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Iran has released two United States Navy patrol boats and 10 crew members who were described as "trespassing" in Iranian waters near a major naval base, state news media reported on Wednesday. The Pentagon and the State Department said that one of the boats had experienced mechanical problems en route to Bahrain from Kuwait on a routine mission on Tuesday, and the Iranians appeared to have accepted that explanation.

Washington (CNN)Ten American sailors are in Iranian custody after two small U.S. naval craft apparently briefly entered Iranian territorial waters, a U.S. senior defense official said Tuesday. The official, however, expects the situation to be resolved quickly. A senior administration official said there is nothing to indicate this was anything hostile on the part of any entity in Iran, adding that the U.S. has received high-level assurances that the sailors will be released promptly. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told CNN's Jake Tapper that President Barack Obama will be in touch with members of Congress about the incident. "Certainly,...

Iran has taken two small U.S. Navy ships into custody, Pentagon officials said Tuesday, creating a diplomatic scramble just hours before President Obama's State of the Union address. A senior defense official said two U.S. Navy riverine craft were going from Kuwait to Bahrain when they encountered Iranian military vessels. Ten American sailors were taken into military custody, the official said. "They ran into some type of an issue, and were picked up by the Iranian craft," the official said, who added the issue is not yet understood. "Subsequently, U.S. and Iranian government officials have discussed the situation and negotiated...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remembers well just how US President Barack Obama brushed aside Israeli objections and went ahead with the P5+1 nuclear agreement with Iran. Now, Netanyahu is reportedly planning some personal payback. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Netanyahu will make common cause with moderate Arab governments in order to sabotage Obama’s plan to succeed Ban Ki-moon when the South Korean diplomat ends his term as United Nations secretary-general on December 31 of this year. Al-Jarida quoted sources as saying that Obama has already discussed the issue of running for secretary-general with Democrats, Republicans, and Jewish officials in...

By Dick Morris and Eileen McGann January 06, 2016 One thing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have in common -- they both like to have big things named after them. The latest batch of emails released by the State Department uncovers a massive ego trip by the former secretary of state. Anxious to etch her name in glass, as well as in history, she and her closest aides raised $37 million from corporations and foreign governments to build a U.S. Diplomacy Center to be named after Clinton. In a Feb. 1, 2013 email -- the last days of Clinton's tenure...

Sudan and the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain said Monday they would sever ties with Iran, as Saudi Arabia did late Sunday. The United Arab Emirates announced it would downgrade ties to Tehran to the level of the charge d’affaires, while other nations issued statements criticizing Iran. The concerted campaign by Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia highlights the aggressive stance King Salman and his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have adopted in confronting Iran, a longtime regional rival. "What we have seen during the last 24 hours is unprecedented... It shows you Saudi Arabia has had enough of Iran and...

Nine of the Qataris kidnapped from Iraq's Samawa desert are members of the ruling family: sources Published December 19th, 2015 - 20:00 GMT via SyndiGate.info As the mystery surrounding the abduction last week of a Qatari hunting party in Iraq deepened, a report in Kuwait said that nine of its members were from the Al Thani Ruling family. The Al Thani hunters abducted are Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Mohammad Al Thani, Shaikh Nayed Bin Eid Mohammad Al Thani, Shaikh Abdul Rahman Bin Jasem Abdul Aziz Jassem Al Thani, Shaikh Jassem Bin Fahad Mohammad Thani Al Thani, Shaikh Khalid Bin Jassem...

Kuwait hates Jews so much that its national airline has ditched a popular and lucrative New York-to-London flight rather than allow Israelis on its planes, authorities said Thursday. Kuwait Airways killed the flight to spite American officials, who threatened to pull the airline's permit to fly to the United States if they continued discriminating against Israeli passengers. The airline says they cannot allow Israelis on the planes because the Middle Eastern kingdom prohibits it citizens from doing business with citizens of the Jewish state.

On Friday Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal slammed Donald Trump for proposing a ban on Muslim immigrants in the US until the government could alleviate security concerns. Prince Alwaleed called Donald Trump a "disgrace" for his popular plan. @realDonaldTrump You are a disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America. Withdraw from the U.S presidential race as you will never win. @Alwaleed_Talal) December 11, 2015 On Sunday Donald Trump responded to the Saudi Prince in epic fashion. "@Michael2014abc: @Alwaleed_Talal @realDonaldTrump Has your country, Saudi Arabia, taken ANY of the Syrian refugees? If not, why not?" Donald J. Trump...

