The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
⭕️ Syria has issued a written reply to a list of US demands for potential partial sanctions relief, stating it had addressed most of the conditions while noting that some would need "mutual understandings" with Washington, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Reuters.
Last month, the United States presented Syria with a list of eight conditions, including the destruction of any remaining chemical weapons and a guarantee that foreigners would not hold senior positions in the government.
❗️Earlier this morning, the Israeli army announced that it destroyed a UAV that was "on its way from the east."
Читать полностью…BREAKING | Israeli media reports explosions in the Negev following a missile launch from Yemen.
Читать полностью…Iran signs landmark gas, nuclear cooperation deal with Russia
The Kremlin has pledged to assist Iran in constructing a new nuclear power plant as the Islamic Republic prepares for a third round of sanctions relief talks with the US
Iraqi delegation visits Damascus to discuss reactivation of oil pipeline
The officials discussed expanding economic and security ties with the de facto authorities in Damascus despite the Syrian president’s past role in Iraq as an Al-Qaeda chief
Secret deal sees UAE deploy Israeli-made radar to Somaliland: Report
The Gulf nation has said it 'fears attacks' from the YAF
❗️For at least the third time this week ,Hebrew media reports a that a "difficult security incident" has occured north of Rafah in southern Gaza. Details are not yet confirmed.
Читать полностью…US prepares $100bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia ahead of Trump visit
The mega deal comes as Washington continues to push for the normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel
❗️Paraguay has officially labeled Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a “terrorist” group and expanded its definition of Hamas and Hezbollah to cover all branches of the two organizations, as stated in a presidential decree released Thursday.
“The Government of Paraguay has resolved to include the organization Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps due to its systematic involvement in human rights violations and participation in terrorist activities on a global scale,” Paraguay’s government said in a statement.
❗️A large crowd gathers in Geneva, Switzerland, to protest in support of Gaza and Palestine.
Читать полностью…❗️Al-Akhbar's correspondent in southern Lebanon:
"For the second day in a row, the French contingent within UNIFIL is conducting intensive patrols inside Wadi al-Saluqi."
❗️Qassam Brigades:
"In continuation of the 'Breaking the Sword' ambush, Qassam fighters yesterday, Thursday, successfully sniped four soldiers and officers of the [Israeli] occupation army, leaving them dead/wounded on al-Awda Street east of Beit Hanoun town, in the northern Gaza Strip."
❗️The new Syrian flag was raised in front of the UN building in New York in the presence of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
Читать полностью…❗️Israeli War Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff of the military Eyal Zamir held a meeting with US CENTCOM chief Michael Kurilla today focused on "several security and regional issues," according to Katz's office.
Читать полностью…⭕️ In an interview with Time, when asked about "the last hurdles of Saudi-Israeli normalization," US President Donald Trump emphasized his strong personal ties with Saudi leadership and highlighted a $1 trillion investment Saudi Arabia has agreed to make in the US economy.
Although he did not provide specific details on the remaining obstacles, Trump expressed confidence in his foreign policy "achievements" and suggested that Saudi Arabia is likely to join the Abraham Accords soon, predicting rapid progress.
❗️Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, US President Donald Trump was questioned about whether humanitarian aid access to Gaza had been discussed during his recent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
"Gaza came up and I said, 'We've got to be good to Gaza ... Those people are suffering,'" Trump said.
When asked if he specifically brought up the issue of opening access points for aid into Gaza, Trump answered, "We are."
"We're going to take care of that. There's a very big need for medicine, food and medicine, and we're taking care of it," he said.
Pressed on how Netanyahu reacted, Trump responded: "Felt well about it."
No aid has reached the Palestinian enclave since 2 March. Israel said that it will not permit the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all the remaining captives.
On Friday, the UN World Food Programme announced it had exhausted all of its food stocks in Gaza.
❗️Medical sources report that the death toll is 16 in ongoing Israeli airstrikes since dawn today on several areas in Gaza.
(Al Jazeera)
❗️BREAKING | US warplanes bomb Saada, Al Mahwit, and Hodeidah governorates in Yemen.
