Latest World News: Interviews

Nigeria Nears Military Agreements with Saudi Arabia to Boost Security, Combat Terrorism

Interviews Nigerian Minister of State and Saudi Deputy Defense Minister in Riyadh (SPA)

Nigeria Nears Military Agreements with Saudi Arabia to Boost Security, Combat Terrorism

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defense, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, told Asharq Al-Awsat that his country is close to signing military agreements with Saudi…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen al-Daeri (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yemen Defense Minister: Houthi Attacks May Persist Even After Gaza War Ends

Yemen’s Defense Minister, Lt. Gen. Mohsen al-Daeri, does not expect Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea to stop even if the Gaza war ends…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Interviews Imran Riza, the UN’s Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)

UN Deputy Special Coordinator to Asharq Al-Awsat: Humanitarian Situation in Lebanon is ‘Catastrophic’

One of the UN’s top humanitarian officials in Lebanon, Imran Riza, has warned that the situation will worsen if the conflict continues, calling for an…

Nazeer Rida (Beirut)
Interviews Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Brazil’s Foreign Minister: Relations with Saudi Arabia Have Grown Stronger

Saudi-Brazilian relations have strengthened, particularly in political and economic cooperation, since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office as Brazil’s…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from…

Rana Abtar (Washington )

Interviews FAO Assistant Director-General to Asharq Al-Awsat: 75Mln Arabs at Risk of Starvation by Decade’s End

FAO Assistant Director-General to Asharq Al-Awsat: 75Mln Arabs at Risk of Starvation by Decade’s End

A United Nations report shed light on the progress made by countries in the region in achieving the second sustainable development goal pertaining to…

Lamia Nabil (Cairo)
Interviews Persian Independent’s Exclusive Interview with Ahmadinejad: With Less Than 40% Turnout the Election is Turned Into a Referendum Against Iran

Persian Independent’s Exclusive Interview with Ahmadinejad: With Less Than 40% Turnout the Election is Turned Into a Referendum Against Iran

In an exclusive interview with Independent Persian, former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose candidacy was rejected by Iran’s Guardian Council, said that the…

Camelia Entekhabifard
Interviews Election Turnout Tantamount to Referendum, Says Outspoken Iranian Dissident

Election Turnout Tantamount to Referendum, Says Outspoken Iranian Dissident

Fa'ezeh Hashemi, a well-known Iranian political activist, said that the country's presidential election on Friday was tantamount to a referendum since more…

Asharq Al Awsat
Interviews Ending Cross-Border Aid Is a 'Death Sentence' for the Syrian People, Woodward Tells Asharq Al-Awsat

Ending Cross-Border Aid Is a 'Death Sentence' for the Syrian People, Woodward Tells Asharq Al-Awsat

What is happening in Syria is “one of the most tragic crises” in the world, the UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Barbara Woodward told Asharq…

Ali Barada (New York )
Interviews Portugal Stresses Importance of Saudi Initiative to Solve Yemeni Crisis

Portugal Stresses Importance of Saudi Initiative to Solve Yemeni Crisis

A high-ranking Portuguese official said that his country was working to expand the European health protocol, to include third countries, as long as vaccines…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews Al-Assoumi to Asharq Al-Awsat: Arab Absence from Vienna Negotiations Does Not Serve Region

Al-Assoumi to Asharq Al-Awsat: Arab Absence from Vienna Negotiations Does Not Serve Region

Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al-Assoumi said that the absence of Arab countries from the ongoing Vienna talks on the Iranian nuclear…

Mohammed Nabil Helmi (Cairo)
Interviews Yemen’s Oil Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Using SAFER to Blackmail Int’l Community

Yemen’s Oil Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Using SAFER to Blackmail Int’l Community

Yemeni Minister of Oil and Minerals Abdul Salam Baaboud said that five international oil companies have resumed production after years of halt caused by the…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Interviews Donald Booth to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Support Khartoum in Building Democratic Model

Donald Booth to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Support Khartoum in Building Democratic Model

US Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth revealed that Washington was seeking to increase American investments in Sudan in the agriculture,…

Muath Alamri (Washington)
Interviews Geagea to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon’s Political Authority Has Lost All Arab, Int’l Recognition

Geagea to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon’s Political Authority Has Lost All Arab, Int’l Recognition

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the term of President Michel Aoun “could have been the best” the country has ever seen, “but he squandered the…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Interviews “Here is Why I Won’t Vote”: Faeze Hashemi Speaks to Independent Persian

“Here is Why I Won’t Vote”: Faeze Hashemi Speaks to Independent Persian

Faeze Hashemi, daughter of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is a political activist known for her biting criticisms of the government. Elected to the…

