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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
EU lifts Syria sanctions as Washington claims 'full-scale civil war' looms
Over 90 percent of Syria's population fell below the poverty line and 12 million people confronted food insecurity as a result of extensive sanctions imposed by the west
⭕️ Jersey City raises Palestinian flag for first time since 2022 in show of solidarity
Jersey City held its third annual Palestine flag raising ceremony on 16 May, marking the city’s first such event since December 2022. The ceremony, held a day after Nakba Day, honored the Palestinian community and reignited calls for justice. In an op-ed, activist Cameron Orr linked the event to broader US complicity in Israeli occupation, highlighting Washington’s continued military aid to Israel and refusal to recognize Palestinian statehood despite decades of displacement, apartheid, and violence.
❗️ 3 Palestinian families wiped from Gaza civil registry overnight in Israeli strike on Khan Yunis
An Israeli airstrike at dawn targeted the home of the Abu Salah family in Abasan al-Kabira, Khan Yunis, erasing three branches of the family from the civil registry. Most of the victims were women and children. Bodies were recovered and transported to Nasser Medical Complex in civilian vehicles. Al-Hadath reports that at least 25 homes were bombed across the area overnight.
⭕️ Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris says a majority of EU member states support reviewing the EU–Israel Association Agreement due to Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza.
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⭕️ Iran Foreign Minister: Future of West Asia must be shaped by its own people, not foreign powers
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote in an op-ed that the future of West Asia must be shaped by its own people, not foreign powers. He called for a regional order based on mutual respect, dialogue, and shared responsibility—rejecting externally imposed security models that ignore local realities and deepen conflict.
He reaffirmed Iran’s longstanding support for regional initiatives like HOPE, WAVE, and the recent GCC 2024 security vision, while warning that Israel remains a structural obstacle to collective security. Araqchi accused Israel of nuclear ambiguity, systematic violations of international law, and fostering regional instability from Gaza to Lebanon and Syria. He stressed that true stability cannot include a regime built on impunity, and that the future of West Asia must be written by its own peoples through frameworks reflecting their history, culture, and collective will.
⭕️ German Foreign Ministry: 12 German nationals evacuated from Gaza with Israeli coordination
A new group of 12 German citizens and their close family members has successfully left the Gaza Strip, according to a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry. The evacuation was carried out with assistance from the ministry and in close coordination with Israeli authorities.
⭕️ According to a report by Erem News, tensions remain high around Russia’s Hmeimim military base in Syria following a deadly assault that killed 3 Russian soldiers and wounded 6 others. The attack was reportedly carried out by an Uzbek-led faction now mobilizing in the village of al-Sharashir, just 2 km from the base. The group’s presence has triggered mass displacement, as fighters seize civilian homes and conduct raids marked by intimidation. Russian forces have entered a state of high alert as they monitor the growing threat. The faction, previously based in the town of Qarfis, is also accused of multiple massacres, including the recent execution of four civilians, among them a child, in the nearby village of Zama.
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⭕️ UK maritime firm: Panama-flagged tanker possibly hijacked near Iranian coast
British maritime security firm Ambrey reported on Tuesday that a Panama-flagged tanker carrying UAE-linked products was intercepted approximately 51 nautical miles northwest of Iran’s Bandar Jask port. The firm said it received a signal indicating the vessel may have been hijacked.
❗️Israeli forces demolished the home of the late Palestinian freedom fighter Abdelqader al-Qawasmeh in Hebron, southern occupied West Bank. Locals gathered to survey the destruction, part of Israel’s ongoing punitive home demolition policy targeting families of fighters.
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⭕️ US mercenary firm overseeing Gaza aid for Israel launches LinkedIn hiring spree
Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), a US private military contractor led by former CIA paramilitary officer Phil Reilly, is actively hiring on LinkedIn to oversee aid distribution in Gaza on Israel’s behalf. SRS is a shell company of the Wyoming-based generational wealth management firm Two Ocean Trust, LLC.
The firm is recruiting for positions like “Humanitarian Liaison Officer” and “Team Deputy,” prioritizing US citizens with at least seven years of field experience in conflict zones, particularly the Middle East, and fluency in Arabic. Ironically, while SRS seeks applicants with UN backgrounds, its role is to supplant the UN in Gaza, despite the latter’s proven aid infrastructure. Over 100 people have already applied, with some LinkedIn users citing past coordination with US forces in Gaza. According to former US officials, SRS has gained the trust of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and business elites close to him.
(Middle East Eye)
❗️Israel bombed a vehicle in Ain Baal, southern Lebanon earlier this morning, killing one person.
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❗️A majority of EU foreign ministers have backed a Dutch-led proposal to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement over Israel’s actions in Gaza and its prolonged aid blockade, which the Netherlands now deems a violation of international humanitarian law.
The review, focused on potential breaches of Article 2, requiring respect for human rights, was supported by 17 of 27 member states, including traditional Israeli allies. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the little aid recently brought into Gaza a “drop in the ocean” and urged immediate, large-scale humanitarian access.