Читать полностью…'Jews will kill Jews': Israel's top politicos warn of impending civil war
Netanyahu’s war is not just on Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq – it is on Israel's own institutions, opposition parties, and the last shreds of internal dissent. Now, the occupation state's most senior political veterans are warning of a full-on Civil War.
By Robert Inlakesh
❗️Israeli media:
○ Four IDF soldiers evacuated from the Gaza Strip, three of whom were seriously injured.
○ One of those seriously injured by an anti-tank shell in Rafah was a deputy company commander.
⭕️ Iraq dispatched a delegation to Damascus on Friday to explore the potential reopening of an oil pipeline that runs through Syria to ports on the Mediterranean, according to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office.
The delegation, headed by the chief of the National Intelligence Service, will also address 'counter-terrorism' efforts, border security, and opportunities to boost trade between the two nations, the office said.
❗️Quds Brigades:
"We targeted the Zionist enemy forces and vehicles positioned on Al-Muntar Hill, east of Gaza City, with mortar shells."
❗️The Israeli military announced that three new F-35I fighter jets arrived at Nevatim Airbase last night, expanding the Israeli Air Force’s F-35 fleet to 45 aircraft.
The jets are part of Israel’s initial order of 50 F-35s, with an additional 25 ordered last year.
❗️At least four Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. In a separate attack, nine more Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces bombed a house east of Khan Yunis.
Читать полностью…❗️A Palestinian youth Abdelkhaleq Mousab Jbour was murdered by Israeli forces during their raid the on village of Salem, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
Читать полностью…❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– "84 martyrs (6 recovered) and 168 injuries arrived at Gaza hospitals during the past 24 hours."
– "The toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 51,439 martyrs and 117,416 wounded since 7 October 2023."
– "The toll since 18 March 2025 has reached 2,062 martyrs, 5,375 wounded."
❗️US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that President Donald Trump is the hardest working leader in the world when it comes to preventing and ending wars.
Читать полностью…Indian, Pakistani troops exchange fire as UN urges 'maximum restraint'
A deadly terror attack by a militant group against Indian tourists in Pahalgam earlier this week has prompted calls for a violent response against Pakistan
⭕️ Trump blames Biden for the deaths of children in Gaza
In an interview with Time Magazine, Donald Trump blamed Joe Biden for the deaths of children in Gaza at the hands of Israel.
According to Trump, the reason is that "[Biden] allowed Iran to become rich" after it had been "broke."
To correct the interviewer, over 600 children in Gaza have been killed by Israel since it collapsed the ceasefire on 18 March, 2025.
❗️Statement by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
"After more than a year and a half of genocidal war waged by the usurping Zionist entity—backed by the US administration—against our people in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, and despite the escalating violations and threats targeting Jerusalem and its holy sites, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Central Council meeting came not in response to our people’s suffering, but rather in response to international and regional pressures aimed at creating a dual-position for the Deputy President of the Ramallah Authority and the Chair of the PLO Executive Committee.
Although the 32nd session raised slogans such as 'No to displacement, no to annexation; steadfastness in the homeland; saving our people in Gaza and ending the war; protecting Jerusalem and the West Bank; and yes to inclusive national unity,'—which reflect the critical state of the Palestinian cause—these were sidelined as if they were secondary or non-urgent matters. The speech by the head of the authority went even further, not only using inappropriate language but also adopting and promoting the narrative of the occupation by claiming that releasing prisoners would “remove pretexts” and “stop massacres,” even as the occupation continues rejecting all ceasefire proposals and the Authority itself fails to stop settler invasions and desecration of towns, villages, and holy sites in the West Bank.
It is astonishing that the Council’s meetings concluded without issuing a final statement reflecting its outcomes—underscoring that the true purpose of the meeting was to push through items aligned with external pressure, with no relation to the slogans it raised.
The boycott by numerous Palestinian factions and the exclusion of resistance forces, along with the absence of resolutions serving the Palestinian people, renders the Council’s outcomes irrelevant and void of any value—especially in light of the ongoing failure to implement the outcomes of many previous meetings.
We call on the Ramallah Authority to end its policy of betting on external powers and to cease confiscating the Palestinian national decision in service of partisan, factional, or personal agendas—at the expense of the interests of our people, our cause, and our holy sites."