Palestinian leaders say they will not be blackmailed after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid worth around three quarters of a billion dollars a year.
He made the statement on Twitter, blaming Palestinians for refusing to engage in Middle East peace talks. The PA responded saying the US should not blame Palestinians for 'its own failures'.
Relations with the US have plummeted since Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital last month. The aid cut threatens money allocated to the Palestinian Authority. But most US funding goes to development and building projects - and not directly to the Authority itself.
The US is also withholding millions in financial assistance to the Pakistani government. Saying Islamabad has given the US 'nothing but lies and deceit' over the years - accusing the country of being a 'safe heaven for terrorists'. So, what's behind Trump's threats and what will it mean for US policy in the region?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Steven Rogers - A member of the Donald J Trump for President Advisory Board; David Sedney - Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously served as Deputy U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defence for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Thousands have taken to the streets in Iran's largest and deadliest protests since 2009. Exiled Iranian activist Dariush Arjmandi says demonstrators are challenging economic mismanagement and repressive state control, not pushing the regime change agenda of Iran's global foes
Donald Trump has issued a strongly worded tweet warning Iran that “the US is watching” following the deaths of 20 people in anti-government protests that are sweeping the country.
In the words of one Israeli opposition MP: 'when Jerusalem burns, everything burns'. Nahman Shai fears a newly passed law in the Knesset could lead to more unrest in the Middle East.
The Israeli law makes it harder to divide the contested capital of Jerusalem in any future deal with the Palestinians. Israel says the city is its capital, Palestinians say East Jerusalem has always been their capital. It all could have a dramatic impact on any peace deal between Israel and Palestine - with some saying it's yet another fatal blow to the two-state solution.
On Inside Story, an in-depth discussion on the consequences of the latest law.
Presenter: Adrian Finighan | Guests: Mouin Rabbani - Political Analyst and Senior Fellow, Institute for Palestine Studies; Robbie Sabel - Former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign Ministry; Geoffrey Aronson - Middle East Institute
Israel's parliament passed an amendment that would make it more difficult for the country to cede control over parts of Jerusalem in any peace deal with Palestinians. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports.
At least 22 people are dead and hundreds have been arrested, as Iranian authorities move to quell the largest anti-government protests since 2009. President Donald Trump responded to the protests on Monday in one of his first tweets of the new year, writing ”TIME FOR CHANGE!” “This is the same president who, not more than three months ago, announced a ban on Iranians from coming to the United States,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Glenn Greenwald. “He’s somebody who has aligned with the world’s worst, most savage dictators.”
Iran's supreme leader has accused the country's enemies of stirring days of protests that have claimed at least 22 lives. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was speaking for the first time since people protesting at Iran's economic troubles clashed with security forces last Thursday.
Nine people, including a child, died overnight in violence in central Iran, state media say. The protests are the largest since the disputed 2009 presidential election. "In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence services to create troubles for the Islamic Republic," Iran's supreme leader was quoted as saying in a post on his official website.
Donald Trump’s victory in the US election has left the world working out what it means for them. Trump's political flip-flops have added up to the uncertainty of what his presidency will look like.
Iranian State media says eight people were killed overnight, taking the total dead so far to 22. More than 500 others have been arrested.
The protests began over the weak economy, but the demands have since widened, with chants heard against both the government and the supreme leader,
Ali Khamenei. Khamenei blames what he calls Iran's enemies for the trouble. Joining us to discuss this is Ali Fathollah-Nejed, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and an associate at the Harvard Kennedy School's Iran Project.
Iran saw a fifth day of anti-government protests on Monday with at least 12 fatalities reported. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for calm amid the regime’s most serious challenge to its rule since the 2009 mass demonstrations. William Brangham learns more from The New York Times’ Thomas Erdbrink in Tehran.
We revisit our interview with someone who’s led a discussion of mental health professionals who are deeply concerned about President Trump’s psychological instability. Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine who organized the “Duty to Warn” conference at Yale and edited the best-selling book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.” Dr. Bandy Lee declares that she is not representing the views of Yale University, Yale School of Medicine or Yale Department of Psychiatry.
Iranian protesters are angry at the high cost of basic goods. The price of eggs, for example, has gone up 40 per cent in just six months. Some Iranians say it's time for the government to focus on domestic issues, and to forget Syria, and forget Palestine.
These protesters hoped the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015 would ease their financial struggles. Most international sanctions were lifted, but life for many Iranians has not improved. Government critics say the economic benefits of the deal haven't been passed on because of mismanagement and alleged corruption. They add that the budget announced this month cuts vital social welfare programmes, while giving more money to religious and revolutionary institutions.
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Ali Fathollah-Nejad –Brooking Doha center
