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China Calls for Peace Conference in the Middle East

A group photo of the leaders participating in the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum (Egyptian Presidency)
A group photo of the leaders participating in the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum (Egyptian Presidency)
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China Calls for Peace Conference in the Middle East

A group photo of the leaders participating in the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum (Egyptian Presidency)
A group photo of the leaders participating in the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum (Egyptian Presidency)

China called for a peace conference to end the war in Gaza, stressing its readiness to work with Arab countries to establish the “five frameworks of cooperation”.
The China-Arab States Cooperation Forum kicked off on Thursday in Beijing. The event represents a platform for strengthening bilateral relations between Arab countries and China, and deepening mutual understanding and strategic cooperation between the two sides.
Addressing the opening session, Chinese President Xi-Jinping said that his country will host the second edition of the China-Arab Summit in 2026, describing it as another “milestone” in the course of Chinese-Arab relations.
He added that China will work with the Arab side to consolidate cooperation in key economic fields such as oil and gas, trade and infrastructure, as well as in new areas such as artificial intelligence, investment, finance and renewable energy.
During the first edition of the China-Arab Summit in Riyadh in December 2022, Xi-Jinping put forward the “Eight Joint Actions” for practical cooperation. The five frameworks include a more dynamic basis for innovation, an expanded framework for investment and financial cooperation, a multifaceted structure for energy cooperation, a more balanced framework for mutually beneficial economic and trade relations, and a broader space for people-to-people exchanges.
With regard to the Middle East, the Chinese President said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict “has escalated strongly and caused enormous suffering to the Palestinian people,” stressing “the necessity of stopping the war in the Gaza Strip.”
He added that the “war must not continue indefinitely, justice must not be absent forever, and commitment to the two-state solution must not sway according to whims.”
Addressing the session, Xi expressed his support for a “broad-based” peace conference to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
In a statement, Arab countries and China said that the forum contributed to strengthening Arab-Chinese relations in various political, economic, social, media and development fields.
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stressed the importance of finding a horizon for just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region based on the two-state solution.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the international community to carry out its moral and legal responsibilities to “stop the brutal Israeli war.” He called for action without delay to “immediately and sustainably deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to put an end to the Israeli siege.”
In his speech, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit emphasized commitment to advancing relations between Arab countries and China towards a better future.
For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan underlined the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, while ensuring adequate and continuous entry of aid, and finding a reliable and irreversible path to a two-state solution.

 

 

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Arab World

Iran Foreign Ministry Says Ceasefire in Lebanon Remains Condition for US Deal

Civil defense workers inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 31, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)
Civil defense workers inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 31, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)
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Iran Foreign Ministry Says Ceasefire in Lebanon Remains Condition for US Deal

Civil defense workers inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 31, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)
Civil defense workers inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 31, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that a ceasefire in Lebanon remains a key condition for any deal with the United States to end the Middle East war.

"We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing, as Israel expands its offensive in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push deeper into Lebanon, while the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Monday after Israel's military took control of the medieval Beaufort castle.

Baqaei said Iran "will take all measures to support Lebanon and the resistance against the Zionist regime's illegal aggression".

His remarks come as Tehran and Washington continue exchanging messages in an effort to finalize a framework agreement aimed at ending the war, which erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February and subsequently engulfed the region.

A fragile ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel has been in place since April 8, but military confrontations have continued in Lebanon despite Tehran's insistence that Lebanon should be covered by the truce.

On Monday, Baqaei accused the United States of "violating the ceasefire" following a brief overnight flare-up in which the US struck a telecommunications tower in a southern Iranian port city.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US base from which the attack originated, without specifying its location.

Iran will "take whatever measures we deem necessary to defend Iran's national security", Baqaei said.

He said Iran was not seeking concessions in its exchanges with Washington but rather the fulfilment of its rights, including the release of assets frozen abroad under US sanctions.

He also said details related to Iran's nuclear program -- a key sticking point for Washington -- have not yet been part of the exchanges.

"No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is ending the war," said Baqaei.

He added that the exchange of messages with the United States was continuing, but that "we have not yet reached a final conclusion".

"We will decide on the arrangements for signing at the appropriate time," he added.

Arab World

Zaidi Raises Stakes in Confrontation with Iraq’s Armed Factions

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with journalists on Saturday. (Iraqi PM's office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with journalists on Saturday. (Iraqi PM's office)
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Zaidi Raises Stakes in Confrontation with Iraq’s Armed Factions

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with journalists on Saturday. (Iraqi PM's office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with journalists on Saturday. (Iraqi PM's office)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has intensified his campaign against armed groups operating outside state control, emboldened by public backing from influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and renewed support from Iraq’s top religious establishment in Najaf.

