Sameer Hashmi

Independent journalist I Covering the Gulf for the BBC I Previously BBC Middle East Correspondent & India Correspondent | Avid follower of ⚽️ & 🏏 | Love 🧳& ☕️

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

Times Square just before the skies opened up. Strong winds, dark clouds and now a severe thunderstorm warning across New York City. Nature stealing the spotlight from the billboards. #nyc

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

The weather turning dramatically in Times Square this evening. Gusty winds, rain moving in and a severe thunderstorm warning now in effect across New York City. #nyc

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

This seems like a strategy by President Trump to get the Gulf countries to concede to some of the demands related to the Iran deal. President Trump knows that the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar are not in a position to sign the Abraham Accords. Public sentiment in the countries mentioned below is against Israel. The leaders of these countries will not take the risk of going against popular sentiment, even if that means economic suffering in the near term.

#Iran

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🚨 Trump demands Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan sign Abraham Accords as condition of Iran deal

President Trump posted on Truth Social Monday demanding that all countries involved in Iran negotiations simultaneously sign the Abraham Accords, describing it as a prerequisite for any deal and warning those who refuse would be excluded from the agreement.

“It should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote, naming Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain as targets. The UAE and Bahrain are already members.

🔸Trump warned: “If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.”

🔸He said it “should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit.”

🔸He also dangled Iran’s own potential membership, writing: “If Iran signs its Agreement with me… it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition.”

🔹The Abraham Accords, brokered during Trump’s first term, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Kazakhstan. Trump’s demand would require the mediating countries to recognize Israel and normalize relations as a condition of ending the Iran war — a significant ask given that Saudi Arabia has publicly conditioned any normalization on a credible and irreversible path to Palestinian statehood, a position shared in various forms by Turkey, Egypt, and others on the list.

🔹The demand comes as the U.S. has allowed Israel to continue the daily killing of Palestinians in Gaza for more than seven months since the October 2025 Trump-brokered ceasefire, with over 900 Palestinians killed since the agreement was approved by Israel. The U.S. and Israel are also deliberately blocking minimum levels of food, medicine, shelter, fuel, and reconstruction aid.

🔹President Trump has also removed sanctions on the most violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, where rampant state-backed settler violence to uproot Palestinian families has gone unchecked since the start of his second term.

🔹Trump closed his social media post with a warning: “It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before.”

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

End of an era!

[David Ornstein @David_Ornstein]

🚨 Pep Guardiola to leave position as Manchester City manager at end of this season. 55yo Spaniard departing after trophy-laden decade & set to be replaced by Enzo Maresca. No official confirmation yet from #MCFC. W/ @SamLee @TheAthleticFC after @MailSport https://t.co/FMjZXxfuPq

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

A day after Netanyahu’s office revealed that he had a secret meeting with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in the UAE during the Israel-US war against Iran, the UAE foreign ministry has denied that the meeting took place.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

The UAE’s Ministry of Defence says it successfully intercepted 2 UAVs launched from Iran today.

Since the war began, over 550 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and around 2,300 UAVs have been fired towards the UAE. Authorities say more than 90% were intercepted. #IranWar‌

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

Gulf economies are facing their biggest economic shock in decades. From the strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub to the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, the impact is spreading across energy, tourism and trade. My latest for BBC News.

https://t.co/KKJSEGHzxq

[Javier Blas @JavierBlas]

The tanker has completed the crossing and sailing now in the Gulf of Oman toward Pakistan.

1st Qatari LNG tanker to cross since the start of the war ~70 days ago.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

The under-construction Al Habtoor Grand in Dubai Marina caught fire earlier today. No injuries were reported, and authorities have now brought the blaze under control.

[وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE @modgovae]

تتعامل حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الإماراتية مع اعتداءات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة قادمة من ايران وتؤكد وزارة الدفاع أن الاصوات المسموعة في مناطق متفرقة من الدولة هي نتيجة تعامل منظومات الدفاعات الجوية الإماراتية للصواريخ الباليستية، والجوالة والطائرات المسيرة.

UAE Air Defences system are actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats

MOD asserts that the sounds heard across the country are the result of ongoing engaging operations of missiles and UAV's

#وزارة_الدفاع
#وزارة_الدفاع_الإماراتية
#MOD
#UAEMinistryOfDefence

[Javier Blas @JavierBlas]

The push to re-open the Strait of Hormuz today, with two US warship crossing it and two US-flagged merchant vessels, signals the White House realises it can not keep waiting for the blockade to force Iran into the negotiation table.

Effectively, it's an admission the blockade isn't working (if the blockade is seen as a means to get Iranian concessions, rather than an end in itself). The timeline of what the blockade would do to the Iranian oil industry was completely wrong.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

The UAE says it holds Iran "fully responsible" for the strikes today. It also says it "reserves its full and legitimate right to respond to these attacks" in line with international law. #IranWar‌ #Dubai

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

3 Indians were injured due to the attack on the Fujairah Oil Industries Zone - according to Fujairah Media Office. A fire incident was reported at the site caused by the Iranian drone attack. This is the UAE’s main outlet for oil exports since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

Another one.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

The UAE’s Ministry of Defence says it intercepted 4 cruise missiles launched from Iran towards various parts of the country including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It adds that 3 were successfully intercepted over the country’s territorial waters, while one fell in the sea.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

This is the third alert issued by authorities in almost 2 hours

[NCEMA UAE @NCEMAUAE]

Air defense systems are currently responding to a missile threat. Please remain in a safe location and follow official channels for warnings and updates.

[Sameer Hashmi @sameerhashmi]

The UAE has just issued an alert in Dubai of a potential missile threat.

#IranWar‌