WASHINGTON, Dec 11 — President Joe Biden is pushing the United States’ national security agencies ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration to devise new strategies to tackle the risky, deepening ties among Russia, Iran, North Korea and China, said US officials.

AMMAN/BEIRUT/CAIRO, Dec 8 — Syrian rebels declared President Bashar al-Assad's ouster after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing him to flee and ending his family's decades of rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.

DUBAI, Nov 14 — Iran is willing to resolve outstanding disputes over its nuclear programme but won’t succumb to pressure, its foreign minister told the United Nations nuclear watchdog head today, as European countries push for diplomacy before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

DUBAI, Nov 3 — Iran’s leadership and allies are bracing for what they would regard as a dreadful outcome of the imminent US.

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 26 — Malaysia strongly condemns military strikes by the Zionist Israeli regime against the sovereign state of Iran, particularly in Tehran, Karaj, Kashan, Mashhad and Shiraz early today.

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Oct 22 — United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, in the first big US push for a Middle East ceasefire since Israel killed the leader of Hamas last week — and the last attempt before a presidential election that could upend US policy.

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 — The United States Justice Department yesterday proposed new rules to protect federal government data or Americans’ bulk personal data from getting into the hands of countries like China, Iran and Russia by placing new limits on certain business transactions.

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT, Oct 21 — United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make another push for a ceasefire when he heads to the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, seeking to kick-start negotiations to end the Gaza war and also defuse the spillover conflict in Lebanon.

ANKARA, Oct 21 — Oil prices increased on Monday amid news reports that Israel is preparing a major attack on Iran in response to Tehran’s missile attack on October 1, reported Anadolu Agency.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Oct 7 — Israel bombed targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip on Sunday ahead of the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attacks that sparked its war, as Israel's defence minister declared all options were open for retaliation against arch-enemy Iran.

BEIRUT, Oct 6 — Massive consecutive strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs from late Saturday into Sunday, Reuters eyewitnesses said, sending booms across the city and sparking flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes visible from several kilometres away.

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 3 — All Malaysians currently residing in or visiting Iraq and Iran are strongly advised to register their presence through E-Konsular in light of the increased tension in the region, the Foreign Ministry urged.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The ringgit opened almost flat against the US dollar today but rose versus other major currencies, as the greenback continued to strengthen amid rising geopolitical risks.

ISTANBUL, Oct 2 — Oil prices surged over two per cent on Wednesday following escalating tensions in the Middle East, as concerns grew that Iran's largest-ever military strike against Israel could lead to further conflict and disrupt crude oil production in the region, Anadolu Agency reported.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — Malaysia strongly calls on all parties in the Middle East to urgently de-escalate the heightening tensions destabilising the region.

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Oct 2 — Iran said early on Wednesday that its missile attack on Israel was over barring further provocation, while Israel and the United States (US) promised to retaliate against Tehran as fears of a wider war intensified.

BEIJING, Aug 11 — China supports Iran in defending its "sovereignty, security and national dignity", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani in a phone call today, according to a statement by China's Foreign Ministry.

JEDDAH, Aug 8 — In an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held Israel fully responsible for last week’s assassination of former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, calling it a “crime of aggression, a flagrant violation of international law and a serious infringement of the sovereignty of Iran”.

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 7 — Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan will lead Malaysia’s delegation to the Extraordinary Open-Ended Meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Executive Committee at the level of Foreign Ministers today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

BEIRUT, Aug 6 — Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier three times over Beirut in less than 30 minutes today, leading to loud booms that sent people in the city running for cover just ahead of a speech by the head of the powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah.