Who is the Hebrew-speaking ‘fox applying for the henhouse guard job?’

Lana Nusseibeh’s close alignment with Israel shadows her bid to lead the UN

TEHRAN — Having spent years whitewashing Abu Dhabi’s submission to Israeli interests, Lana Nusseibeh is now being promoted by her handlers to run the United Nations.

By Ali Minabi 

The Yemen mandate that was never asked for

TEHRAN – Yemen’s “recognized” government has international backing but was not elected, has no money of its own, and no control over its own forces. 

Sudanese recount horrors in el-Fasher at the hands of UAE-backed RSF

Three weeks ago, Hala, a Sudanese woman, left the refugee camp in Tawila and returned to the city of el-Fasher.

By staff writer

American are done paying for Trump’s family business

TEHRAN — Donald Trump won the White House promising to “Make America Great Again,” then promised Americans a short, cheap war on Iran. They got a closed Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude above $116 a barrel, and gasoline past $5 a gallon in several states. He and his family got a windfall.

By staff writer

Kushner’s hacked iPhone exposed billions in secret Saudi and Emirati money

TEHRAN — Dutch military hackers sat inside Jared Kushner’s iPhone in 2018 and watched him log in to a Dubai bank account that had taken in hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new book by journalist Matthew Cole.

By Ali Minabi

Is the UAE trying to save Netanyahu?

TEHRAN – Israeli media sought to explain Netanyahu’s surprise visit to Abu Dhabi as an effort to ease the tension between him and Mohammed bin Zayed.

Iran warns regional states against hosting Israeli officials after Netanyahu’s UAE visit

TEHRAN – Iran has warned regional countries about the consequences of the presence of destabilizing actors such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on their soils, warning about Tel Aviv’s efforts to sow regional tensions.

By staff writer

Netanyahu flew over Jordan and Saudi Arabia for clandestine talks in Abu Dhabi

TEHRAN — On Sunday, a private jet carrying Benjamin Netanyahu took off from Israel, entered Jordanian airspace, crossed into Saudi Arabia, and touched down in Abu Dhabi. Gaza lies in ruins under years of relentless bombardment. The International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister. Yet two Arab states provided clear skies, and a third opened its airport tarmac and hosted Netanyahu for ominous talks with other regional actors.

Iran rebuffs UAE at UN: Three islands are ‘inseparable parts of Iran’s territory’

TEHRAN — Repeating unfounded claims from the United Nations rostrum “does not alter the reality” that Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb remain “inseparable parts of Iran’s territory,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, stated on social media platform X.

Conflicting interpretations of alleged UAE president’s warning to Netanyahu on Oct. 7 attack

TEHRAN – A UAE official has declined to explicitly confirm or deny reports that President Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of an imminent Hamas attack before October 7, 2023.

By staff writer

Iranian strikes force UAE to dismantle plans for its AI mega-campus

TEHRAN — The United Arab Emirates is quietly dismantling its blueprint for a 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence project, abandoning plans for a centralized campus in Abu Dhabi in favor of a dispersed network of hardened facilities.

By staff writer

Shadowy Emirati firm exposed as major oil supplier for Israeli military

TEHRAN — While Israel continues its campaign of mass extermination in Gaza, a newly established Emirati company has quietly stepped out of the shadows to ensure the Israeli war machine never runs out of fuel.

2026 Asian Junior Handball Championship: Iran, UAE share the spoils

TEHRAN – Iran were held to a 25-25 draw against the UAE at the 2026 Asian Junior Handball Championship on Friday.

Cross-border trade between UAE, Saudi Arabia facing delays amid tensions: Semafor

Cross-border trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia is facing delays, in a sign that tensions between the Persian Gulf neighbors are rippling through the business world.

Iran rejects IMO draft, defends legal position on Strait of Hormuz

TEHRAN – Iran has formally rejected a draft proposal before the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, describing it as politically motivated, legally unfounded, and beyond the Council’s technical mandate, while reaffirming that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains open under safety and security coordination measures.

By Garsha Vazirian

Yemen will ensure the Somaliland scheme becomes a catastrophic trap for Israel

TEHRAN — Any temporary reduction of military hostility by Israel along its northern borders or toward Iran must not be misconstrued as a sign of regional peace. Driven by long-term schemes and intense domestic political crises, including the looming prospect of early Knesset elections, Benjamin Netanyahu remains structurally dependent on a perpetual state of warfare for his political survival.

By Garsha Vazirian

The shock absorber doctrine and the ‘Abraham’ suicide pact

TEHRAN – The old American playbook in the Middle East has completely shed its diplomatic veneer. Arab capitals are not treated as sovereign partners; instead, they have been strategically downgraded to regional shock absorbers designed to absorb the geopolitical, economic, and military blows meant for Tel Aviv and Washington.

By Garsha Vazirian

We can all thrive when the Abu Dhabi syndicate folds

TEHRAN — The Al Nahyan crime family has achieved a grim, singular trifecta: it has alienated its local citizenry, reduced its nine-million-strong migrant workforce to indentured cogs, and transformed a historic mercantile hub into a forward-operating base for the genocidal U.S.-Israeli military-intelligence complex.

Persian Gulf security cannot be bought: King’s College expert

TEHRAN - David B. Roberts, a reader in Middle East Security Studies at King’s College London, suggests that Arab states on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf must build their own security, rather than “buy” it.

The UAE’s dangerous overreach

TEHRAN - The geopolitical landscape of the Persian Gulf has been radically redrawn following the intense 40-day military campaign launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28. While the broader conflict reached a fragile, Pakistani-mediated ceasefire in April, the diplomatic and economic aftershocks are still reverberating across the region. 

UAE from Iran war to BRICS: ‘The lady doth protest too much’

TEHRAN - The United Arab Emirates’ “direct involvement” in the US–Israeli aggression against Iran has come to light against the backdrop of a BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in India, alongside revelations that senior Israeli officials travelled to the small Persian Gulf state during the conflict.

From Dubai dream to an economic nightmare; promises that turned to smoke

TEHRAN- Imagine spending years saving money and time to build a tall tower by the sea; the tower becomes so famous that every investor in the world wants to buy a unit in it. But suddenly, a war breaks out in the neighborhood, and investors flee; your stock value plummets, and you suddenly realize that the one who promised to protect you has left you alone.