Free Republic

Walid Phares, one of US President-Elect Donald Trump's foreign policy advisers, has confirmed that the upcoming administration plans on creating a coalition with the GCC, Jordan and Egypt in counter-terrorism efforts. Phares also confirmed during an interview with the BBC that Trump will plan on recalling the Iran nuclear deal and re-discussing it in congress before resubmitting it to EU partners, clarifying that the next US administration will demand key changes to agreement. During the campaign, Trump said the Iran deal was one of the worst agreements ever negotiated. In a USA Today op-ed in September of 2015 Trump said,...

Saudi Arabia has signed a deal to acquire the Storm Shadow cruise missile from MBDA as part of a Tornado strike aircraft update package, said industry sources. The weapons package also includes the Brimstone anti-armor missile, they said. Earlier plans to include the ASRAAM short-range air-to-air missile ended last year when the Saudis selected Diehl BGT Defence's rival IRIS-T for Tornado and the Typhoon fighter. French-based weapons firm MBDA, in which BAE is a major shareholder, has always refused to discuss negotiations even though a Saudi aircraft being modified at BAE's Warton aerospace complex in the U.K. was photographed taking...

MENA, Saudi Arabia, Dec 31 (Reuters) - More than 2.5 million Muslim haj pilgrims performed devil-stoning rites on Sunday, amid tight security to prevent overcrowding and protests following the execution of Saddam Hussein. The 5-day haj, marred by deadly stampedes in recent years, was overshadowed by the hanging on Saturday of the former Iraqi leader, a hero to some Sunni Arabs because of his anti-U.S. stance, but hated by many Shi'ites. "The number one Satan is America," said Iraqi pilgrim Suleiman Awadallah, who described himself as "a resistance fighter", after performing the stoning ritual. "The prayers of all Muslims when...