JERUSALEM -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Monday, urging Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions and reiterating Washington's "ironclad" commitment to Israel's security.
As part of his three-leg Middle East tour, Blinken arrived in Israel after visiting Egypt. This was his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Netanyahu returned to office in December 2022 as the leader of a new extreme-right-wing and ultra-religious government. (US-Israel-Palestinian)
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CAIRO -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday discussed with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the ongoing escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
Al-Sisi stressed the importance of immediate action at the political and security levels to calm the situation and limit any unilateral measures taken by the two parties. (Egypt-US-Visit)
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ANKARA -- Türkiye has raised its security measures to the highest level against possible Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida retaliation on Western targets in the country, the Turkish interior ministry said Monday.
"Evaluations were made against all possible provocations, and our security measures were maximized after the sinister actions against our holy book the Quran, in Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark," the ministry said in a statement. (Türkiye-Possible Terror Attacks)
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TEHRAN -- Iran on Monday summoned Ukrainian charge d'affaires over "strange and biased" comments by a senior adviser to Ukraine's president about a drone attack on a military plant in Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister handed an official note to the Ukrainian envoy, calling on the Ukrainian government to provide official and immediate explanations about the presidential aide's remarks, according to the ministry's website. (Iran-Ukraine-Attack on Military Plant)
