Populist cleric Moqtada Sadr returned to Iraq Saturday with a threat to organise protests outside parliament unless lawmakers back the government of prime minister-designate Mohammad Allawi in a confidence vote. The Shiite cleric with a cult-like following in Iraq has thrown his weight...

 Israeli forces shot and killed a suspect in Jerusalem's occupied Old City Saturday after he approached officers posted near one of the gates armed with a knife, police said. Police did not immediately release further details on the identity of the suspect. "At approximately 11 am...

Iran Saturday reported one more death among 10 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the Islamic republic to five -- the highest of any country outside the Far East. Since it emerged in December, the virus has killed 2,345 people in China, the epicentre of the...

Conservatives appeared to be in the lead as the first results of Iran's parliamentary election came in Saturday, amid expectations of a low turnout after the disqualification of many candidates. Friday's election came after months of steeply escalating tensions between Iran and its...

A list of candidates affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards is leading in a parliamentary election in Tehran, the Fars news agency reported on Saturday. According to state TV, Iran has started counting votes in its election. Hardline allies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...

In Iran, learning to be an anti-American soldier of the Islamic republic can start as early as 19 months of age -- at least for one family voting in Friday's general election. But Mannaan, a blond toddler perched on his grandfather's shoulders at a polling station in the historic...

Iranians are voting for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Iran's leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and isolate the country diplomatically. The disqualification of more than 7,000 potential candidates, most of them reformists and...

The Maysan province in Iraq decided Thursday to close its border with Iran because of fears of the spread of the new coronavirus in Iraq. Local Iraqi media reported the Ministry of Health decided to prevent Iranian citizens from entering the country until further notice. The measure...

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans Thursday to build thousands of new homes for Jewish settlers in annexed east Jerusalem, a project unveiled less than two weeks before a general election. "I have huge news today -- we're adding another 2,200 units to Har Homa,"...

The United States on Thursday slapped sanctions on five Iranian officials in charge of vetting candidates for the Islamic republic's parliamentary elections, in which thousands have been barred from running. The officials targeted ahead of Friday's vote include Ahmad Jannati, a powerful...

Omar Hajajla may have a private gateway to his home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but it is hardly a sign of luxury: it runs beneath an Israeli barrier that cuts him and his family off from the rest of their nearby Palestinian village. Israel began building its West Bank barrier in...

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Thursday measures would be taken to hold to account all those who contributed to Lebanon’s financial crisis through illegal actions be they transfers abroad, manipulation of Eurobonds or other acts. “There is information that we are still in need of...

Campaigning officially ended on Thursday for Iran’s parliamentary election, state media said, a day before a vote seen as a litmus test of the popularity of the Islamic republic The vote to pick 290 lawmakers is Iran’s first since U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of...

A team of IMF experts met Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday at the start of a visit to provide Lebanon with advice on tackling a deepening financial and economic crisis, an official Lebanese source said. The IMF has said the team will visit until Feb. 23 and provide broad technical...

Israel's defense minister said Thursday that the country would allow Palestinian agricultural exports, a move aimed at defusing what has been an escalating trade crisis that had heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that...

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi said Wednesday he has put together a cabinet of political independents and called on parliament to hold an extraordinary session next week to grant it a vote of confidence. Allawi said in a televised speech that if his government wins a...

A Palestinian teenager died Wednesday from wounds sustained during clashes with Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, the health ministry said. Salah Zakareneh, 17, was shot during a "violent clash" with Palestinian "security forces and armed men in the Qabatiya area" late Tuesday,...

Opponents of Iran's theocratic leadership are urging an outright boycott of its parliamentary elections, arguing that it is anything but democratic and that casting a ballot serves only to bolster the country's Islamic rulers. The country's supreme leader has urged Iranians to "disappoint...

 Iran has had to reduce oil production projects because of a lack of funds and a drop in income from oil exports, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday, according to the official IRNA news agency. “All attacks are against us and the income from oil exports has been reduced. We...

Israel has developed plans to build 9,000 settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, the first such project in the city in more than 20 years, watchdog Peace Now said Tuesday. Details of the plan emerged a day after Israel's transport ministry approved a controversial proposal to extend a...