By Michael Georgy
DUBAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Iraq could serve as an example of how the United States could carry out its threat to force countries that continue trading with Iran out of the dollar-based financial system.
Washington has already sanctioned a host of Iraqi banks accused of doing business with Tehran, though it has avoided measures that would devastate the economy of the strategic ally of both countries.
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has sent Congress a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear energy while insisting the pact will only go into effect if the kingdom normalizes relations with Israel, a U.S. administration official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The agreement, which was reached in July and would allow U.S. companies to export civilian nuclear technology to the kingdom, was sent to Congress on Monday, according to the U.S. official, who declined to be identified.
DAMASCUS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has been dissolved, the armed militant group's leader said on Tuesday, a major step in the integration plan agreed on earlier this year with the Islamist-led government in Damascus.
"We announce today the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces and announce with full responsibility its dissolution as an independent military force," SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said in a televised speech.
By Mai Shams El-Din and Menna AlaaElDin
CAIRO, Aug 25 (Reuters) - As Egypt’s new academic year approaches, Amal Abdel Hameed is hopeful her daughter will be able to enroll officially in school for the first time since she was born as a result of a rape nearly eight years ago.
Under Egyptian law, Abdel Hameed’s daughter had been barred from obtaining a birth certificate — and thus lacked official access to essentially all public services — because she was born outside wedlock. She had attended school but could not take exams.
By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration is starting to send personnel back to some diplomatic missions in the Middle East that were evacuated or downsized amid tensions with Iran, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The posts in Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Baghdad, Iraq, are among those where staff will return, the sources said. Family members will also be allowed to return to the U.S. post in Riyadh, they added.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, whose dissolution was announced by their leader Mazloum Abdi on Tuesday, were the Washington-backed de facto army of the Kurds' autonomous administration in Syria and spearheaded the battle against jihadists.
The force was Syria's most highly trained and organised for years, until Washington dropped them for the new US-friendly authorities in Damascus.
Experts say the SDF's dissolution marks the end of an era for the country's Kurds, who had long dreamt of autonomy before the 2024 fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service is aware of a video broadcast by Iranian state television discussing a potential plot to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the video and investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees. Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence," Secret Service spokesperson Nate Herring said in an email.
The leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the Washington-backed group at the forefront of the battle against the Islamic State jihadist group, announced their dissolution on Tuesday under a deal with the government.
After being Syria's most highly trained and organised paramilitary force for years, the SDF was promptly dropped by Washington in favour of the new US-friendly authorities in Damascus after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
By Yasmine Ghania and David Lawder
CAIRO/WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Iran denounced on Tuesday expanded U.S. sanctions aimed at isolating its economy as an act of "gross lawlessness", expressing confidence that many countries would not join the pressure campaign.
Almost six months into a conflict the U.S. has struggled to resolve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing options.
WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, U.S. media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources.
The visit would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by a U.S. spy chief since Ratcliffe's predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
