Tag Archives: Middle East

A prominent Saudi rights activist, Abdallah al-Hamed, has died in detention in Saudi Arabia as a result of “deliberate medical negligence” days after suffering a stroke, a report says. Citing Saudi sources, the Arabic-language Arabi21 online newspaper reported that Hamed died on Friday morning a few days after his health …

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says neither the United States nor its European allies, with their ‘flimsy’ misreading of the landmark nuclear deal of 2015, is allowed to ‘lecture’ the Islamic Republic on its missile program. “US has been bullying all against UNSC Resolution 2231 since 2017. Europe obeyed …

Children have been among those killed by landmines and other “explosive remnants of war (ERW)” that litter the Palestinian territories, the United Nations reported today. As many as 1.9 million people are at risk of exposure to ERW in the Gaza Strip, the whole of which is a danger zone, …

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has downplayed a recent US anti-Iran rhetoric, warning that the Islamic Republic will target American vessels if they were to threaten the safety of the country’s vessels or warships. #Iran #IRGC commander Gen. Salami says Iranian naval forces have been …

Lebanon has become the first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming for medical and industrial purposes – a move that could generate lucrative exports and foreign currency as the country struggles to cope with a financial crisis. Although growing the plant was previously illegal, cannabis has long been farmed openly …

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully launched and placed the country’s first military satellite into the orbit. The elite force fired the satellite — dubbed Nour (Light)-1 — aboard Qased (Carrier) satellite carrier during an operation that was staged in Dasht-e Kavir, Iran’s sprawling central desert, on Wednesday, …

Israeli demonstrators turned out in droves to protest the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Mindful of the need for social distancing, they stood two meters apart from each other in a visually spectacular gathering. Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square is often a staging ground for rallies. Tens of thousands flocked to the …

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has once again warned US President Donald Trump against interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the age of the new coronavirus. Zarif made the remarks in a Sunday posting on Twitter in an apparent reference to Trump’s Saturday allegation that the …

The Great Pyramids is lit up with blue light and projected with a laser message “Stay Home” on the Giza plateau outside the Egyptian capital of Cairo on the World Heritage Day, as the country fights against the spread of the COVID-19.

A court in Egypt has added a former lawmaker and a dozen others, all either members or associates of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement, to terrorist lists for five years. The Fifth Terrorism Judicial District in the capital Cairo announced the news in a statement on Saturday, saying former legislator …

Israel is facing the growing prospect of an unprecedented fourth election in just over a year after a deadline to form a government expired. Its president passed the mandate to parliament after center-left bloc leader Benny Gantz failed to seal talks to form a unity government in time. If no-one …

Iran has marked its annual National Army day by replacing usual parades with a COVID-19 aid march of military vehicles designed and packed with supplies to help assist the country’s battle with the coronavirus. The parades, which took place across the country on Friday, showcased some of the Army’s equipment …

Iran’s Navy commander says the force plans to build nuclear-powered submarines capable of operating in international waters for long periods of time amid the growing threats facing the country from the sea. Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi on Thursday highlighted the capabilities of submarines powered by nuclear reactors compared to the …

Saudia Arabia has carried out 800 executions since King Salman bin Abdulaziz took power in 2015, according to a British-based human rights organization. Reprieve, which fights for victims of human rights abuses, says that the rate of executions in the Kingdom has almost doubled under his reign, which started on …

The chief commander of Iran’s Army says over 11,000 medical staff of the force have been on the front line in the country’s fight against the COVID-19 disease. “More than 11,000 medical staff of the army have been selflessly working on the front line against coronavirus,” Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi …

Saudi Arabia has blocked access to the online platforms of two Turkish state media outlets, as tensions continue to simmer between Riyadh and Ankara more than two years after the Saudi state-sponsored murder of a journalist in Turkey. Saudi authorities reportedly blocked the websites of Turkish Anadolu and TRT on …

A senior Iranian military commander says the Army’s Ground Forces are set to unveil five new healthcare-related achievements that will help with the diagnosis of COVID-19 and prevent the deadly coronavirus from spreading. Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari, commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces, said Tuesday that “two achievements in …

Iran says new cases of coronavirus infections and deaths from the viral outbreak have been declining across most of the country’s 31 provinces. “In six provinces, the trend of coronavirus infections has had an upward movement and in some provinces, including Isfahan, it has not increased or decreased significantly and …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has handled the novel coronavirus outbreak better than Europe and the United States, assuring that the country’s stocks of basic commodities are replenished better than ever. “We had a sanctions virus, to which the coronavirus was added, but you did not have the sanctions …

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called on Iranians to respect health protocols aimed at containing the new coronavirus as “low-risk” economic activities resumed in most of the country. Rouhani made the plea in a meeting of senior officials in charge of the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus …