
President Sheikh Mohamed meets Emir of Qatar in Doha
President Sheikh Mohamed on Wednesday arrived in Doha, where he was met by Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar.
The visit follows a phone call between the two men on Tuesday, during which Sheikh Mohamed expressed hope that the Israel-Iran ceasefire would bolster 'security, stability and peace across the Middle East'.
The UAE leader praised Sheikh Tamim for his role in securing the truce and emphasised the importance of continued co-ordination and joint action to ensure the success of the agreement, state news agency Wam reported.
Sheikh Mohamed also expressed the UAE's full support for Qatar following the thwarted Iranian attack on the Al Udeid airbase in the country on Monday night.
He enquired after the well-being of the people of Qatar and reaffirmed the UAE's condemnation of the attack and its support for measures taken by Qatar to safeguard its sovereignty, security and the safety of its citizens.
The attack on US military airbase, retaliation for America bombing Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend, led to the closure of airspace above Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq and the diversion of some flights.
US President Donald Trump said the US would hold talks with Iran next week, with a possible agreement on the table about Tehran's nuclear programme.
'We're going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don't know. To me, I don't think it's that necessary. I mean, they had a war, they fought, now they're going back to their world. I don't care if I have an agreement or not,' Mr Trump said during a news conference at the end of a NATO summit in The Hague.
The delegation accompanying Sheikh Mohamed includes Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Adviser to the President; Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Secretary General of Supreme Council for National Security; Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Adviser to the President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs; Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa, the UAE's ambassador to Qatar, and several senior officials.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Sharjah 24
an hour ago
- Sharjah 24
US intel says strikes did not destroy Iran nuclear program
US media on Tuesday cited people familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) findings as saying the weekend strikes did not fully eliminate Iran's centrifuges or stockpile of enriched uranium. The aerial bombardments and missile strikes sealed off entrances to some facilities without destroying underground buildings, according to the report. US media coverage of the DIA assessment appeared to anger Trump, who insisted news outlets like CNN and The New York Times were out to "demean" the military strike by saying it only set back Iran's nuclear program by a few months. "THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!" Trump posted in all caps on his Truth Social platform. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the authenticity of the DIA assessment but said it was "flat-out wrong and was classified as 'top secret' but was still leaked" in an attempt to undermine Trump and discredit the military operation. "Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration," Leavitt posted on X. Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, appeared on Fox News to trumpet the White House version. "The reporting out there that in some ways suggests that we did not achieve the objective is just completely preposterous," he said Tuesday. Witkoff repeated the assertion that the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo had been "obliterated." "All three of those had most if not all of the centrifuges damaged or destroyed," he said. "In a way it will be almost impossible for them to resurrect that program for -- in my view and in many other experts' views who have seen the raw data, it will take a period of years." US B-2 bombers hit two Iranian nuclear sites with massive GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs over the weekend, while a guided missile submarine struck a third with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Trump called the strikes a "spectacular military success" and said they had "obliterated" the nuclear sites, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington's forces had "devastated the Iranian nuclear program." General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, has offered a more cautious tone, saying the strikes caused "extremely severe damage" to the Iranian facilities. Iran's government said Tuesday it had "taken the necessary measures" to ensure the continuation of its nuclear program. "Plans for restarting (the facilities) have been prepared in advance, and our strategy is to ensure that production and services are not disrupted," the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, said in a statement aired on state television. An adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meanwhile said his country still had stocks of enriched uranium and that "the game is not over." Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign targeting Iranian nuclear sites, scientists and top military brass on June 13 in a bid to set back Tehran's nuclear efforts. Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path to replace the nuclear deal with Tehran that he tore up during his first term in 2018, but he ultimately decided to take military action. The US operation was massive, with Caine saying it involved more than 125 US aircraft including stealth bombers, fighters, aerial refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.


Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
US judge blocks Trump's attempts to bar international students from Harvard
A federal judge on Monday blocked the US government's attempt to bar foreign nationals from studying at Harvard University, citing concerns about free speech. Massachusetts judge Allison Burroughs issued an injunction preventing President Donald Trump's administration from barring Harvard from enrolling international students amid an ongoing legal feud between the two sides. In her ruling, she said the case was about "core constitutional rights that must be safeguarded: freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech". 'Here, the government's misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this Administration's own views, threaten these rights,' Burroughs wrote Monday. 'To make matters worse, the government attempts to accomplish this, at least in part, on the backs of international students, with little thought to the consequences to them or, ultimately, to our own citizens,' she added. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters There are almost 7,000 international students at Harvard University, who make up more than a quarter of its student body. The preliminary injunction extends a temporary order the judge issued on 5 June that prevented the administration from enforcing a proclamation Trump signed on 4 June, which cited national security concerns to justify why the Ivy League institution could no longer enrol international students. Trump signed the proclamation after his administration had already frozen billions of dollars in funding for the university, threatened Harvard's tax-exempt status, and launched several investigations into the school. The proclamation prohibited foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard or participate in exchange visitor programmes for a preliminary period of six months, and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider whether to revoke visas of international students already enrolled at Harvard. The ruling followed Trump's announcement on Truth Social on Friday that a deal with the university was imminent "over the next week or so", but it was unclear what any deal might entail. Escalation Attempting to revoke Harvard's ability to enrol international students is one of a string of measures aimed at curtailing the university's academic freedom and punish it for not capitulating to the Trump administration's demands. The battle really took off at the end of March when the Trump administration announced it was reviewing $9bn in federal funds and grants to Harvard. It said it would review more than $255.6m in current contracts and $8.7bn in grants spread over multiple years. 'Are they troublemakers?': Trump questions why Harvard has so many international students Read More » The administration accused the university of failing to adequately protect Jewish students on campus from antisemitic discrimination and harassment, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On 3 April, the Trump administration sent an initial list of demands to 'right these wrongs', as part of its crackdown on what it calls antisemitism on campuses across the US, referring to the widespread campus protests against Israel's war on Gaza. Then, on 11 April, the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism sent Harvard an expanded list of demands - such as reporting foreign students for code violations, reforming its governance and leadership, discontinuing its diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes, and changing its hiring and admission policies, especially for international students.. In response to the expanded list of demands, the institution took a stand against the Trump administration, saying in a letter issued by Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and King & Spalding LLP that "the university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights'. The Trump administration then escalated its attack on Harvard with a $2.3bn federal funding freeze, which represents 35.9 percent of Harvard's $6.4bn operating expenses. Then, the US Department of Health and Human Services said that it was terminating $60m in federal grants to the university, saying it failed to address antisemitic harassment and ethnic discrimination on campus. While Monday's court decision represents a victory for Harvard, it is still embroiled in a legal war with the government that is not over yet.


Middle East Eye
5 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Trump doesn't think Iran deal needed after facilities ‘blown up to kingdom come'
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration plans to resume talks with Iran next week, but he doesn't care if a nuclear agreement is signed because Iran's facilities have been 'blown up to kingdom come'. 'We are going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement. I don't know…I don't care if I have an agreement or not,' he said. 'The only thing we would be asking for is what we were asking for before…we want no nuclear, but we destroyed the nuclear… it's blown up to kingdom come. I don't care very strongly about it. If we got a document, it wouldn't be bad.' Trump's comments during a Nato summit in the Netherlands come amid conflicting reports about the damage US strikes did to Iran's Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities over the weekend. On Wednesday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the country's nuclear facilities had been 'badly damaged' by the American strikes. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters But a day earlier, several US media outlets reported unnamed sources briefed on a battle damage assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency that claimed the US strikes had only set Iran's programme back a few months. CNN cited one source as saying that some of Iran's centrifuges were 'intact'. Trump confirmed the leak was legitimate, but accused American media outlets of misrepresenting the assessment. 'The document said 'it could be limited or it could be very severe [damage]'… and you didn't choose to put that,' he said, addressing a CNN reporter. CNN was the first to report the leak. Trump said the US received more intelligence about the damage after the report, including by speaking with sources on the ground in Iran with access to Iran's nuclear programme. What the Israel-Iran-US conflict taught Pakistan Read More » 'We have also spoken to people who have seen the site. The site is obliterated. Everything nuclear is down there. They didn't take it out,' he said. Trump was likely referring to reports that Iran was able to move a stockpile of uranium from sites before the US struck them. An Arab official briefed on the matter previously told Middle East Eye that Iran had received advance warning of the US strikes. Amwaj Media first reported that Tehran was notified before the US attacked. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that just five days into the war, its inspectors lost track of Iran's 409 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. That amount, which could be easily transported in a container by truck, is enough for 10 nuclear warheads if Iran were to pursue weaponisation. Before Israel's attack, Iran and the US were in talks to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that his country was willing to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme, according to state media. Since launching strikes on Iran over the weekend, Trump has moved to de-escalate tensions. He thanked Iran on Monday for providing advance notice about its retaliatory strike on the US's al-Udeid military base in Qatar. Trump announced a ceasefire to the war a few hours after the attack. On Tuesday, he lashed out at both Israel and Iran when it appeared to wobble, saying the two foes "have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing'. Speaking at the Nato summit, Trump said both Iran and Israel were 'tired [and] exhausted' and 'satisfied to go home and get out'. He also said he would have no problem with Iran selling its oil to China. The US slapped sanctions on Iran's oil sales to China during the nuclear talks. 'They just had a war. They fought it bravely. They are in the oil business…they are going to need money to put that country back into shape….If they are going to sell oil, they are going to sell oil,' Trump said.