Independent journalist I Covering the Gulf for the BBC I Previously BBC Middle East Correspondent & India Correspondent | Avid follower of ⚽️ & 🏏 | Love 🧳& ☕️
Joined July 2009
- Tweets 9,382
- Following 1,402
- Followers 8,578
- Likes 6,671
1,121 Photos and videos
The moment New York Knicks won the NBA championship for the first time in more than 50 years!
2
658
Jun 11
It’s not the first time President Trump has threatened to take over Kharg Island - the lifeline of Iran’s economy, handling up to 90% of the country’s oil exports.
Similar threats in the past failed to force Tehran into a deal. There’s little reason to believe they’ll work now.
BREAKING: President Trump says the US will be "hitting Iran very hard tonight" and announces that the US will be "taking Kharg Island" in the "not too distant future."
President Trump also says the US will "assume total control" of Iran's oil and gas markets, "much like we have with Venezuela."
1
168
'You know what I really love? I love the inflation,' President Trump said, appearing to embrace the data showing inflation has risen more than 4% and reiterated his belief that prices will fall as soon as the Iran war ends reut.rs/3QdJbVm
127
193
602
171,457
Delighted to be joining such an impressive group of journalists from around the world as part of the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy fellowship this year.
Grateful for the opportunity to be part of this cohort.
We're excited to welcome the 2026 cohort of CGEP's #EnergyJournalismFellows!
The seminar offers journalists the opportunity to learn about disciplines shaping the global energy sector, including:
📈 Finance & markets
🌡️ Climate change
🔬 Science & tech
📑 Policy
🌎 Geopolitics
energypolicy.columbia.edu/ce…
2
2
224
This is the first attack since the ceasefire announced in April. This comes after Israel’s recent attack on Beirut, which Tehran warned could trigger full-scale war.
BREAKING: Israeli army says missiles fired from Iran towards Israel
🔴 LIVE updates: aje.news/cz9tir?update=46347…
2
166
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
1
12
128
8,736
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
3
46
454
47,856
May 25
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
May 25
🚨 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.”
343
May 19
End of an era!
May 18
🚨 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 nytimes.com/athletic/6269334…
190
May 14
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.
145
May 10
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
1
151
May 10
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.
bbc.com/news/articles/c0k257…
2
1
130
Sameer Hashmi retweeted
May 10
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.
May 9
Notable shipping movement in the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar is sending a laden LNG tanker (if sucesfull, it would be 1st crossing for Qatar since the start of the war).
Crucially, the Al Kharaitiyat tanker is following the new Iranian shipping lanes. Her destination is Pakistan.
24
170
830
132,543
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.
2
1
1
544
Sameer Hashmi retweeted
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
601
981
2,869
782,771
Sameer Hashmi retweeted
May 4
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.
348
630
3,057
527,030