Al-Monitor (Unofficial)

EU Commission to attend Trump's Board of Peace meeting as observer BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - EU Commissioner Dubravka Suica will travel to Washington this week to attend a meeting of the Board of Peace, as set up by U.S President Donald Trump, in her capacity as an observer, a spokesperson for the EU Commission said on Monday.

EU Commission to attend Trump's Board of Peace meeting as observer - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/eu-commission-attend-trumps-board-peace-meeting-observer

French police raid Arab World Institute in Epstein-linked probe into Jack Lang PARIS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - French police on Monday searched the Arab World Institute in Paris in connection with an investigation into its former head, ex culture minister Jack Lang, and his ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into alleged tax fraud against Lang and his daughter Caroline following the release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice.The Arab World Institute said it could not comment immediately.

French police raid Arab World Institute in Epstein-linked probe into Jack Lang - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/french-police-raid-arab-world-institute-epstein-linked-probe-jack-lang

Thirty four Australians released from Syrian camp holding IS-affiliated families By Orhan QeremanROJ CAMP, Syria, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians who were detained in a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been handed to members of their families who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus ahead of their departure from the country. A military vehicle escorted the buses.

Thirty four Australians released from Syrian camp holding IS-affiliated families - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/thirty-four-australians-released-syrian-camp-holding-affiliated-families

Israeli producer of 'Tehran' TV series found dead in Athens hotel, police officials say ATHENS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Israeli producer of hit spy thriller "Tehran" was found dead on Sunday at a hotel room in Athens, Greek police officials said while a probe into the incident is underway. The body of the 52-year-old woman, identified as Dana Eden, was found after a relative made several failed attempts to reach her. The case is being treated as suicide based on evidence and testimonies, the police officials said. Greek investigators found pills at the scene. A coroner also found bruises on the victim's neck.

Israeli producer of 'Tehran' TV series found dead in Athens hotel, police officials say - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/israeli-producer-tehran-tv-series-found-dead-athens-hotel-police-officials-say

Indonesia readies 1,000 troops for potential peacekeeping force in Gaza in early April JAKARTA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army spokesperson said on Monday.The final deployment decision will be made by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, spokesperson Donny Pramono said, adding that a total of 8,000 soldiers will be ready for deployment by June. "The departure schedule remains entirely subject to the political decisions of the state and applicable international mechanisms," he said in a text message to Reuters.

Indonesia readies 1,000 troops for potential peacekeeping force in Gaza in early April - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/indonesia-readies-1000-troops-potential-peacekeeping-force-gaza-early-april

Iran's foreign minister will meet IAEA chief ahead of nuclear talks DUBAI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he will meet the UN nuclear watchdog chief on Monday, ahead of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks to tackle their dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme and avert conflict as U.S. warships deploy to the Middle East.The two sides held indirect talks earlier this month in Oman. "I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats," Araqchi said on X.

Iran's foreign minister will meet IAEA chief ahead of nuclear talks - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/irans-foreign-minister-will-meet-iaea-chief-ahead-nuclear-talks

Iran's foreign minister says he will meet IAEA director on Monday DUBAI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he will meet with the director of the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday, the day before a second round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva. Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation as U.S. warships, including a second aircraft carrier, are deploying to the region.

Iran's foreign minister says he will meet IAEA director on Monday - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/irans-foreign-minister-says-he-will-meet-iaea-director-monday

Art and the deal: market slump pushes galleries to the Gulf With global sales mired in a slump, art dealers have turned to buyers in the oil-rich Gulf, where culture sector spending is on the rise.Art Basel, which runs elite fairs in Miami, Hong Kong, Paris and Switzerland, held its Gulf debut in Qatar earlier this month."The second you land here, you see the ambition. It's basically the future," Andisheh Avini, a senior director at New York-based Gagosian Gallery, told AFP at the Doha fair.

Art and the deal: market slump pushes galleries to the Gulf - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/art-and-deal-market-slump-pushes-galleries-gulf

New anti-government chants in Tehran after giant rallies abroad: reports Some residents of Tehran on Sunday chanted slogans against the clerical leadership from balconies and windows, reports said, a day after Iranians abroad staged giant opposition rallies in Europe and North America.The Islamic republic under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was shaken by a protest movement that peaked in January and which according to rights groups was repressed by security forces in a crackdown that left thousands dead.

New anti-government chants in Tehran after giant rallies abroad: reports - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/new-anti-government-chants-tehran-after-giant-rallies-abroad-reports

Separate talks on Iran and Ukraine-Russia set for Tuesday in Geneva, source says PALM BEACH, Florida, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Two sets of diplomatic negotiations, on Ukraine and Iran, are set to take place in Geneva on Tuesday, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.A U.S. delegation including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with the Iranians on Tuesday morning, the source said. Representatives from Oman will be on hand and mediate the U.S.-Iran contacts, the source said.Witkoff and Kushner will then participate in trilateral talks with representatives from Russia and Ukraine in the afternoon, the source said.

Separate talks on Iran and Ukraine-Russia set for Tuesday in Geneva, source says - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/separate-talks-iran-and-ukraine-russia-set-tuesday-geneva-source-says

Canada wants Iran government change, increases sanctions TORONTO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada wants a change of government in Iran but would not say whether it would support a U.S. military strike, the Globe and Mail reported on Saturday.“We will not open diplomatic relationships with Iran unless there is a regime change. Period,” Anand told the Globe and Mail in an interview in Germany, where she is attending the Munich Security Conference.Canada has particularly poor relations with Iran and cut off diplomatic ties in 2012.

Canada wants Iran government change, increases sanctions - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/canada-wants-iran-government-change-increases-sanctions

Netanyahu: Deal with Iran must dismantle nuclear infrastructure, not just stop enrichment process JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told U.S. President Donald Trump last week that any deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process.Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyahu also said Israel still needs to "complete the job" of destroying all tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km (93 miles) of an estimated 500 km.

Netanyahu: Deal with Iran must dismantle nuclear infrastructure, not just stop enrichment process - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/netanyahu-deal-iran-must-dismantle-nuclear-infrastructure-not-just-stop

MSF suspends some Gaza hospital work over presence of gunmen, suspected weapons transfers, group says Feb 14 (Reuters) - Medecins Sans Frontieres has halted "non-critical" medical activities at a major hospital in southern Gaza following reports from patients and its own staff of armed men inside the facility and concerns over the movement of weapons within it.MSF's statement appeared to mark the first time that an international humanitarian group in Gaza has publicly reported the presence of armed men in a hospital or the possible use of such a facility for moving weapons.

MSF suspends some Gaza hospital work over presence of gunmen, suspected weapons transfers, group says - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/msf-suspends-some-gaza-hospital-work-over-presence-gunmen-suspected-weapons

Rubio casts US, the 'child of Europe', as critical friend to allies By Humeyra Pamuk, Jonathan Landay and Max HunderMUNICH, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast the United States as the "child of Europe" in a message of unity on Saturday, offering some reassurance as well as levelling more criticism at allies after a year of turmoil in transatlantic relations.Rubio was addressing the annual Munich Security Conference, where Europe's leading powers have tried to project their own independence and strength while straining to keep an alliance with the U.S. under President Donald Trump alive.

Rubio casts US, the 'child of Europe', as critical friend to allies - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/rubio-casts-us-child-europe-critical-friend-allies-0

Trump told Netanyahu in December he would support Israeli strikes on Iran's missile program, CBS News reports Feb 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Florida in December that he would support Israeli strikes on Iran's ballistic missile program if the U.S. and Iran could not reach a deal, CBS News reported on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. (Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese)

Trump told Netanyahu in December he would support Israeli strikes on Iran's missile program, CBS News reports - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/trump-told-netanyahu-december-he-would-support-israeli-strikes-irans-missile

Hariri signals Future Movement's return to Lebanon elections BEIRUT, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, one of the country's best-known politicians, indicated on Saturday that his party would contestupcoming elections, four years after he stepped back from public office.In a speech marking the 21st anniversary of the assassination of his father Rafik, who was also prime minister, Saad told supporters in Beirut that others would “hear our voice, and count our votes” when elections take place.

Hariri signals Future Movement's return to Lebanon elections - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/hariri-signals-future-movements-return-lebanon-elections

Son of Iran's last shah urges US military intervention in Iran By Humeyra PamukMUNICH, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi on Saturday said U.S. military intervention in Iran could save lives and urged President Donald Trump's administration not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran's clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.The exiled son of Iran's toppled shah told Reuters in an interview that there were signs that the Iranian government was on the brink of collapse and that an attack could weaken it or accelerate its fall.

Son of Iran's last shah urges US military intervention in Iran - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/son-irans-last-shah-urges-us-military-intervention-iran

African Union summit clouded by Saudi-UAE rivalry in Horn of Africa LONDON/NAIROBI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A feud between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates across the Horn of Africa is overshadowing this weekend’s African Union summit, though most of the continent’s leaders will try to avoid taking sides, nine diplomats and experts said.What began as a rivalry in Yemen has spread across the Red Sea into a region riven with conflicts - from war in Somalia and Sudan to rivalry between Ethiopia and Eritrea and a divided Libya.