Kuwait has captured a cell working to finance and promote ISIS, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Thursday. KUNA said the cell planned to transfer arms - purchased in Ukraine, through Turkey. The arms included rockets. It also said ISIS transferred money to accounts in Syria, Turkey, and administered a website to further garner support for the Islamist militants. [Developing]

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Friday night sent a cable of condolence to French President Francois Hollande following the multiple shooting and bomb attacks in Paris. His Highness the Amir strongly condemned "these criminal acts of terrorism which run counter to all teachings of holy faith and humanitarian values," and expressed sincere condolences for the large number of victims. He reaffirmed Kuwait's solidarity with the French people and government, saying Kuwait supports all measures France might take to protect its security against the terrorist acts. He also renewed Kuwait's commitment to the international campaign against...

Russian fighter jets launched from a new airbase in Syria have persuaded western critics to mute their demands for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, but another group of his opponents sees Moscow’s intervention as more provocative than decisive. Regional powers have quietly, but effectively, channelled funds, weapons and other support to rebel groups making the biggest inroads against the forces from Damascus. In doing so, they are investing heavily in a conflict which they see as part of a wider regional struggle for influence with bitter rival Iran. In a week when Russia made dozens of bombing raids, those...

Russian fighter jets launched from a new airbase in Syria have persuaded western critics to mute their demands for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, but another group of his opponents sees Moscow’s intervention as more provocative than decisive. Regional powers have quietly, but effectively, channelled funds, weapons and other support to rebel groups making the biggest inroads against the forces from Damascus. In doing so, they are investing heavily in a conflict which they see as part of a wider regional struggle for influence with bitter rival Iran. In a week when Russia made dozens of bombing raids, those...

When Venezuelan Oil Minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso resigned in 1963, he blasted the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, at the time torn by internal rivalries, for failing to produce any benefits for his country. Half a century later, OPEC is still split and Venezuela is again unhappy, this time at the unwillingness of the organization’s top producer, Saudi Arabia, to rescue oil prices from a six-year low that’s dragging the battered Venezuelan economy into an even deeper crisis. On Sept. 10, Venezuela’s oil minister, Eulogio del Pino, tweeted appeals for OPEC and non-OPEC countries “to have a discussion on...

ROME, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Kuwait signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to buy Eurofighter jets in a deal worth up to 8 billion euros ($9 billion), Italian industry sources said. The Eurofighter aircraft are produced by Italy's Finmeccanica, BAE Systems and Airbus . The sources said the 20-year-long deal with Kuwait would be finalised "in a few weeks". The news, first reported on Italian daily Corriere della Sera's web site, drove up Finmeccanica shares by more than 4 percent. The company, which has a 36 percent stake in the Eurofighter programme, could not be immediately reached for comment....

More than four million Syrians have been forced to escape the never-ending civil war ravaging their country and the barbaric terror group carving a bloody trail across the Middle East. The vast majority live in overcrowded refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq - all under threat from ISIS - and record numbers are making the perilously long journey to Europe. Yet, as debate rages between politicians in Europe over how many they should take, nearby super-wealthy Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have refused to offer sanctuary to a single...

Unseen by most of the world, the once tranquil port of Aden is being steadily infiltrated by jihadists from both al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP) and the so-called Islamic State (IS). They are not in charge of the city, the military forces of the UAE are. But in the last few days disturbing reports have emerged of the summary executions of prisoners by the jihadists, along with their black flags hoisted onto public buildings.

Why aren't any of the current migrant surge going to Russia and China instead of just the EU? Or any migrant surge? Don't the Russians have huge, sparsely-populated territories dotted with ghost towns in Siberia? Don't the Chinese have dozens of newly-constructed, completely unpopulated cities with 65M homes sitting empty? Ban Ki-Moon down at the UN thinks it's so damn important that Europe save/support/welcome the refugees. So how many migrants have been invited to come live in his South Korea? They seem to be doing pretty well these days, what with Europe and the US buying so much of their stuff- What about...

For a variety of reasons, there is a lot of enthusiasm and optimism surrounding the death of Palestinian Authority (''PA'') leader, Yasser Arafat, and how his demise might advance an expeditious resolution of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. To be sure, I would love to jump on this bandwagon, and offer another in a litany of cheery op-eds issued internationally since the passing of the former leader of the PLO. However, though I agree that Arafat has been a huge stumbling block to peace in this region that has now been removed, it is unquestionably much more than just him that has...

Twenty-five years have passed since Aug. 2, 1990, the day Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait. Saddam stunned the world. Oil prices skyrocketed, economies rich and poor reeled. The headlines and commentariat fret were fearful, the excuses tendered by Saddam's apologists intellectually boggling and morally bankrupt. Saddam expected U.S. and Saudi opposition, but suddenly he faced more opponents than he ever imagined. In the following weeks, President George H. W. Bush and his administration created a militarily effective and politically resilient coalition that would include 34 nations. Bush would later call it an "uncommon coalition" and regard its formation as a...