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Israelis selling bulletproof backpacks in US after shooting

An Israeli firm says it has sold US customers hundreds of its bullet-proof schoolbags, introduced in the wake of the Parkland school massacre. "We designed a bullet-proof backpack at the request of our distributors in the United States after the huge trauma caused by the...

UK-Iranian woman Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Tehran jail clinic after blackout: husband

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran for more than two years on sedition charges, was taken to the prison clinic after blacking out on Wednesday, her husband said. Richard Ratcliffe said she had suffered a series of panic attacks and Iranian authorities...

Iran's Khamenei says ready to abandon nuclear deal if needed

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that his government should be ready to "set aside" the 2015 nuclear deal if it is no longer in the country's national interests. "The JCPOA (nuclear deal) is not the objective, it is only a means," he said in a meeting with the...

Iraq sending team to U.S. to seek deal on transactions with Iran -PM

Iraq will send a delegation to the United States seeking an agreement on financial transactions with Iran following Washington's reimposition of sanctions on Tehran, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday. "We are not with economic sanctions against any country and that is our...

US rejects UN court jurisdiction in Iran sanctions case

The United States told UN judges Tuesday they had no jurisdiction to rule on Tehran's demand for them to order the suspension of debilitating nuclear-related sanctions against Iran. Washington cited security concerns in its first legal response to a suit by the Islamic Republic, which is...

US will 'vigorously defend' against Iran court challenge: Pompeo

The United States will "vigorously defend" itself in the International Court of Justice against Iran's challenge to the reimposition of US sanctions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday. Iran demanded in The Hague that the top UN court suspend the unilateral US sanctions, which were...

Israel to reopen Erez border crossing with Gaza: minister

Israel will reopen the Erez border crossing with the Gaza Strip Monday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, a week after closing it due to clashes. Lieberman said Sunday that the decision to reopen Erez, the only crossing for people in the north of the Palestinian enclave, was made...

Netanyahu warns Jews still under threat

Israel's prime minister said on Sunday that Jews were still at risk even decades after the Holocaust as he wrapped up a groundbreaking visit to Lithuania, a Baltic state once home to his forefathers. "For the Jewish people, what has changed in these 75 years? Not the attempts to destroy...

OIC slams Israeli plans to build new settlements

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned Israeli plans to build more than 2,100 settlement units across the occupied West Bank. “The Israeli settlement policy is illegal under international law and is a brazen violation of UN resolutions and aggression on...

Pilot killed in Iran F-5 fighter jet crash

An Iranian F-5 fighter jet crashed in southern Iran Sunday killing its pilot, state media reported. The jet, a training aircraft, crashed as it attempted to land in Dezful in the southwestern Khuzestan province, the official IRNA news agency said. Its pilot was killed but his...

Egypt officials say 4 police, 4 militants killed in Sinai

Egyptian security officials said Saturday four policemen and four militants have been killed during clashes in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula. The officials said that militants armed with explosives and RPGs attacked a checkpoint at the entrance to el-Arish city. They said another...

US cuts aid to Palestinians, cites policy differences

The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. The department notified Congress of the decision Friday in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to...

Iran says some OPEC members act in accordance with U.S. policy - report

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said some members of oil producer group OPEC were acting in accordance with U.S. policies, Iran's Khaneye Mellat news agency reported Friday. "Some members are interpreting the latest OPEC decision on oil output differently ... and are acting in...

Palestinian journalist freed, banned for two months: family

A Palestinian journalist with a Hamas-linked television channel has been released from Israeli custody but banned from working for two months, his family said Friday. Alaa Rimawi, director of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) TV network in the West Bank, was freed Wednesday after being detained in...

U.S. is committed to Canada, Saudi Arabia ties amid spat-State Dept

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland that the United States was committed to its close partnerships with both Canada and Saudi Arabia, his spokeswoman said on Thursday amid a diplomatic spat between the two U.S. allies. Ottawa and Riyadh...

Six killed militant attack north of Baghdad: police

Six people, including members of Iraq's security forces, were killed in a jihadist attack north of Baghdad that left four others wounded, police told AFP on Thursday. Iraq declared "victory" over the Islamic State group in late 2017 but jihadist cells remain active in the country. On...

British Airways to end direct flights to Iran in September

British Airways says it will end its direct flights to Iran's capital in September as "the operation is currently not commercially viable." The decision announced Thursday comes after President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and began restoring...

Daesh releases new audio, purportedly of its leader Baghdadi

Daesh (ISIS) has released a new militant audio recording, purportedly of its shadowy leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his first in almost a year. In the audio, Baghdadi - whose whereabouts and fate remain unknown - urges followers to "persevere" and continue fighting the group's enemies...