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African Mediation Announces Imminent Agreement in Sudan

Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
    Khartoum, Washington – Ahmed Younes and Elie Youssef
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African Mediation Announces Imminent Agreement in Sudan

Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters rally near the military headquarters during a demonstration in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)

The joint African-Ethiopian mediation has confirmed that an agreement between the Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC) and Forces of the Freedom and Change Declaration is “imminent”, announcing that both parties will be invited to direct negotiations on Wednesday.

African Union (AU) mediator Mohamed El-Hassan Labat told a press conference held Tuesday in Khartoum that most of the two sides’ proposals were incorporated into a new document, except for the dispute over the formation of the “sovereign council”.

Labat added that constructive proposals had been reached and would be included in the final document, asserting that “the main point of contention revolves around the formation of the body [sovereign council] that will lead the transition process.”

He noted that if an agreement was reached on the council before the joint meeting, it will be included in the document, otherwise, it will be the first point discussed on the first joint agenda and the mediation will be ready to help overcome the difficulties.

The mediator confirmed that the agreement between the Council and the coalition is “just around the corner.”

The regional official appealed to the press and the international community to support mediation efforts aimed at reaching an appropriate solution that opens the horizons for realizing the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Ethiopian envoy Mahmoud Dreir said mediation had set a date for the direct negotiations between the two sides.

The AU had set June 30 as a deadline for the military to hand over power to civilians, after which it froze Sudan's membership in the organization.

Labat announced that the AU will hold a summit in Niamey, Niger, on July 7 and 8, adding that the African Peace and Security Council (PSC) is expected to hold a meeting on the situation in Sudan.

The opposition coalition had organized several protests in Khartoum and 30 other cities on Sunday which saw the participation of millions to demand the handover of power to civilians and bringing killers of the June 3 crackdown on protesters to justice.

However, the junta authorities faced the protesters with excessive violence, live ammunition and tear gas, killing 11 people.

Meanwhile, the US State Department condemned the use of live ammunition against peaceful protesters.

State Department spokeswoman Peri Farbstein said peaceful demonstrations in Khartoum and many other cities across Sudan on June 30 assert the Sudanese people's demand for a transitional government led by civilians.

Farbstein told Asharq Al-Awsat that the use of live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators is reprehensible and that the military authorities should be held accountable for the resulting deaths.

The spokesman did not mention any steps the US might take as a result of the recent escalation, knowing that US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East African affairs and Sudan Makela James warned last week that Washington was “considering all options, including sanctions at any time, if such violence is repeated.”

Farbstein called on the TMC and Forces of Freedom and Change to agree on a government led by civilians, asserting the support of State Department to the efforts of the AU and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his mediation team.

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Arab World

Oman Stresses Importance of Resumption of Negotiations between US and Iran 

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik meets with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Muscat on Tuesday. (ONA)
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik meets with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Muscat on Tuesday. (ONA)
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Oman Stresses Importance of Resumption of Negotiations between US and Iran 

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik meets with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Muscat on Tuesday. (ONA)
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik meets with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Muscat on Tuesday. (ONA)

Oman stressed on Tuesday the importance of the resumption of dialogue and negotiations between the United States and Iran in wake of talks hosted in Muscat on Friday between the two sides. Tehran said last week’s indirect talks allowed it to assess how serious Washington was about resuming that path.

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik received in Muscat on Tuesday Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country's Supreme National Security Council, for talks on the latest developments of the Iranian-American negotiations, reported the Sultanate’s official news agency ONA.

The nearly three-hour meeting also addressed paths toward achieving a balanced and equitable agreement for all parties.

It underscored the critical importance of resuming dialogue and returning to the negotiating table to bridge divides and resolve outstanding differences through peaceful means. Such efforts are fundamental to promoting and sustaining peace and security both in the region and the world at large, said ONA.

Sultan Haitham later sent a cable of greetings to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on his country's National Day.

He expressed his sincere wishes for Iran to achieve further accomplishments. He hoped relations of cooperation and partnership would grow and expand across various sectors in a manner that serves the interests of both countries.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi later received Larijani for a “productive” meeting on recent developments, especially the Iran-US talks, he wrote on X.

“Regional peace and security is our priority, and we urge restraint and wise compromise,” he stressed.

Larijani's entourage shared photos of him meeting with the FM, the chief intermediary in the US-Iran talks, with what appeared to be a letter sheathed in plastic and sitting alongside the Omani diplomat.

Iranian media had said Larijani would deliver an important message. However, Iranian state television hours after that meeting described Albusaidi as having “handed over a letter” to Larijani. It did not elaborate from where the letter came.

Iran talks a global focus

Iran and the US held new nuclear talks last week in Oman. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking Sunday to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium — a major point of contention with US President Donald Trump. Israel’s war on Iran in June disrupted earlier rounds of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.

“The Muscat meeting, which was not a long one, it was a half-day meeting. For us it was a way to measure the seriousness of the other side, and to find out how we could continue the process. Therefore we mostly addressed the generalities,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists at a news conference Tuesday in Tehran.

“Our principles are clear. Our demand is to secure the interests of the Iranian nation based on international norms and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Baghaei said. “So as for the details, we should wait for the next steps and see how this diplomatic process will continue.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also arrived in Washington for talks with Trump. Iran is expected to be the major subject of discussion.

Larijani accused Israel of trying to play a “destructive role” in the talks.

“Americans must think wisely and not allow him, through posturing, to imply before his flight that ’I want to go and teach Americans the framework of the nuclear negotiations,” Larijani said in a post on X.

