Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial will open on March 17, just two weeks after the embattled leader tries to secure re-election, officials said Tuesday. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving premier and the first to be indicted while in office, has been charged with bribery,...

Mocking clerics, falling in love at rallies and mending a broken society: even if Iraq's young protesters have failed to overthrow entrenched politicians, they have scored by shattering decades-old taboos. Since October, the country of 40 million has been rocked by a historically large...

A Turkish court acquitted leading businessman and rights defender Osman Kavala on Tuesday in a highly controversial trial over the anti-government "Gezi Park" protests of 2013. The judge said there was "not enough concrete evidence" against Kavala and eight other suspects that appeared...

Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday it is a "religious duty" for people to vote in this week's general election and strengthen the Islamic republic against the "propaganda" of its enemies. "Participating in elections and voting... is a religious duty, not just a national or revolutionary...

Iran said Tuesday that a German held in Iran has been released as part of a prisoner swap for an Iranian held in Germany on suspicion of violating US sanctions. "We announced that we are ready to (release) this German national... on condition that they (the Germans) do not extradite our...

Confrontation with America, economic hardship and an airline tragedy have battered Iranians’ confidence in their leaders, posing a potential problem for the authorities in a parliamentary election this week. As the Feb. 21 vote nears, Iranians are in a gloomy mood, exhausted by a succession...

Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the arrest of nearly 700 people, including military and justice ministry personnel, state media said, intensifying moves against a network accused of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt. Authorities have carried out a sustained crackdown on alleged...

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who is getting the cold shoulder from Gulf Arab states, on Monday met Iran’s parliament speaker, the first senior foreign official to visit since Diab’s government took office. The heavily armed Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, is a main backer of Diab’s...

 The top United Nations envoy to Iraq condemned on Monday the use of hunting rifles firing birdshot against peaceful protesters in Baghdad and urged the government to ensure they are not harmed. Iraq faces an extraordinary domestic crisis as nearly 500 people have died in months of...

A group of Democratic senators led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut secretly met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Germany during the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, according to U.S.-based news outlet The Federalist. Penned on Monday by senior editor Mollie Hemingway,...

The U.S. plan “peace plan” for the Middle East suggests unilateral concessions in favor of Israel and violates international law, according to Russia’s foreign minister. Such an approach does not help efforts for a just solution to the issue, Sergey Lavrov told Italian daily La Stampa in an...

Hardliners are set to tighten control of Iran this week in a parliamentary election stacked in their favor, as the leadership closes ranks in a deepening confrontation with Washington. Big gains by security hawks would confirm the political demise of the country’s pragmatist politicians,...

Israeli commercial planes have started overflying Sudan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, casting the new air corridor as the result of a breakthrough meeting with the African Muslim country's de-facto leader this month. Khartoum said on Feb. 5 it had given Israeli planes...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday ruled out resigning and vowed to see out his term, even as he admitted he had offered to step aside twice since being elected. Speaking ahead of a general election next Friday, Rouhani also appealed to voters to turn out despite the fact that many...

Israel blocked Palestinians exports from leaving the territories on February 9, in another chapter of the trade war they have been fighting since September, when the Palestinian Authority banned Israeli veal from entering its territories. The battle threatens both Israeli farmers and...

Hundreds of Iraqis rallied Sunday to support a protest leader they want as prime minister instead of current premier-designate Mohammad Allawi, who they see as too close to the ruling class. Appointed on February 1, Allawi has pledged to announce his cabinet lineup within the week even as...

Israel's military said on Sunday it had thwarted an attempted malware attack by Hamas that sought to gain access to soldiers' mobile phones by using seductive pictures of young women. The phones of a few dozen soldiers were affected, but the military "does not assess that there has been a...

Multiple rockets hit near the US embassy in Iraq's capital early Sunday, an American military source said, the latest in a flurry of attacks against US assets in the country. The assault sent warning sirens blaring across the diplomatic compound but it was unclear exactly what was hit and...

Iranian foreign minister accused the U.S. on Saturday for seeking a regime change in his country, lowering expectations for direct talks between Washington and Tehran. Speaking at a panel session at the Munich Security Conference, Javad Zarif said the possibility of direct negotiations...

Iraq's premier-designate Mohammad Allawi announced Saturday he would submit his cabinet to a parliamentary vote within days, promising it would be stacked with "independents," a key demand of influential cleric Moqtada Sadr. The country's capital and Shiite-majority south have been rocked...