Camelia Entekhabifard (New York)
Interviews Maliki to Asharq Al-Awsat: There is No Alternative But to Win The Jerusalem Battle

Maliki to Asharq Al-Awsat: There is No Alternative But to Win The Jerusalem Battle

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki expressed his confidence in the ability of the Palestinians to overcome the existing disputes over postponing the…

Raed Jaber (Moscow)
Interviews UNITAMIS Head in Sudan: We Aren’t ‘New Colonialists’

UNITAMIS Head in Sudan: We Aren’t ‘New Colonialists’

The international community is willing to aid political change in Sudan and advance the peace process with the participation of non-signatories to democratic…

Ahmed Younes (Khartoum)
Interviews Richard Ratcliffe Urges UK to Consider Magnitsky-Style Sanctions on Iran

Richard Ratcliffe Urges UK to Consider Magnitsky-Style Sanctions on Iran

Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, called on his country to consider imposing “Magnitsky”-style sanctions on…

Najlaa Habriri (London)
Interviews Votel to Asharq Al-Awsat: It’s in Washington’s Interests to Help Saudi Arabia Defensively

Votel to Asharq Al-Awsat: It’s in Washington’s Interests to Help Saudi Arabia Defensively

Former Commander of the United States Central Command General Joseph Votel acknowledged that the United States’ withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 helped lead to the…

Muath Alamri (Washington)
Interviews Saudi Crown Prince: We Are Close to Achieving the Kingdom’s Vision before 2030

Saudi Crown Prince: We Are Close to Achieving the Kingdom’s Vision before 2030

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, stated on Tuesday that the Kingdom will achieve several of its Vision…

Asharq Al Awsat
Interviews Taymour Jumblatt Says Dialogue is the Only Solution to Lebanon’s Problems

Taymour Jumblatt Says Dialogue is the Only Solution to Lebanon’s Problems

The head of the Democratic Gathering Bloc, MP Taymour Jumblatt, said that he did not remember many scenes of the Lebanese civil war. Born in 1982, he told…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Interviews Kurdistan’s Premier to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Need Int’l Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Kurdistan’s Premier to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Need Int’l Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday that ISIS cells in Al-Hol camp in Syria were plotting to target the region with…

Asharq Al Awsat (Erbil)
Interviews Sudan’s Water Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Ethiopia’s Proposal Is ‘Suspicious’ as it Seeks Imposing a ‘Fait Accompli’

Sudan’s Water Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Ethiopia’s Proposal Is ‘Suspicious’ as it Seeks Imposing a ‘Fait Accompli’

Sudan’s Irrigation and Water Minister Yasir Abbas Mohammed has described Ethiopia’s recent proposal for data exchange on its disputed Grand Ethiopian…

Interviews Saudi Commerce Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: ‘Shareek’ Boosts Private Sector Growth, Contribution to GDP

Saudi Commerce Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: ‘Shareek’ Boosts Private Sector Growth, Contribution to GDP

Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment and Acting Minister of Media Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi emphasized the government’s trust in the role of the…

Mosaed al-Zayani (Riyadh)
Interviews Siniora to Asharq Al-Awsat: I Fear Deadlock With Israel Over Maritime Borders

Siniora to Asharq Al-Awsat: I Fear Deadlock With Israel Over Maritime Borders

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora expressed his fear that the demarcation of the maritime borders with Israel would become “another Shebaa Farms”…

Nazeer Rida (Beirut)
Interviews Aron to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia is Yemen’s True Friend, Iran is Only Spurring Trouble

Aron to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia is Yemen’s True Friend, Iran is Only Spurring Trouble

Reducing Iran’s influence in Yemen can only be achieved through ending the war and bringing the fighting among rivals in the war-torn country to a halt,…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Interviews Swedish Envoy to Yemen to Asharq Al-Awsat: Tragic Bloody Attack on Marib Must Stop

Swedish Envoy to Yemen to Asharq Al-Awsat: Tragic Bloody Attack on Marib Must Stop

Sweden's Special Envoy for Yemen, Ambassador Peter Semneby stressed that the conflict in the country needed a solution through a “broad and inclusive political…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Interviews Borrell to Asharq Al-Awsat: Reconstruction of Syria Hinges on Change in Regime’s Behavior

Borrell to Asharq Al-Awsat: Reconstruction of Syria Hinges on Change in Regime’s Behavior

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell stressed that the political leadership in Damascus must take…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Interviews Al-Jaber to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Initiative on Yemen Garners Int’l Support, Positive Signs from Houthis

Al-Jaber to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Initiative on Yemen Garners Int’l Support, Positive Signs from Houthis

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammad Al-Jaber described the Kingdom’s new initiative on Yemen as “strategic and brave”. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat,…

Badr Al-Qahtani (London)