Middle East crisis

Syria's new regime
US withdraws all its forces from Syria

The US is withdrawing from Syria completely, The Wall Street Journal reports. The remaining 1,000 soldiers are to be out of the country within two months, three sources told the newspaper.

According to the sources, the withdrawal has no connection to the increasingly grim tone in negotiations with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program. Iran has threatened to attack US forces in the region if the US attacks.

The Trump administration wants to strengthen diplomatic ties with Syria's new regime and avoid conflicts with the Syrian army in the fight against the terrorist group IS, according to previous information to the WSJ.

However, researchers warn in Foreign Affairs that the timing is unfortunate. They believe that Syria needs US intelligence and soldiers to be able to fight an IS that has strengthened its positions since the fall of the al-Assad regime. 

West Bank
Minister pushes for Palestinian “emigration”

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wants to push for Palestinians to “emigrate”. He said this during a political event in the occupied West Bank, according to AFP.

– We will finally formally and practically abrogate the damned Oslo Accords and embark on the path to sovereignty, while encouraging emigration, he says, mentioning Palestinians both in Gaza and in the West Bank.

Critics condemn the idea as ethnic cleansing, writes the Times of Israel.

Smotrich also spoke about how the recent and internationally criticized administrative changes to land rights will make it just as easy for Israelis to buy land in the occupied

Middle East crisis • Iran-US relations
White House: Iran would be wise to make a deal

The US continues to escalate its rhetoric against Iran after two days of talks in Geneva. This is reported by AFP.

– There are many arguments for an attack on Iran, says press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press conference at the White House.

She emphasizes that it would be “wise” for Iran to make a deal with the US in the negotiations on the country's nuclear energy program in Geneva, writes Reuters.

Some progress has been achieved in the negotiations, she says, and states that Iran will return “within a couple of weeks”. 

Protesterna
Domare stoppar utvisning av palestinsk student

En amerikansk migrationsdomare har stoppat regeringens försök att utvisa den palestinske studenten Mohsen Mahdawi från USA, rapporterar Reuters. Mahdawi ledde propalestinska protester vid Columbia-universitetet i New York och greps i april 2025, men släpptes efter två veckor.

Regeringen har fortsatt att försöka få honom utvisad men domaren avvisar fallet med hänvisning till att formella fel begåtts i processen. Mahdawi, som bott lagligt i USA i tio år, säger att beslutet är ”ett viktigt steg för att försvara rätten att tala för fred och rättvisa”.

Trumps administration har försökt utvisa flera internationella studenter som deltagit i propalestinska protester. Regeringen kan överklaga domstolens beslut.