The United States has called on Baghdad to "take actions" to protect US interests in the country after a flurry of attacks that have been blamed on Iranian-backed groups. Tehran wields growing influence in Iraq, particularly through armed factions. Since October 28, ten rocket attacks...

In the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 28, after Iraqi demonstrators set the Iranian consulate in the southern holy city of Najaf ablaze, the killings began. By the end of that day, Iran-linked militiamen in Najaf and Iraq’s elite Interior Ministry forces in Nassiriya farther south had shot dead...

Baghdad cautioned Monday against "an escalation" after a flurry of attacks on US interests in Iraq prompted Washington to warn of a "decisive" response against Iran. Tehran wields growing influence in Iraq, particularly through armed factions. Since October 28, ten rocket attacks have...

The Israeli military on Monday held a female Palestinian activist without trial for four months under a legal procedure known as administrative detention, according to an NGO.    Bushra al-Tawil, 26, was arrested last week in an Israeli raid on her home in the West Bank city of...

Iran Monday accused the United States of dreaming up "imaginary enemies" after Washington warned there would be a stiff response if U.S. interests in Iraq are attacked. "When politicians want to absolve themselves of blame they always make up an imaginary enemy," Iranian government...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is finalising with Japan a visit to Tokyo, officials in Tehran said Monday, in what will be the first such trip in two decades. The trip would likely take place around December 20, after Rouhani visits Malaysia for a Muslim leaders summit in Kuala Lumpur,...

The Lebanese presidency said it had delayed consultations to designate a new prime minister until Thursday in response to a request from caretaker leader Saad al-Hariri, who had been expected to be named premier again. Hariri had requested the delay to the consultations, which had been...

A Turkish drone meant to help seek hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean landed at an airport on the divided island of Cyprus on Monday, a Turkish official said, in a move that could further stoke tensions between Turkey and Greece. The breakaway Turkish Cypriot cabinet on Friday...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Monday urged Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to take steps to prevent bases housing U.S. troops from being shelled, a statement from the premier’s office said. Esper’s call came after a senior U.S. military official warned last week that attacks...

At least 304 people were killed in Iran during a three-day crackdown against protests across the country in November, according to a new Amnesty International toll published Monday. The rights group had earlier estimated 208 deaths, including two youths aged 15 and 17. Iran has...

 Saad al-Hariri is expected to be named Lebanon’s prime minister on Monday, but political rifts look set to hinder agreement on a new government badly needed to rescue the country from a dire economic crisis. Hariri, a Western ally and the leading Sunni Muslim politician, is widely...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he has been given assurances by the son of Brazil’s president that Brazil will follow the United States and move its embassy to Jerusalem next year. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has signaled before he intends to move his...

Turkey's president held a meeting on Sunday with the head of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).  The closed-door meeting between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fayez al-Sarraj took place in the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. On Nov. 7, Ankara and Tripoli-based...

Iraqi security forces arrested five people in connection with lynching a teenager in the capital Baghdad this week, according to the interior ministry on Sunday. On Thursday, angry mob killed the teenager whom they accused of shooting protesters and hung his body by his ankles from a...

 Air pollution forced schools to close Sunday in parts of Iran including Tehran, as the capital lay under a thick cloud of smog considered hazardous to health. The pollution level in the capital was "unhealthy for sensitive groups" and officials warned the young, elderly and people...

Lebanon's Interior Minister Raya El-Hassan on Sunday ordered the country's security forces to open a "rapid and transparent" enquiry, after dozens of people in Beirut were wounded in clashes the night before. Security forces in the capital used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse...

At 16, Maram is as old as the political system she and fellow Iraqi youth are railing against. But the spunky teen has her own way of protesting: inking tattoos. In the blue-tinged light inside a tarp tent, the petite teenager carefully moves her mechanised tattoo pen across the left...

Turkey moved closer to military support for Libya’s internationally recognized government late on Saturday when a bilateral deal was sent to parliament that includes provisions for launching a “quick reaction force” if requested by Tripoli. Late last month, Ankara and Tripoli signed an...

Protesters and police were injured as a result of clashes in Lebanon's capital as demonstrators continue to demand a change in government.  A large group of protesters tried to march to parliament Saturday where talks about establishing a new government are to begin Monday. But...

Turkey will respond to any sanctions imposed by the U.S., the Turkish foreign minister said on Saturday.  "If sanctions are applied, Turkey will have to respond. We are trying to overcome this issue without sanctions and through dialogue and mutual understanding," Mevlut Cavusoglu said...