The Middle-East Observer
Middle-East
Obama proposes $1.3 billion military aid for Egypt in 2013 despite ongoing NGOs row
U.S. president Barack Obama proposed to renew the $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt for 2013, despite the recent crackdown on illegally funded american NGO’s in the country. However, it has to be accepted by the majority in congress where a few have said the U.S. should completely cut off aid to Egypt if … Continue reading
Tehran rejects Israeli claims on Iranian role in attacks abroad
Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said that claims by Israel that the recent attacks on its embassies in Georgia and India were perpetrated by Iran and its ally Hezbollah were part of psychological war against the Islamic Republic. He said Israel was responsible for the attacks to tarnish Iran’s relations with the two host embassies’ host countries, … Continue reading
Syrian rebels repel attack on town
Syrian Rebels have managed to repel an attack on the town of Rastan, which sits inside the Homs region and is a home to many defectors from the Syrian regime. This key city sits in between Homs and Aleppo and has fallen from rebel control twice before. However, the rebel’s ability to hold Rastan despite … Continue reading
Israel accuses Iran, Hezbollah after bombers attack embassies in India, Georgia
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hezbollah attempted to target Israeli embassies in India and Georgia today. The bomb in Tbilisi, Georgia was defused before it was able to cause harm but in New Delhi, Israel’s defense attaché’s wife was wounded following the placement of explosives under the car by motorcyclists. Though the attack was poorly executed, … Continue reading
Report: Mossad is using Azerbaijan to spy on Iran
The Israeli spy agency Mossad has been capitalizing on the porous border between Azerbaijan and Iran as a means of executing its spy operations in Iran. Reports of the mistreatment of the large Azeri population in Iran, the fact that many Azeris consider northern Iran to really be Southern Azerbaijan and growing Iran-Armenia relations – … Continue reading
Iran to announce ‘major nuclear progress’
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said that it will soon announce “very important and very major nuclear achievements”. He spoke on a rally in Tehran, that marked the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Ahmadinejad said furthermore that Iran would never give up its nuclear program, of which it still says that it will only … Continue reading
‘Enough is enough,’ Turkey’s FM Davutoğlu tells Israel
Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, lashed out at Israel over it’s (in Davutoglu’s opinion) uncompromising stance on key issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Enough is enough. Longer the Palestinian-Israeli issue remained unresolved, greater the price peoples of the region including Turkey pay. Israelis should decide on they want,” Davutoglu told a Washington D.C.-based think thank. Davutoglu urged … Continue reading
Israel’s Mossad trained assassins of Iran nuclear scientists, report says
NBC News on Thursday cited U.S. officials who stated that Israel’s Mossad is training Iranian dissident activists to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists. They have also been recruiting members of a Pakistani terror group to carry out attacks against the Iranian regime. And a link between Israel and the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) has also been confirmed. … Continue reading
Syria uprising is now a battle to the death
Martin Chulov of The Guardian reports from a small town near the city of Homs in Syria. He describes the rockets that fall down on the city, and the seemingly impossibility to flee the city or its surroundings. At a makeshift medical center at the heart of the town, dead and severely wounded man are … Continue reading
Israeli deputy FM Ayalon calls on UN to impose oil embargo on Iran
Israeli deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon asked Colombia, which leads the UN Committee that overseas sanctions on Iran, to implement an oil embargo on Iran. To prevent a regional crisis to happen because of rising oil prices after such an embargo, Ayalon called on Colombia, a major oil exporter, to increase its outputs and in … Continue reading
Calls for strike divide Egypt as Muslim Brotherhood snubs government
Religious authorities in Egypt are calling on unions and youth groups across the country for a boycott of the strike that is planned for Saturday February 11. Egyptian protesters are planning mass walkouts and civil disobedience to demand a quicker transfer of power from the SCAF military rule to a civilian rule. Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayib, Grand Imam of … Continue reading
Egypt PM defends action against NGOs
After recent threats by the United States to cut the annual 1.3bn dollars aid if Egypt doesn’t stop the crackdown on american NGOs, Kamal el-Ganzouri, Egypt’s military-backed prime minister said that they won’t quit over pressure from Western countries. There are currently 19 Americans and 24 others on trial , being accused of illegally using foreign money to support unrest in … Continue reading
Obama: Israel has not made decision on Iran attack, but it is rightly concerned
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that he believes Israel has not yet made the decision whether or not to attack Iran. Obama stated that he prefers a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and that he would not like to see more fighting in the region, that is rich of oil. He said that … Continue reading
Amr Moussa’s vision for Egypt could upset military
Former Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa is a top contender for the presidential seat in Egypt’s new-found democracy. In a recent interview, he said that the military, under his leadership, would be one of the basic institutions in Egypt and not a separate one with its own rules which the military has enjoyed under Mubarak’s regime. He … Continue reading
Italy, France recall Syrian ambassadors for consultations
Italy and France have recalled their ambassadors to Syria as the Assad regime’s crackdown on protesters, and the shelling of the city of Homs, continues. The move follows Britain’s recalling of its ambassador for consultations and the American closure of its embassy in Damascus. The increased pressure comes as efforts to condemn the Syrian regime … Continue reading
Why Israeli radio transmits in Farsi for listeners in Iran
As tension has been growing between the Jewish state and Iran over the latter’s alleged nuclear weapons program, an Farsi-language Israeli radio aims at bridging the gap between the two countries and hopes to help spread peace between the two peoples. It even takes calls from Iranian listeners. “We, the people in Israel, are a peaceful … Continue reading
Report: Top Iran military official aiding Assad’s crackdown on Syria opposition
The Assad regime of Syria is stepping up its campaign to stamp out resistance militarily and is now being assisted by the Elite Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Quds leadership presence as well as the recent increase of violent attacks by the Assad regime, in which mortars and rockets are being used … Continue reading
Pipeline Supplying Israel Is Attacked
A pipeline supplying gas for Israel was attacked on Sunday in the Egyptian Sinai desert. It is the 12th time within a year that the pipeline is attacked. The pipeline also provides gas for Jordan. Since the fall of Husni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, the gas deliveries to Israel have come under heavy criticism in Egypt. … Continue reading
Iran military manoeuvres heighten Middle East tensions
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are performing military exercises, involving ground forces, in the south of the country. The exercises follow a statement from the country’s religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said that they will help any nation or group that would be up against Israel. He referred to Israel as a “cancerous tumor that should … Continue reading
Israel’s Vice PM: Fall of Assad could weaken Mideast ‘axis of evil’
Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Sunday that Israel has not been, and will not be interfering in the current Syrian crisis. He furthermore said that he did not expect a Muslim Brotherhood regime to take over in Syria, but that it would rather be a relatively moderate Sunni … Continue reading
Have you read something that is worth posting on the Middle-East Observer? Send us the URL of the article; we’ll review it, and if relevant, it will be posted! Click here to send us your suggestions
