WATCH: THE GRAYZONE
'Kill them all': inside the Israeli blockade on Gaza aid
WATCH
SKY NEWS
Feb 4, 2025
Shock as Trump says the US will make Gaza the 'Riviera of the Middle East'
FOX NEWS
Israeli PM Netanyahu credits President Trump with hostage deal
President Trump & Elon Musk agree to 'shut down' USAID
ANTIWAR.COM
Feb 2, 2025
US Attacks Northwestern Somalia, Trump Reports ‘Many’ Killed
REUTERS
Feb 1, 2025
Exclusive: U.S. wants Ukraine to hold elections following a ceasefire, says Trump envoy
PBS
USAID website goes dark amid Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid worldwide
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Jan 31, 2025
Venezuela Frees 6 Americans After Visit by Trump Envoy
Richard Grenell, the envoy for special missions, said he was flying home with the detainees after he met with President Nicolás Maduro.
THE NEW ARAB
US says killed senior Al-Qaeda operative in Syria strike
"US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, a senior operative in the terrorist organisation Hurras al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate," CENTCOM said in a statement.
RT
Trump confirms ‘serious discussions’ with Moscow over Ukraine
On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that a phone call between the two presidents was not currently planned, as no agreement or understanding had been reached on the matter. He noted that all communication is presently being conducted at the embassy level.
THE CRADLE
Jan 30, 2025
US mercenary firm tapped to oversee return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza: Report
Around 100 veterans will be paid a daily rate of between $1,000 and $10,000 by private firm UG Solutions, according to a recruitment email obtained by Reuters.
Axios reports that some US special forces veterans have already been recruited and are present at the checkpoint. Other unnamed security firms are also being recruited.
TURKIYE TODAY
Jan 29, 2025
Trump reportedly plans to withdraw thousands of US troops from Syria
Israel’s official public broadcasting Kan reported that “senior White House officials conveyed a message to their Israeli counterparts indicating that President Trump intends to pull thousands of U.S. troops from Syria.”
The report added that “the withdrawal of American forces from Syria will raise significant concerns in Tel Aviv.”
A Pentagon announcement in December stated that about 2,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed in Syria.
Jan 28, 2025
US-backed Syrian authorities conduct dozens of sectarian executions
Alawites, Christians, and members of other minority groups have been systematically targeted by Syria’s new government since it came to power.
THE GUARDIAN
Trump invites Netanyahu to be first foreign leader to visit White House
President makes major concession to Israeli PM, US ally who is wanted by international court for war crimes.
AXIOS
U.S. sending dozens of Patriot missiles from Israel to Ukraine
Trump Orders the Development of a New Missile Defense System for the US
US, British commercial ships return to Red Sea as Yemen scales back naval ops
RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT
New neocon manifesto: Keep US troops in the Middle East
The 'Vandenberg Coalition' wants Trump to prioritize Israel and maintain Iran as enemy number one.
Jan 26, 2025
Trump says Jordan, Egypt should take in Palestinians from Gaza; Egypt and Jordan push back
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Trump ends hold on delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel
Zelensky Says US Military Aid To Ukraine Has Not Been Paused
Jan 24, 2025
U.S. Security Contractors Going to Gaza to Oversee Truce, Officials Say
The contractors have been enlisted to do weapons checks on vehicles carrying displaced Palestinians back to their homes in the north under the terms of the new cease-fire.
Jan 23, 2025
"Shin Bet Says Israel’s ‘Multi-Front’ War Is Now Focused on the West Bank"
"Israel Purchases More Iron Dome Interceptors With US Aid"
THE WASHINGTON POST
U.S. calls for Lebanon ceasefire extension after Israel says IDF won’t withdraw by deadline
Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon past the 60-day withdrawal deadline set by the ceasefire agreement with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in November, according to a statement Friday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that Hezbollah described earlier as a “blatant violation of the agreement.”
In response, White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes called for “a short, temporary ceasefire extension,” saying it is “urgently needed.”
US orders halt to virtually all foreign aid except for Israel and Egypt
Internal memo to US state department staff explicitly makes exceptions for military assistance to Israel and Egypt
Trump Says He Wants To Work With China and Russia on ‘Denuclearization’
FINANCIAL TIMES
Pete Hegseth narrowly confirmed as Trump’s defence secretary
Senate signs off on John Ratcliffe as Trump's CIA director
Saudi Arabia to invest $600bn in US economy as Trump considers visit
Jan 22, 2025
Trump re-designates Iranian-backed Houthis as terrorists: 'Threaten[s] security of American civilians'
"Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform," the order noted.
JEWISH INSIDER
Pro-Israel Republicans alarmed over Trump’s Defense Department appointee
Michael DiMino, tapped as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, has said that the U.S. has ‘minimal to nonexistent’ vital interests in the region.
AL JAZEERA
President Donald Trump’s pick to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations has become the latest administration nominee to express the belief that Israel has “biblical” dominion over the occupied West Bank.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that US troops must be included in a Western peacekeeping force that he wants deployed to Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal with Russia.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky called for 200,000 European troops to be sent to Ukraine to uphold a peace deal, an idea that’s a non-starter for talks with Moscow.
Trump said Russia’s economy was failing and urged Vladimir Putin to “settle now and stop this ridiculous war”.
Without a deal, Trump said, “I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
Trump nevertheless wrote on Wednesday that he “always had a very good relationship” with Putin and that he “was not looking to hurt Russia”.
CBS NEWS
Jan 21, 2025
New Israeli "large scale" offensive in West Bank underway as Trump drops sanctions on settlers
The IDF launched its new operation hours after President Trump rescinded Biden-era executive orders that had authorized U.S. sanctions against people who undermine peace in the occupied West Bank, mainly targeting Israeli settlers.
Trump Places Cuba Back on ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ List
In response to Trump relisting Cuba, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez called the designation a “tool of political coercion.” Iran, North Korea, and Syria are the only other countries listed by the US as “state sponsors of terrorism,” and the designation ensures harsh sanctions will remain.
CAITLIN JOHNSTONE
Donald Trump Is The Empire Unmasked
During his inaugural address, the new president of the United States was refreshingly open about the fact that Washington is the hub of a continuously expanding empire which is ruled by billionaire plutocrats.Unmasked
Jan 20, 2025
Trump inauguration address - selected foreign policy quotes:
"We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end. And, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier."
"America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world."
"A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America."
"[W]e didn't give [the Panama Canal] to China, we gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back."
"We will be a nation like no other. Full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable."
"The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."
From meeting Putin to Middle East doubts: What were Trump’s foreign policy moves on day one?
Trump took a whistlestop world tour from his Oval Office desk, touching on topics including imposing tariffs, rebuilding Gaza and withdrawing (again) from the Paris climate agreement and the WHO
Jan 19, 2025
Netanyahu Says US Gave Guarantee That He Can Restart Military Operations in Gaza
“Both President Trump and President Biden have given full backing to Israel’s right to return to the fighting if Israel reaches the conclusion that the second stage negotiations are ineffectual. I greatly appreciate this,” Netanyahu said.
He also said that Trump agreed to “lift the remaining restrictions on providing vital weapons and munitions to the State of Israel. If we need to go back to the fighting, we will do so in new ways and with great force.”
2025 | All information on this website is in the public domain | USForeignPolicyNews.com
