All posts tagged: East

US slaps new sanctions on networks aiding Iran’s proxies in Middle East

US slaps new sanctions on networks aiding Iran’s proxies in Middle East

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON: The US government announced new sanctions on Thursday (Sep 10) against firms and individuals that it says are aiding Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East as it intensified its campaign to isolate Iran economically. The latest sanctions are part of the Treasury Department’s “Operation Economic Outcast,” first announced Aug 24, which aim to cut off the revenues that Tehran is using to fund the war, build missiles, conduct cyberattacks and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. Thursday’s actions by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control hit entities and individuals in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey that Washington said supported Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group under the command of the IRGC, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia party, Treasury said in a statement. Treasury also announced a settlement with a US citizen who agreed to pay US$1.43 million to settle their potential civil liability for 39 apparent violations of sanctions on Iran, and issued a broad whistleblower appeal for tips on any sanctions evasion or money laundering by Iran. Source …

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Will Tell a New Story About the Middle East

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Will Tell a New Story About the Middle East

Published by Jenni Sidey

All eyes are on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as it prepares for opening on December 11 after two decades of delays. The cost of the project has neared $1 billion and the country is getting excited for what’s to come. Just last month, the museum named Valerie Hillings as the institution’s inaugural director, where she will oversee the largest branch in the Guggenheim’s four-country museum network. In a short interview with the German culture magazine Monopol, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, minister of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, said that she’s proud that artists from the region and the Emirates are not “merely featured as supporting actors, but are at the heart of the exhibition.” Related Articles The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is opening on Saadiyat Island, which is an hour’s drive away from Dubai and home to the arts with such institutions as the Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and Frieze Abu Dhabi. Al Kaabi said that her vision for the island …

War in the Middle East: Iran attacks US base in Jordan, 10 US vessels

War in the Middle East: Iran attacks US base in Jordan, 10 US vessels

Published by Sam Flores

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they pummelled a US military base in Jordan, vowing retaliation for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers that dragged the foes deeper into war. Tehran’s bombs came after US forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to Iran targeting an American warship, the second such attack in less than a week. FRANCE 24’s Reza Sayah reports from Tehran, Iran. Source link

Oil tops 0, stocks slide as Middle East tensions escalate

Oil tops $100, stocks slide as Middle East tensions escalate

Published by Sam Flores

Sept 9 : Brent crude prices surged past $100 a barrel on Wednesday, as escalating conflict in the Middle East fuelled worries about energy-driven inflation and sent global stocks tumbling ahead of several major central bank decisions. Brent crude futures rose as much as 3 per cent to a session high of $100.95, breaching the symbolic price level for the first time since July 24, after Iran said it fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan and both sides claimed to have attacked vessels, raising worries about oil supplies from the region. Stock markets across the globe came under pressure as the latest surge in energy prices drove concerns that higher inflation will prompt central banks to keep monetary policy tighter for longer.  U.S. stock index futures fell about half a percent, setting Wall Street indexes up for a third consecutive day of losses. [.N]  The pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped 1.5 per cent by 1123 GMT, on course for its biggest percentage drop in two months, with economically sensitive banking and industrial stocks among the …

FIA President Ben Sulayem Says F1 Drivers and Teams Won’t Be Put ‘At Risk’ Over Middle East Events

FIA President Ben Sulayem Says F1 Drivers and Teams Won’t Be Put ‘At Risk’ Over Middle East Events

Published by Sam Flores

MONZA, Italy (AP) — FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has defended the wait for clarity over how this year’s Formula 1 season will end amid uncertainty over the Middle East security situation but tells The Associated Press that drivers and team staff will not be put “at risk.” The F1 season is still scheduled to end Qatar Grand Prix on Nov. 29 and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 6, but F1 has been examining potential alternative venues. A replacement finale at the Imola circuit in Italy is widely considered the likeliest option. Ben Sulayem told the AP it remains “business as usual. We are not changing anything unless we have to,” and said he’s in regular communication with F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali. “Being from that part of the world, we can’t jump the gun and just say, that’s it, we are canceling and then cancel,” he added. “Are we going to allow our people, our staff, the drivers or the teams to go at risk? No, of course not. We will …

Oil prices rise to six-week highs on worsening Middle East conflict

Oil prices rise to six-week highs on worsening Middle East conflict

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK, Sept 7 : Oil prices rose to a six-week high on Monday as Iran vowed to strike energy infrastructure across the Middle East in response to further U.S. attacks on its assets, the latest escalation in a conflict that has sharply reduced oil supply from the region. Brent crude futures rose $1.03, or 1.1 per cent, to settle at $97.31 a barrel, after hitting their highest point since July 24 at $98.06. Brent futures settled around 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT), about an hour earlier than their usual settlement time due to the Labor Day holiday in the United States. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude, which will not settle on Monday due to the holiday, was up 1.3 per cent, or $1.17, at $92.65 a barrel by 1:45 p.m. EDT. WTI futures earlier rose as high as $93.29, also the highest since July 24. “Strike our assets and you get struck,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Monday, in what appeared to be a response to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s warning …

Middle East live: Kuwait army says intercepting missile, drone attack from Iran

Middle East live: Kuwait army says intercepting missile, drone attack from Iran

Published by Sam Flores

03/09/2026 – 13:02 Israel says economic pressure could push Iran into ‘desperate steps’ Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that US economic sanctions against Iran have proven to be effective, but the pressure might lead Tehran into extreme measures. “We see signs indicating that the heavy economic pressure they are under, and the fear of an uprising and the collapse of the regime, may push them to desperate steps,” Katz said at a ceremony for defence ministry employees. Israel launched the Middle East war alongside the United States in late February, but has stayed on the sidelines militarily since President Donald Trump sealed a ceasefire deal in April — even after that truce later fell apart. Last month, the US Treasury announced a new series of sanctions to “asphyxiate” the Iranian economy, and the US airforce resumed raids on Iran on Sunday.  In retaliation, Iran attacked US military targets in the Gulf and in Israel’s eastern neighbour Jordan, but has refrained from targeting Israel. “The ayatollahs’ regime in Iran knows very well why it …