WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States is "open for business" if Iran wishes to contact Washington, a U.S. official said on Monday, as the United States seeks to pressure Tehran over a government crackdown on protesters.
"I think they know the terms," the official told reporters when asked about the terms of talks with Iran. "They're aware of the terms."
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States believes disarmament by Hamas militants in Gaza comes along with some sort of amnesty for the Palestinian group, a U.S. official said on Monday.
The official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, spoke to mark the return of the remains of the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas. Israel and the United States are pressuring Hamas to disarm as part of a plan in which Gaza will be redeveloped.
The official said there is confidence among U.S. officials that Hamas will disarm.
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Moscow, pro-government Syria TV reported on Monday.
(Reporting by Kinda Makieh; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din)
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. aircraft carrier and supporting warships have arrived in the Middle East, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, expanding President Donald Trump's capabilities to defend U.S. forces, or potentially take military action against Iran.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers have crossed into the Middle East region, which comes under the U.S. military's Central Command, the officials told Reuters.
By Olivia Le Poidevin and Parisa Hafezi
GENEVA/DUBAI, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A U.N. expert on Iran said on Monday she had received reports of protesters linked to nationwide demonstrations being removed from hospitals and detained by Iranian security forces - a major violation of the right to medical care under international law.
A visiting Qatari official on Monday announced a multi-million dollar aid package for Lebanon, primarily to support the country's crumbling electricity sector.
In a separate statement, the Qatar Development Fund said the package was valued at about $430 million, the majority of it to support the energy sector, adding that it would benefit some 1.5 million people.
"The support includes a contribution of up to $400 million to support the energy sector," of which 10 percent would be allocated as a grant, it added
BEIRUT, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement, Naim Qassem, said on Monday that his group was concerned about confronting Washington's threat against Iran, particularly any threat against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tensions between Iran and the United States have grown following a severe crackdown on protests across Iran in which thousands were killed in the past few weeks, which President Donald Trump said could lead to a U.S. response. Tehran said any attack on Khamenei would trigger a "holy war".
The man faces the camera with his face blurred as dramatic music pounds in the background.
"I made a mistake," he says, his voice trembling as an unseen interrogator presses him about the deaths of members of Iran's security forces. "If I'd known, I would not have done it."
According to one rights group, at least 240 such "forced confessions" have been broadcast by Iranian state television in recent weeks -- an "unprecedented" quantity -- after authorities arrested thousands of people in the wake of protests that shook the country's clerical leadership.
Israeli forces brought home on Monday the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, finally closing the chapter on a painful saga that has haunted Israeli society since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
Militants took 251 hostages to Gaza that day, and the process of returning them has dragged over the course of the ensuing war in a series of ceasefire and prisoner-swap deals as well as efforts to rescue them militarily.
ROME, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Italy will ask European Union partners this week to place Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) on the EU's terrorist register, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday, signalling a shift in Rome's position.
Until now, Rome had been among the governments resisting efforts to brand the IRGC as a terrorist group, but Tajani said a bloody Iranian crackdown on street protests this month that reportedly killed thousands of people could not be ignored.
