Middle East Crisis

Iran War
Source: Iran stops attacks – as long as US maintains pause

Iran will stop its own attacks as long as the US maintains the latest pause in hostilities, a senior Iranian source told Reuters.

The US suddenly paused its attacks on Iran on Friday after attacking the country for 13 consecutive days. The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, says that Trump has decided on a pause.

– He is giving the talks some space, Waltz tells Fox News.

However, a Reuters source states that Iran does not have much faith that the pause means any change in the US diplomatic position, and says that there is “more skepticism than optimism” regarding the pause. 

Strait of Hormuz
Iran and Oman in talks on rules for the Strait of Hormuz

Iran has held talks with Oman over the weekend on how the Strait of Hormuz should be managed in the future, the Iranian regime says, according to AFP.

The hope is to agree on common rules for passing ships, according to Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry. However, the discussions do not seem to have any role for the United States.

As recently as June, both countries said they planned to impose tariffs on passing ships, something Washington opposed. US President Donald Trump said at the time that he wanted to take over the strait and demand a 20 percent tariff in exchange for the US military staying in and guaranteeing security.

Syria's New Government
UN chief calls for end to sanctions on Syria

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for the lifting of all sanctions imposed on Syria under the now-ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, AFP reports.

“Syria needs investment in its people, economy and institutions,” he says.

After 13 years of war, Syria's new government is trying to rebuild the country's infrastructure and economy. The World Bank estimates that the reconstruction will cost the equivalent of SEK 2000 billion. Western countries have begun to lift sanctions, but according to Guterres, significantly more support is needed.