Middle Orient News

U.S. President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held a historic phone call Friday, in the highest level conversation between the estranged nations in over three decades. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said both men had directed their teams to work

The UN Security Council unanimously passed a landmark resolution Friday ordering the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and condemning a murderous poison gas attack in Damascus. UN leader Ban Ki-moon, who called the resolution “the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,” said he hopes to convene a peace conference …

A Syrian activist group says rebels have captured a military post south of the country on the border with Jordan after four days of fighting. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 26 soldiers were killed in the battle as well as a number of rebels, including seven foreign fighters.

The cause of the spread of radicalism, intolerance and interfaith clashes in Syria is President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutogu said. “The main reason for the spread of radicalism in Syria is President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as the spread of such ideas is in the interests of …

Ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock, the United States and Russia reached an agreement on Thursday on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ridding Syria of its chemical weapons arsenal. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said a deal was struck with Russia

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that if Iran takes rapid measures to cooperate with international monitoring of its nuclear program, Washington could begin lifting sanctions within months. Speaking to CBS News flagship 60 Minutes he said Iran should, for example, open up its Fordow underground

A team of UN experts investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria expects to complete its in-country work by Monday, the United Nations said on Friday. In a statement issued from Damascus, the UN said the team would investigate seven alleged attacks and “expects to finalise its activities in the …

Turkish President Abdullah Gül said he discussed the ongoing Syria conflict in depth with the United States President Barack Obama while having lunch in New York. Gül told reporters afterwards that Obama was at the same lunch table as he was, which gave the two the opportunity

Damascus Syria is committed to the convention against chemical weapons it signed under a US-Russian deal and sees “no obstacles” to its implementation, President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview broadcast Thursday. Speaking to Venezuela’s Telesur, the Syrian leader insisted that his regime was complying with a deal under which …

US President Barack Obama said yesterday that the UN Security Council must agree to a resolution on Syrian chemical weapons that includes consequences for President Bashar Assad if he doesn’t meet demands to dismantle his stockpile.