Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip early Sunday in retaliation for projectiles fired from the Palestinian enclave into southern Israel, the army said. Military jets and helicopters struck targets linked to Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, shortly after midnight, with no...

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell is expected in Tehran Monday, Iran's foreign ministry announced a day ahead of the visit, amid new tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue. Borrell "will visit Iran tomorrow for the first time since taking office (in early december). He is set to meet the...

Furious anti-government youth held their ground in protest squares across Iraq's south on Sunday, despite the previous evening's appointment of a prime minister who insists he is an independent. Mohammad Allawi announced his own nomination as premier on Saturday, which marked exactly four...

Japan sent a naval destroyer to the Middle East on Sunday for a rare overseas mission to ensure the safety of its ships amid lingering tension between Iran and the US. The vessel left the Yokosuka naval base, south of Tokyo, for an information gathering mission in the Gulf of Oman, northern...