Middle East Eye

“The rights of the Kurdish community are non-negotiable,” said Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in an interview with Shams TV. He said that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) do not represent the entire Kurdish population in Syria, and that the rights of all citizens would be safeguarded in the constitution. The interview was scheduled to be released on Tuesday, but was cancelled by the Erbil-based channel citing “offensive” and “warlike” rhetoric from the president. Syria’s Information Ministry said on Wednesday that it reserved the right to broadcast the interview, and it was aired by the state television channel Alehbariah. Shams TV has since apologised for not airing the interview.

"Israeli officials have confirmed that Mossad agents are operating in Iran, implying involvement in the protests, a claim reinforced by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who greeted 'Iranians and Mossad agents beside them' in a post on X. On Tuesday, Trump escalated his threats against Iran, cancelling all talks with Tehran, announcing 25 percent tariffs on countries that do business with it and threatening 'very strong' military action on the pretext of Iran's treatment of protesters. In South America, Trump's illegal attack on Venezuela, which killed more than 100 people, and his subsequent assertions that the US will now 'run' the country that happens to have the largest proven oil reserves on the planet, have underscored the centrality of oil to Washington's current imperial doctrine." ✍️ Opinion by Joseph Massad 🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/venezuela-iran-trumps-donroe-doctrine-escalates-us-push-control-worlds-oil

📰 A group of Gulf countries helped convince US President Donald Trump to drop a planned attack on Iran, according to a senior Saudi official. The official told AFP that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to persuade Trump, with another Gulf official confirming the discussions. The three regional US allies "led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention," the Saudi official said. 🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gulf-leaders-convinced-trump-go-easy-iran-say-officials

Protesters marched through Germany's capital Berlin on Wednesday calling for an end to the violence in Iran. Co-organiser of the protest, Maryam Palizban, said things were worse than ever before and that the internet blackout was making communication almost impossible. "Everyone who contacts us asks us to pass on their voices here, to pass on that blood is flowing everywhere and it is worse than ever before," she said. The protests began two weeks ago as demonstrations against dire economic conditions and rapidly escalated.A senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.

Now that Nicolas Maduro is on US soil, his case will be shaped by how American courts interpret head of state immunity rather than by international law alone. This video explains why Maduro’s lawyers are still expected to challenge the prosecution, including arguments over immunity and the legality of his capture and why the wider consequences of the case will be felt far beyond a New York courtroom, on the global stage.

Soumaya Ghannoushi, a British-Tunisian writer and expert on Middle East politics, says Germany and Europe’s rediscovery of international law as US President Trump speaks of annexing Greenland is “deeply grotesque” given their position on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

📰 Several family members of political prisoners from various factions in Tunisia who oppose President Kais Saied have announced the creation of a collective aimed at "uniting efforts" for their release. The National Coordination for the Liberation of Political Prisoners brings together various opposition groups whose internal disagreements previously impeded a viable resistance to the president. The coalition was declared at a press conference in Tunis on 14 January – a symbolic date which marks the 15th anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and led to the so-called Arab Spring across the region. Organisers said that choosing this date was significant, because “the Revolution is still present in our hearts, in our minds, and in our collective consciousness”. 🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisia-families-political-prisoners-form-collective-unite-opposition-saied

#BREAKING: The list of names composing the new “technocratic” committee that will oversee a transition of in Gaza as part of the ceasefire to end the Israeli genocide has been announced. According to a list seen by Middle East Eye, the new committee will consist of 15  Palestinians, led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian deputy minister for planning. The committee will be overseen by Bulgarian former UN Middle East peace coordinator Nickolay Mladenov. The former diplomat is reportedly set to serve as the high representative of a Donald Trump-led “Board of Peace” tasked with overseeing the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

📰 Children in Darfur are expected to die from hunger “within days” as famine conditions persist more than 1,000 days into the brutal conflict, the United Nations' top Sudan official has warned. Speaking to Middle East Eye on Wednesday, following recent UN missions to conflict-affected areas, Denise Brown, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said aid agencies were uncovering “horrendous” conditions as limited access is negotiated to previously unreachable locations. Brown said that two weeks ago the UN found malnutrition rates among children in Um Baru in North Darfur to have reached 53 percent. 🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/darfur-children-expected-die-hunger-within-days-says-un-top-sudan-official