Middle East

Iran has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve a $5bn (£4bn) emergency loan to help fight the coronavirus, as its death toll passed 4,000. President Hassan Rouhani warned that “there should be no discrimination” in approving requests. The US reportedly opposes the loan, with officials saying Iran has …

Another US military convoy has been forced to retreat from an area in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah after local residents, in coordination with government forces, prevented the foreign forces from passing through the community. Local sources, requesting not to be named, reported that a US convoy of five armored …

At a Tehran mosque converted into a factory, women volunteers who would normally attend to visitors to the old battlefields of the Iran-Iraq war have joined the fight against the coronavirus. Lined up like factory workers, around 15 women have taken up positions in front of table-top sewing machines to …

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says more than 30 countries, as well as a number of international organizations, have provided it with assistance in its battle against the new coronavirus outbreak. Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi made the remarks during a press conference held via video link in Tehran on Monday, expressing gratitude …

Jordan confined its 10 million inhabitants to their homes in a sweeping one-day curfew on Friday that brought public life to a complete stop in a stepped-up bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus, witnesses and officials said. The government said the 24-hour curfew that began Thursday at midnight, …

Several flights carrying Lebanese stranded abroad by coronavirus lockdowns began arriving in Beirut on Sunday, part of a trial run to see whether thousands looking to come home can be safely repatriated without worsening the country’s outbreak. Their return became a charged issue after powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri threatened …

Saudi Arabia has conducted a rocket attack on a border district in Yemen’s northwestern Sa’ada Province, killing all members of a family. The al-Masirah television network reported that the family consisting of a father, a pregnant mother and two children had lost their lives in the Saudi rocket strike on …

A high-ranking Iranian security official says the efforts made by the administration of US President Donald Trump to block Iran’s access to financial and other resources it needs to contain an ongoing pandemic of new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, amount to crime against humanity. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s …

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says low-risk economic activities, which have been suspended over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, will resume from April 11. In a Sunday address to the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus, Rouhani announced that medium- and low-risk businesses can recommence next week, except those …

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have adopted fresh measures to tackle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic amid an uptick in the number of patients in both Persian Gulf countries. Saudi Interior Ministry announced a lockdown and a partial curfew in seven neighborhoods of the port city of Jeddah starting on …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that the country seeks to follow up on its existing physical distancing plan with a new ‘smart distancing’ initiative to curb the outbreak of COVID-19. Speaking during a meeting in the National Headquarters to Fight the Coronavirus on Saturday, Rouhani said that the first …

A police robot has been deployed to patrol areas of Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, to ensure that people are observing a coronavirus lockdown. If it spies anyone walking in the largely deserted streets, it approaches them and asks why they are out. They must then show their ID and other papers …

Lebanon has lodged a complaint to the United Nation against the Tel Aviv regime for violating the country’s airspace after Israeli military aircraft carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in Syria’s central province of Homs. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants has filed a complaint before the UN Security Council …

Iran’s health minister has said that the country’s international standing in regards to containing the coronavirus outbreak will “greatly change” in the coming days. “Due to advances in our diagnosis capability, we have been able to identify more COVID-19 cases in the country,” Saeed Namaki said late Thursday. “Signs of …

The United States is continuing threats against Iran even as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic despite Washington’s illegal sanctions. President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that Iran was about to launch an attack on US troops occupying Iraq. “Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak …

Iran’s top diplomat has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran is about to launch an attack on American troops in Iraq, reaffirming the stance that the Islamic Republic will not initiate any war but it will decisively respond to aggression. “Iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to …

Yemen’s information minister has raised the possibility of the facemasks airdropped by Saudi-led warplanes in Sana’a and other cities being infected with the new coronavirus, urging media outlets and activists to spread awareness of the danger. Dhaifullah al-Shami said given the fact that the Saudi-led coalition has turned Yemen into …

The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, has strongly condemned the incessant Israeli arrest campaign against Palestinians, arguing that the move clearly shows the brutality and criminality of the Tel Aviv regime, especially as the cases of infection with a new coronavirus in the occupied territories are on the rise. On …

“In the wake of the Coruna outbreak, America has bypassed sabotage and killing and launched economic warfare, economic terrorism, and health terrorism against the Iranians,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a tweet published Sunday. US has gone from sabotage & assassinations to waging an economic war & …

Syria said on Friday it was banning travel between cities and governorates as part of tightening measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, state-run Ikhbariya TV reported, citing the interior minister. Syria has recorded five cases of corona virus so far but relief agencies worry that any outbreak could be …