Middle East
Security chief Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that Iran was open to nuclear talks with the US but ruled out any restrictions on its missile program. “The path for negotiations with the US is not closed; yet these are the Americans who only pay lip service to talks and do
Middle East
The UN Security Council is set to vote Thursday on the future of the blue helmet peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, which has faced US and Israeli opposition. Some 10,800 peacekeepers have been acting as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. But the usual renewal of their
Middle East
Top US envoy Thomas Barrack arrived in Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and Lebanon, three Israeli officials said. The meeting was first reported by Axios, citing three Israeli and US sources, and followed discussions between Barrack and Israel’s Minister for Strategic
Middle East
Lebanese troops entered the Burj Al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Thursday and began collecting the first weapons surrendered as part of a government move to disarm Palestinian factions. The weapons handover is part of a broader disarmament push that follows a Lebanese government decision, announced
Middle East
Lebanon has decided to rebaptise a thoroughfare named after former Syrian president Hafez Assad in favor of late Lebanese musician and playwright Ziad Rahbani, a move many welcomed on Wednesday. The decision marks the end of an era and a rupture with the authoritarian rule of former Syrian leaders Hafez
Middle East
In a hospital room in the mountains of Mount Lebanon, 47-year-old Lara Hayek lies motionless. Five years after the catastrophic Beirut port explosion left her in a vegetative state, her mother Najwa maintains a daily vigil, clinging to hope that justice will finally arrive. “Every single day, I wait for
Middle East
Russia announced Wednesday that Syria’s foreign minister will visit Moscow, the first official visit to Russia by an official in the new government in Damascus since former Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted in a rebel offensive last year. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the state news
Middle East
Lebanon’s central bank has banned licensed financial institutions from any direct or indirect interactions with Iran-backed Hezbollah’s financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan, according to a circular seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Al-Qard Al-Hassan in 2007, saying the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah
Middle East
Israel’s military said Wednesday its troops entered southern Lebanon as part of targeted operations to dismantle infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. “Following intelligence information and the identification of Hezbollah weapons and terrorist infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon, the soldiers launched special, targeted operations to
Middle East
The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said. A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil
Middle East
Syrian authorities on Tuesday arrested a former high-ranking official who helped run the notorious Saydnaya Prison. Thaer Hussein, described as an assistant to the director of the prison, had been on the run since the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime in December. Syria’s Internal Security Command in
Middle East
The sleeper cell behind a deadly church bombing near Damascus belonged to the Daesh group, which had plans to target a Shiite shrine in a similar attack, Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. Sunday’s attack on the Mar Elias Church killed at least 25 people. The attack
Middle East
Iran could shut the Strait of Hormuz as a way of hitting back against its enemies, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday, though a second member of parliament said this would only happen if Tehran’s vital interests were endangered. Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait
Middle East
Former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has said that tankers and LNG cargoes should only transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian permission and this policy should be carried out “tomorrow for a hundred days.” It was not immediately clear whether Khandouzi was echoing the establishment’s decision or sharing
Middle East
A new report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has exposed a covert Iranian nuclear weapons program known as the “Kavir Plan,” which allegedly began in 2009 under the direct orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This secret program reportedly replaced the earlier “Amad Plan,” which was
Middle East
After his home in the Somali capital was battered by torrential rains, Mohamed Abdukadir Teesto worries about his future at a time when local and foreign aid is vanishing. The Horn of Africa nation is among the most vulnerable to climate change, according to the United Nations, and in the