South China Morning Post - Middle East

The Israeli army intensified strikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to escalate its offensive in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah. The air strikes come as the United States and Iran seek to finalise the terms of an agreement to end the Middle East conflict, which could include the Lebanon front, where Israel and...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she has “no issue” with her country hosting Iran’s World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition. The team will still play its group stage matches in the US but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, a move that I...

⁠Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access, Iranian state media reported on Monday, citing an official after a ‌near-90-day blackout in the wake of the war against US and Israel. The report cited the head of public relations at Iran’s Communications Ministry. The mechanism for how and when Iran would reconnect to ⁠the global w...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreements aimed at normalising relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s first term. In a social media post, Trump said negotiations are “proceeding nicely...

A major diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran could signal sanctions relief for Iran, a development analysts say bodes well for China, the primary buyer of Iranian oil. Negotiations have advanced on a proposed 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the US side issuing temporary sanctions waivers that would allow Iran to sell oil fre...