عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Pence Seeks to Ease Jerusalem Tensions

US Vice President Mike Pence. AFP PHOTO / Eitan ABRAMOVICH
US Vice President Mike Pence. AFP PHOTO / Eitan ABRAMOVICH
    Ramallah, Cairo- Kifah Zboun and Asharq Al Awsat
TT
TT

Pence Seeks to Ease Jerusalem Tensions

US Vice President Mike Pence. AFP PHOTO / Eitan ABRAMOVICH
US Vice President Mike Pence. AFP PHOTO / Eitan ABRAMOVICH

US Vice President Mike Pence kicked off on Saturday his Middle East tour by first visiting Egypt where he met with President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi.

The visit is the first of a US official to the region since US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital last month, which was met with Arab and worldwide rejections.

In his regional tour, Pence seeks to ease tensions on the Jerusalem file.

On the eve of his arrival to Cairo, Press secretary Alyssa Farah said the trip was “integral to America’s national security and diplomatic objectives” and would go on as scheduled.

After spending a couple of hours in Cairo, the US VP left the Egyptian capital on Saturday evening heading to Amman, where he will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah. He is expected to visit Israel on Monday and Tuesday.

Palestinians are currently boycotting Pence’s visit, and they lean towards finding an international substitute to replace the US role, as a response to Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Palestinian leadership is therefore studying a Russian invitation to organize a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.

Abbas is scheduled to visit Moscow next month to discuss the possibility of developing a new peace vision.

On Saturday, top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat uncovered the peace plan formulated by the US administration in a document presented to Abbas and received by Asharq Al-Awsat.

In this document, Erekat told Abbas that the new peace plan formulated by the current US administration aims for “imposing and dictating” the American decisions.

Erekat also said that those who reject US dictations would be considered as terrorist or extremist forces.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

At Least 14 Killed in Spate of Attacks in Northwest Pakistan

A spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan on Monday killed at least three civilians and 11 security personnel. Karim ULLAH / AFP
A spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan on Monday killed at least three civilians and 11 security personnel. Karim ULLAH / AFP
TT
TT

At Least 14 Killed in Spate of Attacks in Northwest Pakistan

A spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan on Monday killed at least three civilians and 11 security personnel. Karim ULLAH / AFP
A spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan on Monday killed at least three civilians and 11 security personnel. Karim ULLAH / AFP

Two bomb attacks and a gunfight between police and militants in northwest Pakistan killed at least 11 security personnel and three civilians, including a child, a security official said.

The separate incidents on Monday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which left at least 25 others wounded, come as Pakistan's security forces battle intensifying insurgencies in southern and northern provinces that border Afghanistan.

This month the ISIS group claimed responsibility for a massive suicide blast at a mosque in the capital Islamabad that killed at least 31 people, with 169 more wounded.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the security official told AFP that on Monday evening a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a religious college in the tribal district of Bajaur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"As a result, eight police and Frontier Corps personnel present inside the seminary were martyred and 10 others injured," he said.

"The blast also caused the roofs of several nearby houses to collapse, killing a child."

He added the death told may rise.

In another attack in the town of Bannu, a bomb planted in a rickshaw exploded at the Miryan police station, killing two civilians and wounding 17 others, the official said.

- Chinese targeted -

Elsewhere, three police personnel and three militants were also killed during a search operation in Shangla district.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police force said in a statement, also late on Monday, that the three militants who died in the firefight had been involved in "attacks targeting Chinese nationals".

Beijing has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan in recent years, but Chinese-funded projects have sparked resentment and their citizens have frequently come under attack.

In March last year, five Chinese nationals working on a major dam construction site were killed along with their driver when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle, which plunged into a deep ravine off the mountainous Karakoram Highway.

Beijing is Islamabad's closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often struggling neighbor.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects -- part of Beijing's transnational "Belt and Road" scheme.

The police statement said "due to the area's proximity to the Silk Road route, (the militants) posed a persistent threat to the strategic road corridor and Chinese development projects."

"In light of this, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and the district police launched a joint operation today under a coordinated strategy."

World

India Seizes Three Iran-linked US-sanctioned Tankers

This photo posted on the X account of the US Department of Defense on February 15, 2026 shows what the Department of Defense says are US military forces preparing to interdict and board an oil tanker, the Veronica III, in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / US Department of Defense / AFP)
This photo posted on the X account of the US Department of Defense on February 15, 2026 shows what the Department of Defense says are US military forces preparing to interdict and board an oil tanker, the Veronica III, in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / US Department of Defense / AFP)
TT
TT

India Seizes Three Iran-linked US-sanctioned Tankers

This photo posted on the X account of the US Department of Defense on February 15, 2026 shows what the Department of Defense says are US military forces preparing to interdict and board an oil tanker, the Veronica III, in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / US Department of Defense / AFP)
This photo posted on the X account of the US Department of Defense on February 15, 2026 shows what the Department of Defense says are US military forces preparing to interdict and board an oil tanker, the Veronica III, in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / US Department of Defense / AFP)

India has seized three US-sanctioned oil tankers linked to Iran this month and stepped up surveillance in its maritime zone to curb illicit trade, a source said on Monday, confirming a post on X by Indian authorities earlier in February that had been deleted.

