Egypt's Sisi Meets With Iran's Foreign Minister

FILED - 11 September 2024, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after their meeting at Ittihadiya Palace. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
FILED - 11 September 2024, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after their meeting at Ittihadiya Palace. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
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Egypt's Sisi Meets With Iran's Foreign Minister

FILED - 11 September 2024, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after their meeting at Ittihadiya Palace. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
FILED - 11 September 2024, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after their meeting at Ittihadiya Palace. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday, Egypt's presidency said in a statement.
The meeting focused on regional developments, with al-Sisi reiterating Egypt's call to avoid the expansion of conflict and the need to halt escalation to prevent a full-scale regional war, Reuters reported.
Araqchi emphasized the importance of continuing efforts to explore prospects for mutual development of relations between the two countries, the statement added.
Araqchi landed in Cairo late on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials, the first such visit in years as part of a Middle Eastern tour amid concerns of a wider confrontation in the region with Israel.
Tensions are high in anticipation of an Israeli attack on Iran in retaliation for Iran's missile attack on Oct. 1. That followed a rapidly spiraling conflict between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Araqchi arrived for "important talks with Egypt's high ranking officials that will be held tomorrow [Thursday]," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a post on X on Wednesday.
Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been fraught in recent decades but the two countries have stepped up high-level diplomatic contacts since the eruption of the Gaza crisis last year as Egypt tried to play a mediating role.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend the country's presidential inauguration.



US Offers Some Lebanese Nationals Protected Status Amid War

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on October 17, 2024, amid the continuing war between Irsael and Hezbollah. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on October 17, 2024, amid the continuing war between Irsael and Hezbollah. (Photo by AFP)
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US Offers Some Lebanese Nationals Protected Status Amid War

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on October 17, 2024, amid the continuing war between Irsael and Hezbollah. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on October 17, 2024, amid the continuing war between Irsael and Hezbollah. (Photo by AFP)

The United States said on Thursday it was authorizing certain Lebanese nationals currently in the country to remain for the next 18 months and apply for work permits, as hostilities flare between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Certain individuals from Lebanon who were already in the US as of Oct. 16 can apply for the so-called Temporary Protected Status, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Israel launched its ground and air campaign in Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah after a year during which the Iran-backed group fired across the border in support of Hamas in Gaza.