Middle East

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan has warned the Taliban that any attempt to undermine security in the region would lead to grave consequences for the Afghan militant group. Zamir Kabulov told Russia’s Sputnik on Wednesday that Moscow was “closely monitoring the situation” as the Taliban overran areas …

The Taliban militant group in Afghanistan says it has gained control over a strategic route linking the south of the country to Pakistan. The Taliban “have captured an important border town called Wesh in Kandahar,” spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed in a statement on Wednesday. The town of Wesh is in …

An explosion has been reported at the Israeli regime’s Ashdod reactor facility in the south of the occupied territories, with reports not providing details on the cause of the blast or the number of possible casualties. The blast was reported by the Israeli journalist Edy Cohen, who posted a video …

The defense minister of Yemen’s National Salvation Government says Saudi Arabia and its allies, which are waging a devastating military campaign against his country, can no longer determine the course of action since it is now the Yemeni army troops and fighters from allied Popular Committees that have the upper …

The European Union (EU) says it will create a sanctions regime targeting officials in Lebanon, which has been grappling with an economic crisis amid a failure to form a new government. The decision came during a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said …

A senior official in the Gaza Strip says the total damage and loss from the latest Israeli aggression against the besieged enclave amounts to $479 million. Naji Sarhan, undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, made the remark in a press conference on Monday, adding that the government teams …

The United States has dispatched truckloads of military and logistical equipment to Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, less than a day after rocket fire targeted the largest base run by American occupation forces in eastern Syria. Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that a convoy …

Israeli regime’s closure of border crossings and its crippling restrictions on the movement of goods and individuals will have serious repercussions for the already dire humanitarian and economic situation in the besieged Gaza Strip, a rights advocacy group has warned. In a statement, the al-Mezan Center for Human Rights cautioned that the …

The negotiations of Tehran and Washington over exchanging prisoners are underway, and more information will be released after achieving results, the Iranian Government Spokesman said on Tuesday. While speaking in his weekly presser on Tuesday, the Iranian Government Spokesman spoke about Washington’s claims over releasing all Iranian prisoners in this …

Israel’s closure of border crossings and its crippling restrictions on the movement of goods and individuals will have serious repercussions for the already dire humanitarian and economic situation in the besieged Gaza Strip, a rights advocacy group has warned. In a statement, the al-Mezan Center for Human Rights cautioned that …

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says the delegations in Vienna talks are reaching the final stage of the negotiations, which are aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers that was thrown into a state of limbo after the US illegally withdrew from the accord and Tehran …

The United Arab Emirates is set to officially inaugurate its embassy in Israel on Wednesday, about a year after the two sides reached a controversial normalization agreement which is denounced as a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause. The embassy, which is temporarily located in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building …

Egypt’s highest appeals court on Sunday upheld the sentencing of 10 leaders of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, including the group’s head, to life imprisonment, the state-owned MENA news agency reported. In 2019, a Cairo criminal court found all 10, including the group’s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, guilty of charges related …

Head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, says the waterway netted the highest revenues in the history of the canal, hitting $5.84 billion. The Suez Canal netted Egypt a record $5.84 bn in the last tax year, its chief said on Sunday, despite the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on world …

Saudi Arabia is funding a digital news platform where the regime will hire some US-based media professionals to exert political pressure on the White House and the US Congress. The new lobbying project, which has not been officially announced, is backed by a subsidiary of the Saudi Technology Development and …

The media bureau of Yemen’s Operations Command Center has published video footage of Yemeni army forces and allied fighters conducting a large-scale anti-Saudi military operation in the central province of al-Bayda, and establishing control over several regions there. The video shows Yemeni troops and their allies, backed by local tribal fighters, engaged …

A powerful explosion has rocked the gas refinery that US forces are using as a military base in the east of the Syrian Province of Dayr al-Zawr. According to a war monitor, the blast was caused by a mortar shell landed in the Conoco Gas Field, where American troops are stationed. A …

The Syrian foreign minister has hailed as an “achievement” a newly-adopted United Nations resolution to extend the cross-border aid operation into the West Asian country, as the move would compel the West to respect the territorial integrity of Syria. According to reports, Faisal al-Mekdad made the remarks in a statement …

The commander of the Iranian Navy said his forces will receive new homegrown equipment within the next few months, including a warship, a destroyer, a missile-launching hovercraft and an oceangoing reconnaissance vessel. According to Tasnim news agency, speaking at a televised interview on Saturday night, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said …

Negotiators from the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group have held a series of talks in the Qatari capital of Doha to discuss the stalled peace process as fighting escalates between the two sides. According to Press TV, Najia Anwari, a Spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry for Peace Affairs, said …