The U.N.'s nuclear agency is studying a request from Syria to help convert an atomic reactor near Damascus to use lower grade nuclear fuel which would be harder to use in bombs, its head said on Monday. The reactor is currently running on highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and Syria...

The second hearing in the trial of jailed Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian on espionage charges took place behind closed doors in Tehran on Monday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The first hearing of Iranian-U.S. citizen Rezaian also had been held behind closed...

Iranian authorities detained a former vice-president on Monday on undeclared charges, local news agencies reported, months after another deputy to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sentenced in a graft scandal. "Former vice-president Hamid Baghaei had a charge sheet issued against him by the judiciary...

At least 19 Islamist militants and seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in a fierce gun battle early on Monday near Dattakhel, a town close to the Afghan border, military officials and militants said. According to security officials, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed when one of the...