Elsewhere, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there is “extraordinary alignment” between Washington and Israel over the talks with Tehran.

“Everyone would love to see something that would resolve without a war, but it’ll be up to Iran,” said Huckabee before he boarded a flight to Washington with Netanyahu.

The United States has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the country should Trump choose to do so.

Already, US forces shot down a drone they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a US-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf.

The US Transportation Department's Maritime Administration issued a new warning Monday to American vessels in the strait to “remain as far as possible from Iran’s territorial sea without compromising navigational safety.”

Anti-government chants from people's homes

Meanwhile, people in various neighborhoods of Iran’s capital chanted “death to the dictator” from windows and rooftops on the eve of the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, witnesses said, turning the annual celebration into a protest.

State television in recent days has routinely encouraged people to chant pro-government slogans accompanied by fireworks across the city, an annual ritual in the country. The government plans to hold rallies Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary.

The move came nearly one month after a bloody crackdown in Iran on anti-government protests that led to the deaths of thousands of people and tens of thousands more being detained.

Arab World

Village in Southern Lebanon Buries a Child and Father Killed in Israeli Drone Strike 

Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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Village in Southern Lebanon Buries a Child and Father Killed in Israeli Drone Strike 

Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

Mourners in southern Lebanon on Tuesday buried a father and his young son killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a Hezbollah member.

Hassan Jaber, a police officer, and his child, Ali, were on foot when the strike on Monday hit a passing car in the center of their town, Yanouh, relatives said. Lebanon's health ministry said the boy was 3 years old. Both were killed at the scene along with the car driver, Ahmad Salami, who the Israeli military said in a statement was an artillery official with the Lebanese armed group.

It said it was aware of a “claim that uninvolved civilians were killed” and that the case is under review, adding it “makes every effort to reduce the likelihood of harm” to civilians.

Salami, also from Yanouh, was buried in the village Tuesday along with the father and son.

“There are always people here, it’s a crowded area,” with coffee shops and corner stores, a Shiite religious gathering hall, the municipality building and a civil defense center, a cousin of the boy’s father, also named Hassan Jaber, told The Associated Press.

When the boy and his father were struck, he said, they were going to a bakery making Lebanese breakfast flatbread known as manakish to see how it was made. They were standing only about 5 meters (5.5 yards) from the car when it was struck, the cousin said.

“It is not new for the Israeli enemy to carry out such actions,” he said. “There was a car they wanted to hit and they struck it in the middle of this crowded place.”

Jaber said the little boy, Ali, had not yet entered school but “showed signs of unusual intelligence.”

“What did this innocent child do wrong, this angel?” asked Ghazaleh Haider, the wife of the boy’s uncle. “Was he a fighter?”

Attendees at the funeral carried photos of Ali, a striking child with large green eyes and blond hair. Some also carried flags of Hezbollah or of its ally, the Amal party.

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces, of which the child’s father was a member, said in a statement that the 37-year-old father of three had joined in 2013 and reached the rank of first sergeant.

The strike came as Israel has stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon.

The night before the strike in Yanouh, Israeli forces launched a rare ground raid in the Lebanese village of Hebbarieh, several kilometers from the border, in which they seized a local official with the Jamaa al-Islamiya group. The group is allied with Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas.

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.

Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, later reined in but not fully stopped by a US-brokered ceasefire two months later.

Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild and has carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says target Hezbollah members and facilities.

Israeli forces also continue to occupy five hilltop points on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah has claimed one strike against Israel since the ceasefire.

Arab World

US Sanctions Target Alleged Hezbollah Gold Exchange 

Hezbollah supporters raise their group's flags during a protest condemning recent Israeli military actions in Lebanon and calling on the international community to intervene as tensions escalate along the southern border, outside the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, ESCWA, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP)
Hezbollah supporters raise their group's flags during a protest condemning recent Israeli military actions in Lebanon and calling on the international community to intervene as tensions escalate along the southern border, outside the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, ESCWA, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP)
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US Sanctions Target Alleged Hezbollah Gold Exchange 

Hezbollah supporters raise their group's flags during a protest condemning recent Israeli military actions in Lebanon and calling on the international community to intervene as tensions escalate along the southern border, outside the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, ESCWA, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP)
Hezbollah supporters raise their group's flags during a protest condemning recent Israeli military actions in Lebanon and calling on the international community to intervene as tensions escalate along the southern border, outside the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, ESCWA, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions against a gold exchange it said facilitates Iranian financial support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The Treasury Department said the targeted gold exchange was part of Al-Qard al-Hassan, a Hezbollah financial institution already under US sanctions and whose branches were bombed by Israel in 2024 strikes.

"Hezbollah is a threat to peace and stability in the Middle East," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

"Treasury will work to cut these terrorists off from the global financial system to give Lebanon a chance to be peaceful and prosperous again."

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the gold exchange, Jood Sarl, which it said "masquerades as a non-governmental organization" and is used to ensure Hezbollah's cash flow from Iran.

It also said it was imposing sanctions on a number of individuals or entities, including a Russian national, for working on Hezbollah's finances.

The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and make financial transactions with the listed entities a crime.

Israel struck a major blow against Hezbollah in the 2024 war, killing its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, a year after Hamas, another group backed by Iran, carried out a devastating attack against Israel.

In accordance with a truce, the Lebanese army said it had disarmed Hezbollah in an area close to the Israeli border. But Hezbollah has refused to surrender further arms and Israel says progress is insufficient, keeping up periodic attacks.