Tag Archives: Middle East

Dutch flag carrier the KLM has announced it is resuming flights through the Iranian and Iraqi airspace following an interim halt that was caused by soaring military tensions in the Middle East region. A KLM statement issued and published on Thursday said that the company had reached the security assessment …

Up to 40 Syrian soldiers have been killed and 80 others wounded in a multi-pronged attack by militants in the northwestern province of Idlib. Syria’s official news agency SANA cited a military source as saying that militants launched “fierce attacks with large numbers” on the country’s army positions in the …

Clashes erupted as Lebanon’s new government convened a day after it was formed following a three-month political vacuum. Police are using water cannon to contain protesters throwing rocks during anti-government demonstrations in Beirut. The clashes erupted on Wednesday as Lebanon’s new government convened a day after it was formed following …

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri says he does not intend to return to the premiership and head a new government, stating that he has moved on from the post and that he is not obstructing the formation of a new cabinet amid a deep financial crisis. “Analyses that say …

Egypt’s state of emergency is set to reach the three-year mark by April after the government announced it would extend it by another three months from Monday next week. The North African country has been under a state of emergency since April 2017 bombings of two Coptic churches by a …

Roughly 2,000 members of Turkish-backed Takfiri terrorist groups in Syria have reportedly arrived in Libya to fight on the battlefields in support of the embattled Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Informed sources, requesting anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that more than 1,700 Turkey’s proxies, who have been …

Riot police fired tear gas and sprayed water cannon near parliament in Lebanon’s capital Saturday to disperse thousands of protesters after riots broke out during a march against the ruling elite amid a severe economic crisis. The riots began when some protesters started throwing stones at police deployed near the …

Saudi Arabia has reportedly paid $500 million to begin to cover the cost of the US military operating in the Arab country, a US official says. The payment was made in December 2019, according to the CNN report. “Consistent with the President’s guidance to increase partner burden-sharing, the Department of …

Turkey summoned Egypt’s charge d’affaires on Wednesday over a raid on the office of the Turkish state news agency Anadolu in Cairo, where four staff members were arrested. The news agency said police stormed its office on Tuesday evening and searched for it until the early morning hours. According to …

The de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, will be high on the agenda at next week’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which is the organization’s 50th yearly gathering in Davos, Switzerland. Taking part in these efforts will be regional leaders including Barham Salih, Iraq’s President, and …

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with Iraq’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Karim Hashim Aboualgus at NATO Headquarters. They shared views on the recent developments in the Middle East and on NATO-Iraq cooperation. Mr. Stoltenberg underscored that NATO remains fully committed to working with Iraq and that NATO is ready to …

Defense Minister issued an order to implement information gathering operations in the Middle East. Japan Self Defense Forces will conduct the operation by deploying MSDF destroyer Takanami and leveraging DAPE P-3C patrol aircraft to ensure the safety of navigation for Japan-affiliated vessels. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Takanami-class destroyer …

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, one of the Middle East’s longest-serving rulers who maintained the country’s neutrality in regional struggles, died on Friday and his cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was named as his successor in a smooth transition. With his death, the region loses a trusted and seasoned leader …

President Donald Trump has claimed that the United States no longer needs Middle Eastern oil, but according to a Bloomberg report, American refineries still use the kind of oil the Middle East region produces. “We are now the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. We …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday no Americans were harmed in the Iranian missile attacks on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and urged world powers to forge a new nuclear deal with Tehran. “No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered …

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said is in a “stable condition” and continuing a program of medical treatment, state television said on Tuesday, citing a statement from the sultan’s office. Concern had grown over the sultan’s health after he spent a week in Belgium undergoing medical treatment this month and Omani …

The Kuwaiti charge d’affaires in Tehran went to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday to receive Iran’s strong protest against the anti-Iran session in the Arab country which was held between Kuwaiti officials and a representative of a terrorist group that pursues separatist goals. The Foreign Ministry reminded the Kuwaiti …

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Iran early Friday morning in a region which houses the country’s first nuclear power plant. The quake occurred just after 5 a.m. local time, 44 kilometers (27 miles) southeast of the city of Borazjan in Bushehr province, at a depth of 38.3 kilometers (23.7 …

The governor of the central bank of Lebanon, officially known as Banque du Liban, says efforts are underway to tackle the worsening financial crisis that has caused several businesses to close and many people to lose their jobs amid growing fears about the country’s economic future. “We are solving the …

A military jet has crashed in the vicinity of Sabalan Mountain in Iran’s northwestern Ardabil Province, with no information still available on the fate of the crew. The CEO of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) in Ardabil Province said the plane had crashed at Baba Maqsood peak somewhere between …