The State Department has said 'federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the President’s agenda'. Reuters
The State Department has said 'federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the President’s agenda'. Reuters
The State Department has said 'federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the President’s agenda'. Reuters
The State Department has said 'federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the President’s agenda'. Reuters

News

US

State Department sacks press officer over Israel and Gaza messaging

Shahed Ghoreishi reportedly dismissed following disputes over how to characterise White House policies

The National

August 21, 2025

  • English
  • Arabic

The US State Department has sacked its senior press officer for Palestinian-Israeli affairs over his stance on Gaza.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Shahed Ghoreishi was dismissed after disputes over how to characterise White House policies, including a plan to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza.

His firing reportedly occurred days after an internal debate about releasing a media statement that said: “We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.”

US President Donald Trump this year expressed support for displacing Palestinians from Gaza to allow the enclave to be made into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

State Department employees were told communications straying from ardent pro-Israel messaging – even that which is in line with long-standing US policy – will not be tolerated, The Washington Post quoted sources as saying.

Another dispute involved the killing of several journalists in Gaza city. Mr Ghoreishi recommended that the department say the US mourns their loss and express condolences to their families, which the leadership rejected, the report added.

Yet another dispute involved one official's insistence on referring to the West Bank by its biblical name of "Judea and Samaria", which is how senior officials including the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and House Speaker Mike Johnson have referred to it recently.

Earlier on Wednesday, far-right activist Laura Loomer said on X that Mr Ghoreishi was fired for pushing “anti-Trump” and “pro-Iranian regime propaganda” at the State Department. She highlighted Mr Ghoreishi's time as an intern with the National Iranian American Council lobbying group and accused him of holding “anti-Israel” views.

The State Department declined to comment on "leaked emails or allegations".

"The Department has zero tolerance for employees who commit misconduct by leaking or otherwise disclosing confidential deliberative emails or information," Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesman, told The National in a statement. "Federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the duly elected President’s agenda.”

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: August 26, 2025, 3:29 PM