The American naval coalition in the Gulf creates insecurity, the Iranian military said in a statement on Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency. “The false coalition from outside the region led by America disrupts regional order and security rather than help preserve stability...

 Turkish authorities have detained 402 people over "baseless and provocative" social media posts about the coronavirus pandemic, the interior ministry said Monday. The official said some of the posts in question included claims that a lockdown would last longer than all-day weekend...

Restaurants in Gaza were to be allowed to reopen from Monday, the economy ministry in the Hamas-run enclave announced, following pleas from restaurant owners to ease economic suffering. "It was decided to allow restaurants and cafes in the (Gaza) Strip to reopen their doors to customers...

The head of the US Space Command said the Pentagon believes that Iran's first successful launch of a military satellite into space does not pose any intelligence threat. The Nour satellite placed into orbit on April 22 is classified by the US military as a small 3U Cubesat, three adjoined...

Usually Tehran's tens of thousands of taxi drivers have to battle maddening traffic but now the coronavirus is driving them around the bend. Since it first emerged in Iran in mid-February, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease has claimed 5,800 lives and infected more than 91,000,...

Demonstrators blocked roads through Lebanon late Sunday to protest the deteriorating economic situation, despite a lockdown and curfew imposed because of the coronavirus, according to the official news agency. Police quickly intervened to reopen the highways where the demonstrators burned...

Turkey’s health ministry has announced 99 new deaths from COVID-19, the lowest in nearly two weeks. The total death toll has risen to 2,805. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared daily figures Sunday, showing 2,357 new confirmed cases, bringing the number of confirmed infections to 110,130....

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday said he was "confident" he will be able to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank this summer, with support from the U.S. Speaking to an online gathering of evangelical Christian supporters of Israel, Netanyahu said President Donald...

Iran plans to reopen mosques in parts of the country that have been consistently free of the coronavirus outbreak as restrictions on Iranians gradually ease, President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday. Iran, one of the Middle Eastern countries hardest hit by the pandemic, will be divided up into...

Israel's embattled health minister on Sunday said he would step down following a public uproar over his handling of the coronavirus crisis and his own COVID-19 infection. Health Minister Yaakov Litzman informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would step aside as the country forms...

 Israel's Labor party is voting Sunday on proposal to join a government headed by arch-rival Benjamin Netanyahu despite repeated campaign promises to never sit with a prime minister facing criminal indictments. The once-mighty left-wing party dominated Israeli politics for the...

When Palestinian Amir Naji was released from an Israeli prison he was told not to hug his family, but emotion overwhelmed him and he clutched his mother tight. After a moment his father pushed away the 18-year-old, who was wearing a face mask, plastic suit and gloves. Naji briefly waved...

"More morphine!" Malak's mother cried, her 20-year-old daughter hospitalised after a marital dispute left her severely burned -- the latest victim of domestic violence exacerbated by confinement in Iraq. The nationwide lockdown since mid-March is meant to keep coronavirus cases down in the...

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday to protest a deal struck earlier this week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and parliament speaker Benny Gantz to form a unity government. The protesters rallied in the coastal city of Tel Aviv to denounce Monday's deal as...

Iran's death toll from the new coronavirus rose by 76 during the last 24 hours to reach a total of 5,650, a Health Ministry spokesman said on state TV Saturday. The total number of people diagnosed with the virus is 89,328, of whom 3,096 are in a critical condition, the spokesman...

The mix of fury and disappointment among residents was palpable inside a cafe in the southeastern Turkish city of Mardin after the government replaced the popular mayor with a trustee. One year on from local elections, 40 out of 65 municipalities won by the pro-Kurdish Peoples'...

President Hassan Rouhani called on Iran’s armed forces on Friday to seek regional stability while maintaining vigilance against “provocations”, state TV reported, as a war of words with arch-enemy the United States escalated. The head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday...

The United Kingdom said Friday that an Iranian satellite launch earlier this week was of significant concern and inconsistent with a United Nations Security Council resolution. "Reports that Iran has carried out a satellite launch - using ballistic missile technology - are of significant...

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is a time for giving, with mosques and charities feeding thousands, but coronavirus has left many in the Gaza Strip wondering how they will manage this year. "The markets and mosques are closed. The good people who give us money or aid each Ramadan are...

Roadwork is booming in Israel as construction crews take advantage of empty roads and railways in the time of coronavirus to upgrade the developed world's most congested highways. Many countries have debated whether to keep up construction amid fears of spreading the infection, but Israel,...