عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Trump Says Lebanese and Israeli Leaders to Speak, Pakistan Says Lebanon Peace Essential

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
TT
TT

Trump Says Lebanese and Israeli Leaders to Speak, Pakistan Says Lebanon Peace Essential

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

US President Donald Trump said Lebanese and Israeli leaders will speak for the first time in decades on Thursday, while Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating between Washington and Tehran on ending the Iran war. 

The Lebanon conflict spiraled out of the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the Iran-backed Hezbollah opening fire in support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major conflict. 

The Israeli security cabinet convened late on Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon. 

"Peace in Lebanon is essential for (Iran) peace talks," Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, said. 

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was "trying to get a little breathing room" between Israel and Lebanon. 

"It has been a long time since the ‌two leaders have ‌spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!" Trump wrote in the post published ‌before ⁠midnight on Wednesday, ⁠Washington time. The post did not give any further details. 

Gila Gamliel, a member of Israel's security cabinet, told Israel's Army Radio that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would "speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of no contact between the two countries". 

A senior Lebanese official told Reuters Lebanon had no information about a call between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu. 

BEIRUT AT ODDS WITH HEZBOLLAH 

The Lebanese government has been sharply at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to enter the war, having spent the last year seeking to secure the peaceful disarmament of the group founded by ⁠Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982. 

Beirut banned Hezbollah's military activities on March 2. 

The Israeli ‌Prime Minister’s office and Aoun's office did not immediately respond to requests ‌for comment. The office of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also told Reuters it had no information about contact between Lebanese and Israeli ‌leaders. 

Washington on Wednesday expressed optimism about reaching a deal to end the war with Iran. The sides agreed ‌a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war on April 8, following mediation by Pakistan. 

Israel and the US have said the campaign against Hezbollah was not part of that ceasefire, though Pakistan's prime minister had said the truce would include Lebanon, as demanded by Iran. 

FIGHTING IN KEY LEBANESE TOWN 

A senior Israeli official and a senior Lebanese official said on Wednesday Netanyahu's government was under heavy pressure from Washington ‌to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon. 

A senior US administration official said on Wednesday the Trump administration had not asked for a ceasefire, but the US president "would welcome ⁠the end of hostilities ⁠in Lebanon as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon". 

Netanyahu, in a video statement released late on Wednesday, said the Israeli military continued to strike at Hezbollah and was about to "overcome" the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, located at the border. 

The senior Lebanese official said that Lebanon’s assessment was that Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made. 

The Israeli military said its troops were continuing "targeted ground operations in southern Lebanon". 

In Israel, sirens rang out warning of incoming rocket fire, sending residents of several Israeli northern towns running to bomb shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries. 

Hezbollah kept up its attacks, firing rockets at two towns in Israel, the group's al-Manar television reported. 

Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare talks in Washington on Tuesday. 

Iran has said Lebanon must be included in any agreement to end the wider war in the Middle East, while Washington has pushed back, saying there is no link between the two sets of talks. 

Hezbollah on Wednesday condemned Tuesday's meeting in Washington, saying it would deepen the rift among Lebanese. 

 

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Iraq Opens Special Account for Recovered Illicit Funds as Anti-Corruption Drive Expands

Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Iraq Opens Special Account for Recovered Illicit Funds as Anti-Corruption Drive Expands

Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered on Monday the Finance Ministry to open a dedicated account for money recovered from illicit enrichment cases, as the government pressed ahead with its anti-corruption campaign. Meanwhile, the Federal Commission of Integrity said a draft law on asset recovery will soon be submitted to parliament.

Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi revealed that the new account would hold funds recovered from people convicted of illicit enrichment, stressing that the government remains committed to protecting public money and strengthening state institutions.

In remarks to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), al-Aboudi said the government had adopted a comprehensive approach to institutional reform and combating corruption.

He added that Operation Dawn had resulted in the arrest of 21 suspects, while others remain at large.

Investigators are using suspects’ confessions to uncover broader corruption networks involving additional individuals and assets, he revealed.

Separately, Abbas Mutib, director general of the Integrity Commission’s asset recovery department and deputy chairman of the Iraq Asset Recovery Fund, said the commission had made significant progress in digital transformation, enabling it to freeze substantial assets abroad and prevent those accused of corruption from disposing of them.

Mutib noted that the commission is coordinating with the Justice Ministry to pursue civil lawsuits aimed at recovering frozen assets overseas, adding that authorities have already succeeded in recovering sizable sums.

Former tax chief sentenced

The Federal Commission of Integrity also announced prison sentences against former General Commission for Taxes Director General Osama Hossam Jawdat and his wife after their conviction on money laundering charges.

According to the commission, the Central Criminal Court for Combating Corruption sentenced Jawdat to 10 years in prison and his wife to five years and one month under Iraq’s 2015 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law.

The court ordered the couple to pay a fine of IQD 32.496 billion (about $25 million), confiscated 10 properties in Baghdad and 12 properties in Türkiye registered in the wife’s name, as well as seized cash, rental income, gold jewelry, and funds deposited in Kuwaiti and Turkish banks. It also ordered the freezing of their movable and immovable assets.

Broad public backing

An Iraqi security personnel stands guard along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)

The government’s sweeping arrests on Sunday have drawn strong political and public support after targeting senior officials, lawmakers, and government directors, raising hopes that Iraq may finally curb corruption, which unofficial estimates say has cost the country more than $500 billion.

More than 50 suspects have been arrested so far, while some estimates suggest the number of wanted individuals could eventually exceed 1,000.

Dozens of activists gathered Sunday evening in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square to express support for the campaign.

Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr praised the “heroic reform measures,” saying the arrests had restored hope among Iraqis after years of entrenched corruption.

He commended the judiciary and security forces, particularly the Counter Terrorism Service, for carrying out the arrests.

More arrests expected

Ghalib al-Daami, a lecturer at the Iraqi Academy for Combating Corruption, told Asharq Al-Awsat that more than 50 prominent figures had already been detained and predicted the campaign could ultimately target more than 1,000 individuals.

While many observers doubt the crackdown will reach Iraq’s most powerful political leaders, al-Daami said he expects the “downfall” of three senior political figures in the coming days.

He also claimed the campaign has received direct US backing, particularly following the arrest of former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili and another deputy minister, Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, who has been sanctioned by the US for allegedly facilitating Iranian oil sales.

Political scientist Firas Elias of the University of Mosul said the campaign represents “a real test of the state’s authority.”

Its success should be measured not by the number of arrests but by its ability to secure fair convictions and recover stolen assets, he added.

If the law is applied equally to everyone, the campaign could mark a turning point in relations between the state and Iraq’s political class, he remarked. But if it stops with selected figures or becomes a tool for settling political scores, it will quickly lose credibility and allow corruption to reemerge in new forms.

Arab World

Gazans Turn to Clay, Rubble to Build New Homes

A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
TT
TT

Gazans Turn to Clay, Rubble to Build New Homes

A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA

While Gaza’s housing crisis remains catastrophic with cement and steel blocked by Israel from entering the Strip, some Palestinians are turning to improvised methods and other workarounds in a bid to make their shelters safer or more habitable.

Among those Palestinians is Jaafar Atallah, a potter in Gaza, who decided to build a home from the earth. It was to be like the bread ovens his family had been making for generations, but big enough for his parents to live in, according to the Financial Times.

Atallah gathered clay from an area of Gaza a few kilometers from his tent and — with the help of about 15 people, including his father, also a potter — he set about making mud bricks.

For months, they learned as they built. Finally, they completed a domed hut, “so solid you could stand on top of it”, said Atallah, whose project was backed by pottery groups around the world after he shared videos online.

The clay structure was a relief after the flimsy protection of the tent: “You can keep your food in this room. In a tent, tomatoes and cucumbers won’t last a day and will rot. Life in the tents is so hard. There is such heat in the summer, it is torture,” Atallah said.

Atallah’s experience reflects the reality of thousands of families looking for alternatives after almost all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by two years of bombardment amid Israel’s ban on concrete and steel imports.

Several Gazans are reusing steel reinforcing bars and concrete from the debris of buildings, scavenging for cement lying underwater in the port and resorting to mud to make bricks and mortar.

“We already have clay in our land, we don’t have to manufacture it, we don’t need things that we have to get from the crossing [with Israel], which is at the whim of the occupation,” said Atallah, who even designed a waterproof glaze for the bricks. “The occupation does not control this. It’s from our land, our soil.”

According to the UN, 1.9 million Gazans are displaced or live in tents, which lack sanitation or other utilities.

Reconstruction of Gaza remains a distant dream for its people. Israel bans building materials from entering Gaza on the grounds that the materials may be used for military purposes such as tunnel construction.

In May, teenage sisters Tala, 17, and Farah Moussa, 15, won a youth-focused award from the Swiss-based Earth Foundation for recycling cement debris into bricks.

Displaced with their family five times since the start of the war, they now live in a tent in Nuseirat in the center of the Gaza Strip. “We got the idea when our house was bombed,” said Tala. “We thought we had to do something and find a solution that comes from the problem itself, so we are using the rubble.”

Tala said, “We made five or six prototypes before we got it right. We researched on the internet and in books. Now we want to use the [$12,500] prize money to set up workshops to teach others how to make bricks.”

Using mud and stones, Gaza residents rebuild homes destroyed in months of conflict, as lack of access to construction material leaves families with few options.

Their efforts reflect the ability to adapt to the most extreme conditions to restore a normal life, even within walls built from the earth and the debris of buildings.

Arab World

Yemen Seeks Resumption of US Investments in Energy Sector

Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
TT
TT

Yemen Seeks Resumption of US Investments in Energy Sector

Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)

The head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad Al-Alimi, has met with a delegation from the American Hunt Oil Company, headed by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Hunter Hunt.

The meeting on Sunday reviewed opportunities for partnership between the Yemeni government and Hunt Oil in the exploration, production, and export of oil and gas. It also discussed prospects for the company to resume its investments in Yemen in support of the country’s economic recovery and energy security.

Al-Alimi was briefed by the delegation on the company’s current operations, future plans, and promising investment opportunities in Yemen’s oil sector, building on its long-standing partnership with the Yemeni government.

The PLC President praised Hunt Oil’s pioneering role in establishing Yemen’s petroleum sector, including the discovery of the country’s first commercially viable oil reserves, its contributions to developing oil infrastructure, training national personnel, and its role as a key partner in the Yemen LNG project.

He said these contributions would remain a source of appreciation for both the government and the Yemeni people.

Al-Alimi also outlined the economic, financial, and administrative reforms being implemented by the government, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

He highlighted efforts to improve the investment climate, strengthen transparency and governance, and provide the necessary guarantees for the return of foreign companies across various sectors.

He commended Saudi support to Yemen’s economy, describing it as a key pillar for enhancing stability, advancing economic reform, and restoring investor confidence.

The PLC President reaffirmed the state’s commitment to providing all necessary support and facilities for investors. He said the government would work with regional and international partners to secure vital infrastructure and create conditions for the resumption of production activities.

He added that improving living standards and security across the country remains a top priority for the Yemeni government.