Middle East

At least 29 children died and 30 children were injured in a Saudi coalition airstrike in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. The Red Cross said it received the bodies of 29 kids under the age of 15. “Our teams are working to save as many people as they can. Causalities from […]

TORONTO—Saudi Arabia has told hundreds of trainee doctors to leave Canada with only weeks’ notice in the midst of a diplomatic spat, a move that could disrupt Canadian hospitals and end a 40-year-old program to train specialists for the kingdom. Angered by Ottawa calling for the release of arrested Saudi civil society activists, Saudi Arabia […]

DUBAI—A worsening row between Saudi Arabia and Canada about human rights threatens to undermine Riyadh’s foreign investment drive, a campaign already unsettled by a series of assertive political and diplomatic initiatives by the top oil exporter. The kingdom froze new trade and investment with Canada and expelled its ambassador this week, angered by a call […]

The Syrian military is preparing to push out remaining ISIS terrorist fighters, who still control a small piece of territory in the south. ISIS has ramped up its violence as its forces dwindle. Last month ISIS killed more than 200 civilians and abducted more than 30 people, mostly women and children in Syria’s southeastern Suwayda […]

  ANKARA—Turkey will continue to buy natural gas from Iran in line with its long-term supply contract, Turkey’s energy minister said on Aug. 8, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that anyone trading with Iran will not do business with America. NATO member Turkey is dependent on imports for almost all of its […]

News Analysis As attention focuses on Iran and the sanctions President Donald Trump has put back in place, it’s worth revisiting events leading to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—known as the Iranian nuclear deal. On Feb. 9, 2010, Iran began the crucial step of producing 20 percent enriched uranium. In response, the U.N. […]

WARSAW—The European Union has adopted an updated “blocking statute” under which European businesses will not have to comply with renewed sanctions imposed by the United States, targeting Iranian financial transactions that involve U.S. dollars, Iran’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes, and metals including gold. More U.S sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector and central […]

The United States will reimpose a broad set of sanctions on the Iranian regime on Aug. 7, executing a plan set in motion by President Donald Trump when he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal three months ago, according to senior U.S. administration officials. The sanctions will take effect as widespread protests grip Iran with […]

CAIRO—A car exploded in central Cairo on Monday after colliding with a microbus, injuring 13 people, the Egyptian health ministry said. Reuters reporters heard a loud blast in the area and saw a car on the side of the road completely destroyed, with bits of twisted and punctured metal scattered nearby. There appeared to be […]

CAIRO—The president of South Sudan and head of the country’s main rebel group signed a final cease fire and power-sharing agreement on Sunday and hailed a new longed-for era of peace in the country. “I call on everyone as a leader of South Sudan that this agreement which we have signed today should be the […]

ISIS in Syria has executed one of a number of hostages taken from Syria’s government-held city of Sweida in an attack last week, local media and a war monitor said on Sunday. Dozens of people were killed on July 25 in coordinated assaults by ISIS extremists, who overran villages and staged multiple suicide attacks inside […]

KABUL—A suicide bomber killed three NATO service members on a foot patrol in eastern Afghanistan on Aug. 5, officials said, and Taliban militants claimed responsibility. A NATO Resolute Support mission service member, an American, and two Afghan soldiers were wounded, the mission said in a statement. “Their sacrifice will endure in both our hearts and […]

DUBAI—Sporadic protests were taking place in cities in Iran for a fourth day, with demonstrators attacking a Shi’ite seminary west of Tehran, according to Iranian news agencies and social media on Saturday, as Iranians brace for a return of U.S. sanctions. Hundreds have rallied in cities across the country, including Tehran, Isfahan and Karaj, according […]

Iran is practicing military maneuvers involving 50 small boats in the Persian Gulf. A report by Fox News on Aug. 1 indicated The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard was expected to hold the exercise with 100 gunboats within 48 hours. That expectation became reality, but with only about 50 small boats in the Strait of Hormuz, […]

A New Zealand union official has been detained in Israel with 21 other activists after he took part in an illegal aid convoy to the Gaza Strip in Israel. This is the latest incident in a career of left-wing activism. Far-Left Auckland-based “Unite Union” leader Mike Treen was arrested alongside other international campaigners on the […]

The ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the killing of two American cyclists and two other foreign tourists in Tajikistan. ISIS released a video that alleges to show a group of men pledging allegiance to its cause, Radio Free Europe reported on July 30. Earlier, officials in Tajikistan said that a banned Islamic party was […]

JALALABAD—Gunmen stormed a government building in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad on Tuesday, taking dozens of hostages after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance gate, officials and witnesses said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though the Taliban issued a statement denying involvement and a spate of deadly attacks on the […]

A college student from Florida on an exchange program in the Middle East died while swimming in Tel Aviv, family members said. Her body was found on July 30. TeNiya Jones, 19, a student at the University of Kentucky, was on a seven-week trip to Jordan for an exchange program. Jones and two friends decided […]

Two Iraqi Airways pilots were suspended after an argument turned physical in the cockpit, according to reports. The flight was going from Mashhad, Iran, to Baghdad, Iraq, with 157 passengers on board. Two pilots allegedly got into a heated argument over a food tray when the plane was 37,000 feet in the air, the Independent […]

A meeting between a senior U.S. diplomat and Taliban representatives in Doha last week to discuss a possible ceasefire ended with “very positive signals” and a decision to hold more meetings, people with knowledge of the talks said on July 29. The meeting between a delegation led by Alice Wells, deputy assistant secretary in the […]