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King of Jordan Receives UAE Delegation

Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Jordan on Saturday - WAM
Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Jordan on Saturday - WAM
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King of Jordan Receives UAE Delegation

Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Jordan on Saturday - WAM
Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Jordan on Saturday - WAM

King Abdullah II of Jordan received on Saturday a UAE delegation led by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, the UAE's National Security Adviser.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance joint cooperation, especially in the economic fields.

They also touched on opportunities to diversify investment projects to serve the common interests of the two countries.

For his part, Sheikh Tahnoun passed on greetings from President Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the Armed Forces, and their wishes of further wellbeing, prosperity, and development of the people of Jordan, state news agency WAM reported.

Also, King Abdullah II asked Sheikh Tahnoun to convey his greetings to Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Mohamed, wishing the people of the UAE continued prosperity and progress as well.

During the meeting, both sides exchanged their views on the latest regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Jordan News Agency (Petra) revealed that the talks covered efforts to reach a political solution to regional crises, and the importance of maintaining coordination on issues of mutual concern, namely the Palestinian cause.

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Arab World

EU Urged to 'Act Now' on West Bank Settlement Project

The Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background), north of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, are pictured on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
The Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background), north of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, are pictured on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
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EU Urged to 'Act Now' on West Bank Settlement Project

The Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background), north of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, are pictured on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
The Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background), north of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, are pictured on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

More than 400 former diplomats, ministers, and senior officials on Wednesday urged the European Union to "act now" against Israel's "illegal" settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The open letter comes as Israel intends to move forward with E1, a new construction project covering around 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles) with some 3,400 housing units in the occupied West Bank.

The move would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.

"The EU and its member states, together with partners, must take immediate action to deter Israel from further advancing its illegal annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank," said the letter signed by more than 440 figures, including former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt.

The signatories called for targeted sanctions, such as visa bans and business restrictions, on "all those engaged in illegal settlement activity", calling for measures against those promoting or implementing the E1 scheme.

The Israeli government plans to publish an initial tender on June 1 for the construction of housing for up to 15,000 "illegal settlers", AFP quoted the letter as saying, urging the EU and its member states to "act now".

The plan has been condemned by international leaders, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's spokesman saying it would pose an "existential threat" to a contiguous Palestinian state.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians.

In 2025, the expansion of Israeli settlements reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking data, according to a UN report.

There has been a spike in deadly attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Iran war on February 28, Palestinian officials and the United Nations have said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Arab World

Israel Military Issues Evacuation Warning for Dozen Villages in South Lebanon

An Israeli soldier gestures next to a tank, on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon, May 3, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
An Israeli soldier gestures next to a tank, on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon, May 3, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
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Israel Military Issues Evacuation Warning for Dozen Villages in South Lebanon

An Israeli soldier gestures next to a tank, on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon, May 3, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
An Israeli soldier gestures next to a tank, on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon, May 3, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem

Israel's military on Wednesday issued a new evacuation warning for a dozen villages in southern Lebanon ahead of expected strikes, despite a truce with Lebanon intended to halt the fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 meters into open areas," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, listing 12 villages.

Arab World

US Wants 'Concrete Actions' on Iran from Next Iraqi PM

Members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah mourn a comrade who was killed in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP/File
Members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah mourn a comrade who was killed in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP/File
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US Wants 'Concrete Actions' on Iran from Next Iraqi PM

Members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah mourn a comrade who was killed in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP/File
Members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah mourn a comrade who was killed in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP/File

The United States is looking for "concrete actions" by Iraq's next prime minister to distance the state from pro-Iran armed groups before resuming financial shipments and security aid, a senior official said Tuesday.

Iraq's ruling coalition has put forward Ali al-Zaidi as the next leader and he quickly received a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump, who had threatened to end all US support if former frontrunner Nouri al-Maliki took office.

But a senior US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Zaidi must address the "blurry line" between pro-Iran armed groups in the Shia-majority country and the state, AFP said.

Washington suspended cash payments for oil revenue, which have been handled from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in an arrangement dating to the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, as well as security assistance over a spate of attacks on US interests.

Resuming full support "would start with expelling terrorist militias from any state institution, cutting off their support from the Iraqi budget (and) denying salary payments to these militia fighters," the official said.

"Those are the type of concrete actions that would give us confidence and say that there's a new mindset."

The official said US facilities in Iraq suffered more than 600 attacks after February 28, when the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran.

The attacks have come to a standstill since a shaky April 8 ceasefire between the United States and Iran, with the exception of Iranian strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan.

"I'm not underestimating the severity of the challenge or what it would take to disentangle these relationships. It could start with a clear and unambiguous statement of policy that the terrorist militias are not part of the Iraqi state," the official said.

"Certain elements of the Iraqi state have continued to provide political, financial and operational cover for these very terrorist militias," he added.

The United States piled pressure on Iraq after it appeared that Maliki would be the next prime minister. During his previous stint in office, relations deteriorated with Washington over accusations of being too close to Iran's Shia clerical government and fanning sectarian flames.

Attacks by armed groups in Iraq have struck the US embassy in Baghdad, its diplomatic and logistics facility at the capital's airport and oil fields operated by foreign companies.