India aims to prevent its waters from being used for ship-to-ship transfers that obscure the origin of oil cargoes, the source with direct knowledge of the matter told ‌Reuters.

The seizures and ‌heightened surveillance follow an improvement in US-India relations. Washington ‌earlier ⁠this month announced it ⁠will cut import tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%, after New Delhi agreed to stop Russian oil imports.

The three sanctioned vessels - Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star and Al Jafzia - frequently changed their identities to evade law enforcement by coastal states, the source said, adding that their owners were based overseas.

VESSELS SEIZED OFFSHORE MUMBAI

Iranian state media cited the National Iranian Oil Company as ⁠saying that the three tankers seized by India ‌had no connection to the company. It ‌said that neither the cargoes nor the vessels were linked to the company.

Indian authorities ‌had said in a post on X on February 6 that ‌they intercepted three vessels about 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai after detecting suspicious activity involving a tanker in India's exclusive economic zone.

The post was later deleted, but the source confirmed that the vessels had been escorted to Mumbai for ‌further investigation.

The Indian Coast Guard has since deployed about 55 ships and between 10 and 12 aircraft for round-the-clock ⁠surveillance in its ⁠maritime zones, according to the source.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control said last year it had sanctioned three vessels, called Global Peace, Chil 1, and Glory Star 1, with IMO numbers identical to the ships lately captured by India.

Two of the three tankers are linked to Iran, with Al Jafzia having carried fuel oil from Iran to Djibouti in 2025 and Stellar Ruby flagged in Iran, according to LSEG data.

The Asphalt Star mostly operated on voyages around China, the data show.

Sanctioned oil and fuel are often sold at deep discounts due to the risks involved, with intermediaries moving cargo through complex ownership structures, false documentation and mid-sea transfers that complicate enforcement.

World

Moscow, Kyiv Set for Geneva Peace Talks amid Russian Attacks

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers hold a Russian flag in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab from video released December 1, 2025. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Soldiers hold a Russian flag in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab from video released December 1, 2025. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
TT
TT

Moscow, Kyiv Set for Geneva Peace Talks amid Russian Attacks

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers hold a Russian flag in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab from video released December 1, 2025. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Soldiers hold a Russian flag in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab from video released December 1, 2025. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russian and Ukrainian delegations are set for another round of talks on Tuesday in Geneva as part of the latest fraught push by the United States to end the four-year war.

US President Donald Trump is seeking to position himself as peacemaker of the conflict unleashed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but two previous rounds of talks mediated by the White House have yielded no breakthroughs, said AFP.

"Ukraine better come to the table, fast," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to Washington.

Ukraine says Russia is unwilling to compromise on its sweeping territorial and political demands, and wants to keep fighting.

"Even on the eve of the trilateral meetings in Geneva, the Russian army has no orders other than to continue striking Ukraine. This speaks volumes about how Russia regards the partners' diplomatic efforts," Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media Monday.

"Only with sufficient pressure on Russia and clear security guarantees for Ukraine can this war realistically be brought to an end," he added.

The talks, which the Kremlin said will be held behind closed doors and with no media present, comes after two earlier rounds held this year in Abu Dhabi.

- Sticking points -

The war has spiraled into Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, with hundreds of thousands killed, millions forced to flee their homes in Ukraine and much of the eastern and southern part of the country scarred by war.

Russia occupies around one-fifth of Ukraine -- including the Crimean peninsula it seized in 2014 -- and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had taken prior to the 2022 invasion.

It wants Ukrainian troops to withdraw from swathes of heavily fortified and strategic territory as part of any peace deal.

Kyiv has rejected this deeply unpopular demand, which would be politically and militarily fraught, and has instead demanded robust security guarantees from the west before agreeing to any proposals with Russia.

Ukraine has recently made significant battlefield gains, recapturing 201 square kilometers (78 square miles) last week, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The counterattacks likely leveraged Russian forces' lack of access to Starlink, which has disrupted communications, the ISW said.

The territorial gain is concentrated mainly around 80 kilometers east of the city of Zaporizhzhia, an area where Russian troops have otherwise made significant progress since last summer.

The centrally located region hosts Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which Russia currently controls -- another sticking point in negotiations.

For the talks in Geneva, the Kremlin has reinstated nationalist hawk and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky as its lead negotiator.

"This time, we plan to discuss a broader set of issues, focusing on key ones related to the territories and other demands," a spokesperson for Vladimir Putin told reporters, including AFP, explaining the personnel change.

Kyiv's team will be led by former defense minister Rustem Umerov, while the White House is expected to dispatch Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.