BY DAN DE LUCE, PAUL MCLEARY ( Foreign Policy )- A U.S. air raid against Iranian-backed fighters in southern Syria last week represents a volatile new phase of the conflict that could trigger a wider confrontation between the United States and Iran — and their allies on the ground....

Iraq’s interior minister Wednesday ordered an investigation into allegations that members of the security forces had tortured, killed and abused civilians in the campaign to oust Daesh (ISIS) militants from Mosul. The inquiry was in response to a report by the German newsmagazine Der...

Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to use his US presidency to promote global peace after meeting Pope Francis, before heading into a high-stakes summit of the world's biggest military alliance. Meeting for the first time, the president and the pontiff sidestepped deep differences over issues...

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday he was uneasy over a massive US-Saudi arms deal announced at the weekend, saying it was part of a "crazy" regional arms race. In the first public comment by an Israeli official on the $110-billion US sale of ships, tanks and the...