Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday received the first dose of a domestically produced coronavirus vaccine, his social media announced, as the country battles the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak.
KABUL — The Taliban said Sunday they remain committed to peace talks but insisted a “genuine Islamic system” in Afghanistan was the only way to end the war and ensure rights — including for women.
VIENNA — Further talks between Iran and global powers were planned Sunday to try to negotiate and restore a landmark 2015 agreement to contain Iranian nuclear development that was later abandoned by the Trump administration.
Iranians voted Friday in a presidential election that a hard-line protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed likely to win, leading to low turnout fueled by apathy and calls for a boycott.
Israel late Thursday conducted air strikes into Gaza, the second time it has attacked the self-governing Palestinian territory since a cease-fire last month ended 11 days of fighting between the two sides.
JERUSALEM — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says it has recalled its Gaza director after he faced threats over remarks in which he appeared to praise Israel’s “huge sophistication” in carrying out precision strikes during last month’s Gaza war.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation opened an emergency meeting Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s militant Hamas rulers, the first major move among Mideast nations still grappling with how to address the conflict.
BEIRUT — Ibrahim al-Dika had raised his Belgian shepherd Lexi since she was a tiny pup, but then Lebanon’s economic crisis made him jobless and he had to sell her to repay a bank loan.
CAIRO — Egypt on Tuesday announced plans to widen and deepen the southern part of the Suez Canal where a hulking vessel ran aground and closed off the crucial waterway in March.
TEHRAN — Iran’s state television reported Wednesday that the country’s former firebrand president will run again for office in upcoming elections in June.
TEHRAN — A string of military figures on the list of Iranian presidential hopefuls is stirring unease over a possible militarisation of the Islamic republic’s politics.
BEIRUT — France’s top diplomat wielded the threat of more sanctions in Beirut Friday to prevent what he described as a “collective suicide” organised by members of Lebanon’s ruling political class.
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s vaccine roll-out had been faltering for weeks. Apathy, fear and rumors kept many from getting vaccinated despite a serious surge in coronavirus infections and calls by the government for people to register for shots.
Turkey and Egypt have begun slowly warming ties as they vie for regional primacy a decade after the Arab Spring, but analysts say deep-seated mistrust means full normalisation will take time.
Egypt’s military has confirmed it ordered 30 Rafale jets from French defence firm Dassault Aviation to shore up “national security”.
NAQOURA, Lebanon — After a nearly six-month pause, Lebanon and Israel on Tuesday resumed indirect talks with U.S. mediation over their disputed maritime border.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait’s government is barring unvaccinated residents from traveling abroad starting later this month, the latest attempt to tame the spiraling coronavirus outbreak in the Gulf Arab sheikhdom.
WEIMAR, Germany — Germany’s president on Sunday marked the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp by reminding his compatriots of the inconceivable atrocities the Nazis committed there during the Third Reich.
JERUSALEM — Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday this year amid signs the coronavirus crisis is winding down, with religious sites open to limited numbers of faithful but none of the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the Holy Week leading up to Easter.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is participating in Operation Inherent Resolve with new airstrikes, the Navy said on Wednesday.
Sikorsky Aircraft has received a $99.9 million contract to provide 25 modified UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, the Pentagon announced this week.
ISTANBUL — Turkey withdrew early Saturday from a landmark European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first country to sign 10 years ago and which bears the name of its largest city.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group conducted a passing and communication exercise with the Turkish Navy in the Mediterranean Sea this week, the Navy said on Thursday.
The guided missile cruiser USS Monterey conducted joint maritime security patrol with the Israeli Sa’ar 4.5 ships in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea this week.
Britain’s Royal Air Force announced a five-day bombing campaign on Monday against Islamic State forces in Iraq, in support of Iraqi ground troops.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has charged a French tourist with spying and “spreading propaganda against the system,” his lawyer said Monday, the latest in a series of cases against foreigners at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West.
TEHRAN — British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe appeared in a Tehran court Sunday to face new charges of “propaganda against the system”, a week after she finished serving a five-year sentence, her lawyer said.
A radicalized Singaporean Muslim has been arrested for planning a deadly stabbing spree against Jews, officials said Wednesday.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber joined escort aircraft of Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in a flight over the Persian Gulf, in a show of force aimed at Iran.
JERUSALEM — Half a year after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel, discreet Jewish communities in the Gulf Arab states that once lived in the shadow of the Arab-Israeli conflict are adopting a more public profile.
A British-Australian academic who spent two years imprisoned in Iran has claimed Tehran tried to recruit her as a spy in exchange for her freedom.
BAGHDAD — Pope Francis arrived in Iraq on Friday to urge the country’s dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns to make his first-ever papal visit.
JERUSALEM — Greenpeace on Friday slammed an Israeli minister who accused Iran of “environmental terrorism” after a devastating oil spill in the Mediterranean.
BERLIN — Austria’s leader says his country and Denmark intend to stop relying solely on the European Union for coronavirus vaccines and will work with Israel to produce second-generation vaccines.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducted Arabian Gulf exercises this week with a Greek navy guided-missile frigate, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said on Friday.
The U.S. military used two F-15E Strike Eagles in its airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria, the Pentagon said in a briefing detailing the firepower the attack.
Jérusalem (AFP) — Just over half of Israel’s population has had at least a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the health ministry said Friday in its latest update. It said that 4.65 million of the country’s 9.29 million
Two U.S. Navy ships in the Middle East have been ordered into port as they combat outbreaks of COVID-19, the U.S. Navy said early Friday.
DUBAI — Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is enjoying an extended honeymoon with oil-rich Gulf nations, despite being criticised in the United States and Europe as a potential security threat.
MUSCAT — Iran must refrain from any provocation as Washington steps up efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, the head of US forces in the Middle East told AFP.
