Middle Orient

Iraq is to ask US officials for an explanation after a new book suggested the United States had been spying on senior members of the Iraqi government.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani said in Damascus quadripartite meeting that the problem between the United Arab Emirates and Iran on three Persian Gulf Islands should be solved peacefully.

Syria has sent a list of proposals to Israel aimed at laying the groundwork for direct peace talks between the two foes, President Bashar al-Assad says.

A UN peacekeeper in Lebanon has been killed in an explosion while clearing munitions left over from the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying on Friday that he doubted a full peace deal with Israel could be reached this year and urged the next U.S. administration to continue negotiations.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Nigeria is keeping its options open on output quotas when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets next week in the wake of falling oil prices, the country’s oil minister said on Thursday.

The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon has acknowledged that his group was responsible for the shooting down last week of a Lebanese army helicopter.

The United Nations has launched an initiative to have the marshlands of southern Iraq listed as a world heritage site.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Oil prices closed modestly lower Wednesday as the market focused on demand amid a slowing global economy and signs that OPEC is under pressure to cut supply.

Israeli police beef up presence for Ramadan prayers in occupied Arab Jerusalem.