Middle East

Several civilians have lost their lives and sustained injuries when Israeli fighter jets launched an airstrike against a strategic area in Syria’s southwestern province of Dara’a, north of the border with Jordan. The state-run al-Ikhbariyah Syria television news network said in a newsflash that the air raid took place early …

Iran is ready for “just” negotiations but not if they mean surrender, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, without saying what talks he had in mind. Rouhani seemed to be referring to possible negotiations with the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal …

The war in Yemen can be stopped because the warring sides and the international political consensus support a U.N. peace deal brokered in Stockholm last December, U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths said on Tuesday. “I believe that this war in Yemen is eminently resolvable,” Griffiths told reporters in Geneva. “Both parties …

Israeli forces demolished a cluster of Palestinian homes near a military barrier on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, in the face of protests and international criticism. Israel said the 10 apartment buildings, most of them still under construction, had been built illegally and posed a security risk to Israeli …

Yemeni forces have launched drone attacks on King Khalid Airbase in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern province of Asir in retaliation against the kingdom’s aggression on their country. The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said several Qasef-K2 (Striker-K2) combat drones had targeted the airbase near the city of …

Israeli forces have begun destroying homes on the outskirts of the occupied East Jerusalem “al-Quds”, despite international condemnation and mass protests. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and police stormed Sur Baher early on Monday and declared the village a military zone, banning journalists from entering. Palestinian and international activists, who tried …

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi arrived in Iran on Monday evening for talks in a bid to ease tensions between Tehran and the West. “The premier is expected to meet with Iranian officials to discuss the issue of Strait of Hormuz, especially after Tehran seized the British-flagged tanker Stena …

Iran’s supreme leader said on Monday that a U.S. plan to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians through development fueled by international investment was a “dangerous plot” to destroy Palestinian identity with money. “This dangerous plot aims to eliminate Palestinian identity among the Palestinian people … This is …

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says it has identified and destroyed an integrated network of operatives serving the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inside the country. The Ministry’s director-general for counterintelligence said Monday that Iran captured 17 professional spies working on behalf of the CIA throughout last year and some of those …

In a commentary on Saturday, the Guardian said when John Bolton, White House national security adviser and notorious Iraq-era hawk, heard British Royal Marines had seized an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar on America’s Independence Day, his joy was unconfined. “Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden …

Dozens of Palestinians have protested a pending mass demolition plan by Israel against a village located in East Jerusalem al-Quds in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The protest was held by around 50 Palestinians at the village of Sur Baher on Saturday. The Associated Press cited witnesses as saying that Israeli …

The detained British-flagged tanker Stena Impero must go through a legal process because it violated maritime regulations, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt in a phone call on Saturday, the Iranian news agency ISNA reported. The Stena Impero was detained because of an accident …

Footage showing the oil tanker Stena Impero, which was detained by the Iranian authorities on Friday, has been published by the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim. The video shows the vessel in the sea and is attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN). The tanker is now …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman approved hosting U.S. forces in the Kingdom to boost regional security and stability, the state news agency (SPA) reported on Friday. The decision aims “to increase joint cooperation in defense of regional security and stability and to preserve its peace” SPA said, quoting a ministry of …

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage which it says disproves the US claim of shooting down an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz, showing the video was transmitted after the alleged time it was destroyed. The elite military unit published the footage on Friday and it was aired and …

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has seized the British oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported. UK authorities said the tanker had ‘veered off course’ before capture. The Stena Impero was headed to Saudi Arabia but left the international sea lanes and headed north towards …

Tens of thousands of Algerians returned to the streets in the capital Algiers and other cities on Friday to demand radical political reforms and the departure of the ruling elite. Protesters are now seeking more freedoms and the removal of the remaining symbols of the old guard, after they forced …

  Iran on Friday denied President Donald Trump’s assertion that the U.S. Navy has destroyed one of its drones, saying all of its unmanned planes were accounted for, amid growing international concern that both sides could blunder into a war in the Gulf. In the latest episode to test nerves …

A suicide bomber killed two people in Egypt’s restive North Sinai region on Thursday, a day after four headless bodies were found there. The victims of the bombing were a civilian and a member of the security forces, security and medical sources said. The bomber was shot before he reached …

The House voted Wednesday to undo President Trump’s attempt to sidestep Congress and complete several arms sales benefiting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Congress is heading for a showdown with President Donald Trump after the House voted on Wednesday to block his administration from selling billions of dollars …