Saturday said U.S. military intervention in Iran could save lives and urged President Donald Trump's administration not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran's clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, one of the country's best-known politicians, indicated on Saturday that his party would contest upcoming elections, four years after he stepped back from public office.

A feud between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates across the Horn of Africa is overshadowing this weekend’s African Union summit, though most of the continent’s leaders will try to avoid taking sides, nine diplomats and experts said.

The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.

The opening of the 39th African Union summit in Addis Ababa was marked by a controversial statement from AU Commission Chair Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, who declared that the “extermination” of the Palestinian people “must stop.”