The United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. prohibition on this expires in October, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday. “We’re not going to let that happen,” Pompeo told reporters at a news briefing. “We will work with the U.N....

 Turkey's official death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to 3,081, the health minister said Wednesday. In a tweet, Fahrettin Koca said 89 more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours while there were 2,936 new cases. The total number of reported infections is now 117,589, as...

Iran must not give in to U.S. "provocations", Russia said Wednesday, following months of mounting tension between Washington and Tehran. "We are urging maximum restraint and caution, not to give in to provocations and aggressive rhetoric," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told...

Lebanon's under-fire central bank chief Wednesday blamed a lack of government reforms for a spiralling economic crisis that has seen angry protesters spill back into the streets despite a coronavirus lockdown. Central bank governor Riad Salameh was speaking after two nights of street...

Voices reverberate around the room in Turkey's busiest medical emergency hotline in Istanbul, where there has been a surge in calls during the coronavirus crisis. Wearing masks and sitting in front of screens where they have a list of questions, the center's employees are some of those who...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday told the United States it "should not plot against the Iranian nation every day", amid fresh tensions between the arch foes in the Gulf. Tehran and Washington have traded barbs over a spate of incidents in the past year involving their forces in...

Arab foreign ministers are to hold talks on Thursday on Israel's US-backed plans to annex key parts of the occupied West Bank. Concern has mounted since Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- an outspoken advocate of annexing large parts of the Palestinian territory --...

Iran reopened for business despite its persistent coronavirus outbreak as there was no end in sight to the crisis, its president said Wednesday, as 80 new deaths were announced. "Due to uncertainty about when this virus will end, we are preparing for work, activity and science," said...

Like the rest of the world, the month of Ramadan lacks festivity in the Palestinian territory of Gaza in the wake of quarantine and self-isolation to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But for many residents, the lockdown is like an extension of the crippling siege...

Iranians should be cautious but not afraid of the coronavirus, President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday as the country eases restrictions in an attempt to return to normal life. Iran is one of the Middle Eastern countries hardest hit by the outbreak of the new coronavirus. "Excessive fear,...

The decline of the Lebanese pound to record lows against the U.S. dollar points to a “negative performance” by the central bank and the governor is responsible, but not on his own, the deputy leader of Hezbollah said, according to media reports. “The position of Hezbollah on the matter of...

A Palestinian teenager stabbed an Israeli woman Tuesday before being shot and wounded by a bystander, Israeli police said. The attack came on Israel's Memorial Day, when the country mourns those killed in wars and militant attacks. Israelis usually mark the occasion by visiting the graves...

Iran Tuesday announced 71 deaths from the novel coronavirus, and said there were also more than 1,000 new cases of infection in the Islamic republic. The fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours brought to 5,877 the overall death toll from the illness in the Middle East's hardest-hit...

A militant wearing a suicide vest struck an intelligence bureau in northern Iraq Tuesday, wounding at least three members of the security personnel, Iraqi officials said, blaming the attack on Daesh. Iraqi security forces had spotted two men, one wearing an explosive vest and a driver,...

A 26-year-old protester died Tuesday from a bullet wound he sustained during overnight clashes between hundreds of anti-government demonstrators and the army in north Lebanon. Fawaz al-Samman's funeral was held in Al-Nour Square, the main protest camp in the city of Tripoli, and attended by...

The United States said Monday it was ready to recognize Israel's annexation of much of the West Bank but asked the new unity government also to negotiate with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has reached a power-sharing deal to remain in office after three...

Lebanese authorities have started using forceful measures to try and bring the country's rapidly sliding national currency under control, as angry citizens block roads and attack banks in protest over rapidly eroding livelihoods. "My salary is now worth $100," a protester shouted during...

An Israeli court has ordered the Palestinian Authority to pay nearly $150 million in damages to the families of people killed in militant attacks. The decision comes following a lawsuit brought by Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal advocacy group, on behalf of relatives of victims from a number...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to cooperate in the battle against the new coronavirus outbreak and to expand trade ties in a call Monday, according to Iran's official presidency website. Rouhani also asked Xi for help in ending U.S....

Human rights campaigners on Monday cautiously welcomed Saudi moves to abolish court-ordered floggings and end the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, but pointed out "loopholes" in the reforms. The changes underscore a push by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to...