African Union summit clouded by Saudi-UAE rivalry in Horn of Africa - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/african-union-summit-clouded-saudi-uae-rivalry-horn-africa

Israeli FM Saar to attend Trump's first Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, officials say Feb 14 (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will attend U.S. President Donald Trump's first formal Board of Peace meeting on February 19, two Israeli officials said on Saturday.U.S. officials told Reuters this week that Trump will announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a U.N.-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the meeting in Washington.

Israeli FM Saar to attend Trump's first Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, officials say - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/israeli-fm-saar-attend-trumps-first-board-peace-meeting-thursday-officials-say

EU should 'bring to life' mutual defence pact, von der Leyen says MUNICH, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The European Union should "bring to life" a mutual defence pact anchored in its founding treaty, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday."Mutual defence is not an optional task for the European Union. It is an obligation within our own treaty," von der Leyen said in a speech at the conference."It is our collective commitment to stand by each other in case of aggression, or in simple terms: one for all and all for one. And this is Europe's meaning."

EU should 'bring to life' mutual defence pact, von der Leyen says - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/eu-should-bring-life-mutual-defence-pact-von-der-leyen-says

Exclusive-US military preparing for potentially weeks-long Iran operations By Phil Stewart and Idrees AliWASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.

Exclusive-US military preparing for potentially weeks-long Iran operations - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/exclusive-us-military-preparing-potentially-weeks-long-iran-operations

Rubio casts US, the 'child of Europe', as critical friend to allies - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/rubio-casts-us-child-europe-critical-friend-allies

Iran says potential energy, mining and aircraft deals on table in talks with US Feb 15 (Reuters) - Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday, days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.

Iran says potential energy, mining and aircraft deals on table in talks with US - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/iran-says-potential-energy-mining-and-aircraft-deals-table-talks-us

Rubio says US does not dispute Navalny poisoning assessment by Europeans BUDAPEST, Feb 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called "troubling" a report by five European allies blaming Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using toxin from poison dart frogs, adding that Washington had no reason to question it."We obviously are aware of the report. It's a troubling report. We're aware of that case of Mr. Navalny and certainly... we don't have any reason to question it," Rubio told reporters at a news conference in Brastislava during a visit to Slovakia.

Rubio says US does not dispute Navalny poisoning assessment by Europeans - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/rubio-says-us-does-not-dispute-navalny-poisoning-assessment-europeans

Israeli cabinet approves West Bank land registration, Palestinians condemn 'de-facto annexation' JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tighten Israel's control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, in a move Palestinians called "a de-facto annexation".The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Israeli cabinet approves West Bank land registration, Palestinians condemn 'de-facto annexation' - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/israeli-cabinet-approves-west-bank-land-registration-palestinians-condemn-de

Trump, Netanyahu agreed US should press Iran to cut oil sales to China, Axios reports - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/trump-netanyahu-agreed-us-should-press-iran-cut-oil-sales-china-axios-reports

Israeli airstrikes kill 11 in Gaza, Palestinians say; Israel says Hamas violated truce By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Steven ScheerCAIRO/JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel fired airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 11 Palestinians, Palestinian officials said, in what the military called a response to ceasefire violations by Palestinian militant group Hamas.Gaza medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south and another person was shot dead in the north.

Israeli airstrikes kill 11 in Gaza, Palestinians say; Israel says Hamas violated truce - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/israeli-airstrikes-kill-11-gaza-palestinians-say-israel-says-hamas-violated-truce

Board of Peace members have pledged more than $5 billion for Gaza, Trump says - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/board-peace-members-have-pledged-more-5-billion-gaza-trump-says

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 12 Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 12 people since dawn on Sunday, while a military official said the attacks were in response to ceasefire violations.Despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, violence has continued in the Palestinian territory, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for violating the agreement.The civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, said one strike hit a tent of displaced people in northern Gaza and another targeted an area in the south.

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 12 - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/gaza-civil-defence-says-israeli-strikes-kill-12

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 12 since dawn Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 12 people since dawn on Sunday, while a military official said the attacks were in response to ceasefire violations.Despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, violence has continued in the Palestinian territory, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for violating the agreement.The civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, said one strike hit a tent of displaced people in northern Gaza and another targeted an area in the south.

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 12 since dawn - https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/gaza-civil-defence-says-israeli-strikes-kill-12-dawn