BREAKING | A new 'security incident' reported in Gaza by Israeli pages. It is currently under military censorship.
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WATCH | Speaking earlier this month at the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs, former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford openly touted his role in rebranding former Al-Qaeda leader and ISIS operative Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Ford himself was a major backer of the extremist opposition groups unleashed across Syria at the start of the war in 2011.
India–Pakistan war: The winners and the losers
Chinese military hardware stole the show, French ones lost their stock, India's clout took hits, and Pakistanis crowed. Yet, ultimately, the brief, hot India–Pakistan war was a victory only for the Global North's divide-and-rule project for the Global South.
By Pepe Escobar
Iranian parliament ratifies strategic partnership pact with Russia
The 20-year agreement aims to deepen bilateral ties, particularly in defense cooperation as well as trade, energy, and financ
⭕️ Iran, Belarus discuss expanding military cooperation in Tehran
Iran’s army chief Mohammad Hossein Bagheri received the deputy chief of staff of the Belarusian armed forces in Tehran, where both sides discussed strengthening bilateral interactions and cooperation across various fields. According to an official Iranian statement, the talks covered military education, experience-sharing, and the development of broader defense and military ties.
⭕️ Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan agreed in a trilateral meeting in Beijing to formally extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, strengthening regional connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The foreign ministers emphasized deeper cooperation in trade, infrastructure, and security, reaffirming their commitment to counterterrorism and regional stability.
The next trilateral meeting will be held in Kabul. The talks took place during Deputy PM Ishaq Dar’s visit to China, which also addressed the recent Pakistan-India tensions and reaffirmed the strong China-Pakistan partnership.
❗️Gaza Health Ministry:
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza warns that Israeli forces are deliberately targeting electric generators to disable hospitals and worsen the already catastrophic health crisis. In a statement, the ministry said three generators and fuel tanks were bombed at the Indonesian Hospital, rendering it out of service and deepening the collapse of care in northern Gaza. All hospitals across the Strip are suffering from severe shortages of fuel and spare parts, threatening their ability to provide emergency care. The ministry renewed its urgent appeal for international pressure to allow fuel and generator access into Gaza.
❗️An Israeli drone strike targeted a car in the town of Ain Baal, in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon, on Wednesday, killing one person, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The attack marks a new violation of the ceasefire. Earlier, Lebanon’s state news agency reported that an “enemy drone” struck a vehicle on the al-Housh–Ain Baal road near the city of Tyre.
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❗️Iran parliament approves 20-year strategic pact with Russia
Iran’s parliament has ratified a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Russia, state media reported on Wednesday. Signed by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian in January, the pact deepens bilateral ties, particularly in defense cooperation. While it stops short of a mutual defense clause, it commits both countries to joint action against shared military threats, enhanced military-technical collaboration, and joint exercises.
❗️Mass displacement from school near Gaza’s European Hospital amid Israeli artillery attack
A wave of displacement struck families sheltering in al-Fukhari School east of Khan Younis, after Israeli artillery targeted another school nearby. The attack coincided with a ground incursion by Israeli military vehicles into the area.
❗️Israel preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities
CNN reported on Tuesday, citing informed US officials, that newly obtained intelligence indicates Israel is preparing to strike nuclear facilities in Iran. The officials noted it remains unclear whether Israeli leadership has made a final decision on carrying out the attack.
❗️Gaza Health Ministry:
"42 martyrs in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 24 of them in Khan Yunis."
❗️Israeli settlers attempt to prevent humanitarian aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
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❗️Israel’s Foreign Ministry accuses Britain of making “grave mistake” alongside Europe, says UK has “said things we do not accept.”
(Yedioth Ahronoth)
❗️Hebrew media reports indicate the transfer of wounded soldiers from Gaza after a building collapsed on an Israeli force.
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Israeli soldiers are furious that they can’t cut water to Palestinians in Gaza during 'Operation Gideon’s Chariots.'
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❗️Hamas in a press statement: 'No real [ceasefire] negotiations have taken place since last Saturday'
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"We in the Hamas movement consider the continued presence of the Zionist delegation sent to Doha, despite its proven lack of authority to reach an agreement, as a blatant attempt by Netanyahu to mislead global public opinion and falsely present an image of engagement in the negotiation process. The delegation’s stay has been extended day by day without entering into any serious talks, and in fact, no real negotiations have taken place since last Saturday.
Netanyahu’s statements regarding the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip are merely an attempt to obscure the truth and deceive the international community. Not a single aid truck has entered the Strip to date, including the few trucks that reached the Kerem Abu Salem crossing but were not received by any international body."
UK sanctions West Bank violence network including 'settler grandmother' Daniella Weiss
Officials also announced the suspension of free trade deal negotiations with Israel over 19 months into the British-backed genocide of Palestinians in Gaza