Iranian police are investigating after a fire broke out at an industrial complex in northeast Iran where gas condensate storage tanks are sited, one of which exploded, the Mehr news agency reported Monday. Javad Jahandoust, the fire chief at the Kavian Fariman industrial complex, some 32...

The International Monetary Fund warned Monday of the high cost of holding up reforms in Lebanon, two months into bailout talks to redress its nosediving economy. After Lebanon for the first time defaulted on its sovereign debt in March, the government pledged a financial rescue plan and in...

Iran reported on Monday more than 200 new coronavirus fatalities that took the overall toll in the Middle East's deadliest outbreak beyond 13,000. "Unfortunately, in the past 24 hours, we have lost 203 of our compatriots due to the COVID-19 disease," said health ministry spokeswoman Sima...

A coalition of rights groups said Monday that "repression" and "intimidation" are threatening free speech in Lebanon, hit by an economic meltdown and months of angry protests. Since mass demonstrations erupted in October demanding the wholesale removal of a ruling class deemed inept and...