Although Zaidi reportedly intended to keep his recent visit to Najaf private, cameras captured him among worshippers at the shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, fueling speculation that he also met senior religious and political figures in the city, home to Iraq’s highest Shiite authority.

The prime minister’s latest moves reflect growing confidence after receiving support from Sadr, whose Saraya al-Salam faction has agreed to begin voluntarily surrendering its weapons. Zaidi has also revived long-standing calls by top Shiite authority Ali al-Sistani for tighter state control over arms and stronger action against corruption.

Previous attempts to disarm armed factions failed under former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, particularly after tensions between the United States and Iran escalated in 2025 and Iraqi groups aligned themselves militarily with Tehran.

Speaking Saturday at the government palace before a group of journalists attended by Asharq Al-Awsat, Zaidi declared that Iraq faced “a zero-sum equation: either the state or the absence of a state.”

He said his government was determined to eliminate all weapons outside official authority despite mounting pressure from powerful political actors.

According to Zaidi, the disarmament process will unfold in stages, beginning with Saraya al-Salam.

A joint committee formed with Sadr’s movement has been tasked with completing the process within a week.

He added that tribal weapons outside state control would also be targeted.

“There can be no parallel armed force under any pretext,” Zaidi declared, acknowledging the intense political pressure surrounding the initiative.

He also announced that the Asaib Ahl al-Haq faction would begin surrendering weapons this week, while five other groups are preparing to hand over heavy arms to the government.

The campaign, however, has triggered growing unease within the ruling pro-Iran Shiite Coordination Framework, the coalition that helped bring Zaidi to power.

A government said the coalition leaders plan to meet the prime minister for discussions on the disarmament drive and Sadr’s role in the process.

Another meeting involving security officials and faction leaders is expected to address implementation mechanisms, integration of fighters into state institutions, dismantling faction facilities, and guarantees offered to participating groups.

Political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that some factions fear the campaign could eventually expand into broader investigations and legal accountability measures targeting armed groups and their leadership.

Arab World

Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man at West Bank Barrier Near Jerusalem

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)
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Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man at West Bank Barrier Near Jerusalem

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)

A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The ministry identified him as 26-year-old Imad Haroun Ishtayeh from the village of Salem, east of Nablus. It said Israeli forces shot him in a thigh in al-Ram town, and he was pronounced dead at the Palestinian Medical Complex in Ramallah.

Footage circulating online showed people carrying his body and climbing down a ladder that had been placed against the wire-topped barrier, while traffic continued to roll by and a horn blared.

Israeli police said the man tried to unlawfully enter Israel by crossing the barrier.

Ishtayeh was attempting to cross from the West Bank to Israel. Many people have been shot trying to cross the barrier, including a 44-year-old father who was killed earlier this month.

Ishtayeh previously ran a poultry slaughterhouse in his home village of Salem, financially supporting his ill father. But business deteriorated as an economic crisis hit the West Bank and he decided to cross into Israel in search of a job, a relative, Nasser Ishtayeh, told The Associated Press.

On his first attempt on Saturday, Israeli security was tight, the relative said. After spending the night with other Palestinians hoping to cross into Israel, Haroun Ishtayeh tried again on Sunday morning and was shot.

“He was directly shot with live bullets and died at the hospital,” Nasser Ishtayeh said.

An increasing number of Palestinians from the West Bank have tried to enter Israel illegally to work in recent years. Tens of thousands of Palestinians had held Israeli work permits, but access was sharply restricted after the attack by Hamas-led fighters on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza.

Since then, unemployment in the West Bank has surged amid an economic slowdown. And around 50 workers have been killed by Israeli fire, with over 38,000 arrested though many were later released, the Palestinian official WAFA news agency reported Sunday, citing the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions.

In Gaza, two Palestinians were killed and at least 10 injured when a group of people was struck near the port in Gaza City, according to Shifa hospital, which received the casualties. There was no immediate comment from Israel's military.

A fragile ceasefire remains in place between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

And in the West Bank, emergency responders said a 17-year-old Israeli girl was in serious condition and a 15-year-old teen also was hurt in what police described as a ramming attack near a bus stop at Gush Etzion Junction.

Israel's military said a soldier “eliminated the terrorist on site.” It also said a third Israeli civilian was hurt.