Middle Orient

BASRA, Iraq  – Iraq’s elections this week will be a crucial test of whether the oil-rich but dilapidated city of Basra is ready for the international investment it desperately needs, British officials said. Once overrun by gangs and militias vying for control of Iraq’s second biggest city, Basra is now …

NAJAF, Iraq  – After years of often bloody struggle, one party has risen to dominate much of Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim south, but the party of the prime minister poses a stiff challenge in upcoming elections due to his rising popularity. Slick, well-organized and well-funded, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI) …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday warned UAE to revise its attitude regarding fingerprinting of Iranian citizens. “UAE should know that the parliament’s demand about their attitude is serious,” Larijani said, adding that the Iranian lawmakers are angry to observe the UAE’s improper handling of Iranian incomers …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Egypt officially rejected unloading of an estimated 2,000 tons of medical and food supplies for the crisis-stricken people in Gaza, and said it would not issue the required permit for the Iranian ship to approach the Gaza Strip, a source said on Wednesday. The secretariat of the Organization …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki Tuesday dismissed the United Arab Emirates’ claims on the Iranian island of Abu Moussa. “Emirates’ expansionist claims and propaganda on Abu Moussa island lack legal basis or historical documents,” Mottaki said to Iranian parliament members. The Iranian foreign minister had been summoned to …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran is conferring with the Egyptian government on opening Rafah border crossing and paving the way for Iranian aid vessel to dock in Gaza coast, a lawmaker said here on Wednesday. “A number of Iranian MPs are leaving for Gaza to confer about opening of Rafah crossings and …

DUBAI (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said the time was ripe for Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations and that America was prepared to extend a hand of peace to Iran if it “unclenched its fist.” In his first interview with Arab television since taking office, Obama …

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt has proposed February 22 as the date for the start of a dialogue between Palestinian groups, several of the groups said in reports published Tuesday. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abou Gheit of Egypt, which has been mediating between the groups, told reporters: “We will invite the Palestinian …

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Thousands of Shi’ite Muslims in southern Iraq are wrestling with a choice of religion or democracy before a pilgrimage which may prevent them from voting in an upcoming election. Pilgrims from the southern city of Basra are setting out on an arduous walk hundreds of km …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Monday that his new Middle East envoy George Mitchell would engage vigorously in the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace and expressed confidence he would achieve concrete results. Wading quickly into Middle East diplomacy, Obama dispatched Mitchell, a veteran international trouble-shooter, to tackle a …