Middle East

15 stories

Politics
Gulf diplomacy
US and Iran end Doha round without deal on Strait of Hormuz as oil slides to four-month low
The United States and Iran concluded two days of indirect, Qatari- and Pakistani-mediated talks in Doha on 2 July without resolving control of the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for about a quarter of seaborne oil. The round focused on maritime traffic and unfreezing Iranian funds under June's Islamabad Memorandum. Oil fell to four-month lows, and the next round awaits the six-day funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei consolidates power.
By Camille Reuter2 days ago
Politics
Iran
Iran opens six-day state funeral for Khamenei as his unseen successor faces first test
Iran began six days of funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei on 3 July, four months after the supreme leader was assassinated in the opening hours of the US–Israeli war. Officials expect crowds in the tens of millions before his burial in Mashhad on 9 July, while his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei — chosen by the Assembly of Experts in March — has yet to appear in public. US–Iran talks in Doha are paused for the funeral, and oil prices have fallen back to near pre-war levels.
By Léa Hoffmann2 days ago
Politics
Middle East
Lebanon edges toward internal crisis as Hezbollah rejects US-brokered disarmament deal
A US-brokered agreement linking Israel's withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament has split Lebanon, with the armed group calling the deal a surrender and warning of internal conflict.
By Camille Reuter5 days ago
Politics
Middle East
US and Iran agree to halt attacks and renew talks, official says
A senior US official says Washington and Tehran have agreed to stop attacking each other and return to talks in Doha on 30 June, a de-escalation that has steadied oil prices and drawn cautious EU welcome.
By Camille Reuter5 days ago
Politics
Diplomacy
Israel's cabinet recognises the Armenian genocide for the first time
Israel's cabinet voted unanimously on 28 June 2026 to recognise the 1915 Armenian genocide, the first official state act after a century of reticence shaped by ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called it a moral and historical duty; the resolution now heads to the Knesset. Turkey condemned the move as a political decision designed to cover Israel's own conduct in Gaza.
By Léa Hoffmann6 days ago
Politics
Middle East
Israel and Lebanon Sign US-Brokered Framework to Wind Down Their Conflict
Israel and Lebanon, still technically at war, signed a US-mediated framework on 26 June pledging to end their conflict through a sequenced, conditional process. Israel will hand two pilot zones to the Lebanese army once Hezbollah is disarmed there, but keeps its security zone and sets no timetable. Beirut called it a first step; Hezbollah rejected it.
By Léa Hoffmann28 June 2026
Politics
Middle East
Gulf monarchies emerge as the contested middle ground in the US-Iran standoff
A renewed tanker strike and US retaliation have tested the June ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, leaving the six Gulf monarchies to mediate, hedge and absorb the risks to oil flows and European energy security.
By Léa Hoffmann28 June 2026
Politics
Middle East
Officials warn southern Syria could become next Middle East front
With the Iran war paused, southern Syria — Israel's buffer zone in Quneitra and Daraa and the Druze crisis around Suwayda — is emerging as the front Europe fears most.
By Camille Reuter27 June 2026
Politics
Middle East
Lebanon, Israel and US sign Washington framework as Hezbollah rejects deal
Lebanon, Israel and the United States signed a trilateral framework agreement in Washington on 26 June 2026, setting out a sequenced process to disarm Hezbollah and eventually withdraw Israeli forces. Hours later Hezbollah, excluded from the talks, rejected the deal, exposing the framework's central weakness.
By Camille Reuter27 June 2026
Economy
Cyber warfare
Cyberattacks Freeze Card Payments at Iran's Biggest State Banks
Two waves of cyberattacks in June 2026 disrupted card payments, ATMs and online banking at Iran's largest state banks, with a group calling itself Black Wolves claiming responsibility. The outages revive memories of the 2025 Predatory Sparrow assaults on Bank Sepah and the Nobitex crypto exchange, and underscore how financial-system sabotage has become a frontline weapon in the wider Middle East confrontation.
By Marc Weber26 June 2026
Europe
Middle East
Iran Calls War-Ending Deal a 'Declaration of US Defeat' as Truce Holds
Iran's parliament speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, called the US-brokered deal that ended the 2026 Iran war 'a declaration of America's defeat.' The Pakistan-mediated Islamabad Memorandum trades an end to US and Israeli strikes and sanctions relief for Iranian curbs on uranium enrichment — but a clash over IAEA inspections, and a split between Tehran's pragmatists and hardliners, leaves the peace untested. For Europe, the payoff is already visible in falling crude prices.
By Camille Reuter24 June 2026
Politics
Nuclear standoff
Iran bars inspectors from bombed nuclear sites as US talks advance
Iran has told the IAEA it will not allow inspectors back into the three nuclear facilities bombed a year ago, deepening a verification standoff just as Tehran and Washington advance a 60-day roadmap toward a final agreement — leaving the watchdog unable to account for some 440 kg of high-enriched uranium.
By Camille Reuter23 June 2026
Politics
Middle East diplomacy
US and Iran Agree 60-Day Roadmap at Swiss Talks as Trump Threatens Fresh Strikes
US and Iranian delegations meeting at the Bürgenstock resort above Lake Lucerne agreed what mediators Qatar and Pakistan called a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days, including a Strait of Hormuz communication line, a Lebanon de-confliction cell and the return of IAEA inspectors. The diplomacy unfolded as President Trump publicly threatened fresh strikes, leaving the core nuclear and sanctions questions unresolved and oil markets watching the Gulf.
By Camille Reuter23 June 2026
Politics
Middle East
Israel and Hezbollah Renew US-Mediated Truce as Wider Lebanon Deal Stalls
A renewed US-, Qatari- and Iranian-mediated truce halted the deadliest flare-up along the Israel-Lebanon frontier as negotiators prepared to reconvene the week of 22 June, though Hezbollah's rejection of disarmament terms and Israel's refusal to leave a buffer zone keep a comprehensive settlement out of reach.
By Camille Reuter22 June 2026
Politics
Diplomacy
Iran and US wrap first round of talks with a 60-day road map as oil slides
The first round of formal U.S.-Iran post-ceasefire talks ended at the Bürgenstock resort with a road map toward a final deal in 60 days, sending oil lower and equities higher even as the enrichment dispute remained unresolved.
By Camille Reuter22 June 2026