The swearing-in of Israel's new unity government has been postponed by one day due to the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, officials said Monday. A parliament spokesman said the joint administration of incumbent premier Benjamin Netanyahu and former rival Benny Gantz...

Iraqi security forces arrested at least five men from a local political party's headquarters in the southern city of Basra Monday after a protester was shot dead outside the building. It was the first death since modest anti-government protests resumed Sunday, ending months of relative calm...

The Israeli military said Monday its forces demolished the home of a Palestinian accused of being behind a deadly blast in the West Bank last year. Israel says 22-year-old Qassem Barghouti carried out the attack in August, which killed 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb and wounded her father...

An Iranian warship was accidentally hit by a missile during exercises in the Gulf of Oman, killing at least one, state television said Monday, amid tensions with the US in the waterway. The friendly fire incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask,...

 Lebanon’s churches welcomed worshipers Sunday for the first time in nearly two months. Most churches were closed to the public to limit the spread of coronavirus, but Lebanese authorities have started easing restrictions that were imposed in March. Churches and mosques are now...

Long-stalled negotiations on a prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas could be given fresh impetus by the coronavirus pandemic and the formation of a new Israeli government, analysts say. A deal, which would be the first in almost a decade, is not yet close...

Modest anti-government rallies resumed in some Iraqi cities Sunday, clashing with security forces and ending months of relative calm just days after Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhemi's government came to power. The protests first erupted in Baghdad and Shiite-majority southern cities in...

 Iran is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted as saying by Khabaronline news website on Sunday, adding that Washington has yet to respond to Iran’s call on a prisoner swap. “We are ready to exchange Iranian and...

While many residents in Iran's capital are taking advantage of loosened COVID-19 controls, some worry about a new spike in infections in what remains the Middle East's deadliest virus epicentre. "The line of fools," muttered shopkeeper Manouchehr, peering disdainfully at a queue of...

Iran warned Saturday that coronavirus infections were rising in the southwest despite falls in other regions, as it announced more than 1,500 new confirmed cases. "All provinces are showing a gradual drop in new infections... except for Khuzestan, where the situation is still...

In full protective gear, two doctors climb the stairs four at a time. Their first task of the day: to test a woman who has had contact with a coronavirus patient in Istanbul. Visibly perturbed by the appearance of men in white bodysuits on her landing, the resident in the populous Fatih...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel in a show of support for the new coalition government, resuming travel after a coronavirus suspension, the State Department announced Friday. The top US diplomat and staunch supporter of Israel will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

Virus-hit Iran allowed worshippers to attend Friday prayers for the first time in more than two months, but the capital remains under restrictions amid the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Since reporting its first cases in mid-February, the Islamic republic has struggled to...

Lebanon has arrested the head of the money changers' union as it battles to stabilise the value of the country's nose-diving currency on the black market, a security official said Friday. "The head of the money changers syndicate, Mahmoud Mrad, was arrested (Thursday) at the request of...

Israel said Friday it would discuss with its closest ally the United States a newspaper report that the U.S.-led peacekeeping force in the Egyptian Sinai may be drawn down, calling its nearly four-decade-old presence "important." U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is pushing to pull out...

Iran urged its citizens to take social distancing "more seriously" on Friday as it announced more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus infection in the Middle East's hardest-hit country. Since reporting its first cases in mid-February, the Islamic republic has struggled to contain the spread...

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) launched an emergency coronavirus appeal Friday, saying Palestinians across the Middle East were suffering a devastating socio-economic impact. The agency appealed for $93.4 million for the next three months to provide food and cash...

The Israeli parliament formally nominated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to form a new coalition government despite his upcoming trial on corruption charges, bringing him closer to a fifth term after more than a year of political stalemate. Seventy-two of the Knesset’s 120...

Iran is scrambling to buy millions of tons of wheat, corn and soybeans to shore up its reserves, Iranian officials and traders said, despite President Hassan Rouhani's assertions that the coronavirus would not endanger food supplies to the Middle Eastern country worst hit by the pandemic....

With its financial outlook darkening by the day, Iraq is considering slashing its massive public payroll -- an unpopular move likely to renew protests as a new government takes the helm. The new premier Mustafa Kadhemi, Iraq's 53-year-old former spy chief, took office early Thursday in...