Middle Orient

On the streets of Tehran, the oppressive heat continues, with a drought and water crisis putting the city of 10 million under pressure. The 12-day war between Israel and Iran may have ended in June, but nerves are frayed. Some Iranians have fled abroad, while others have returned from their …

For the first time in half a century, Damascus and its surrounding countryside are experiencing an unprecedented water shortage that has forced authorities to implement the most severe water rationing program since the 1950s, according to local experts. Residents now receive water just once every three days instead of every …

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty vowed that Cairo will block Netanyahu’s vision of a ‘Greater Israel’ Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has vowed that Cairo will not permit “Greater Israel” to become reality, denouncing recent Israeli statements as dangerous and destabilising. Speaking at an emergency session of the Organisation of …

Israel’s assault on Gaza City intensifies: tanks and airstrikes demolish entire blocks in a bid to seize control. Israel is levelling entire neighbourhoods in its push to occupy Gaza City on Wednesday, using tanks and airstrikes to flatten residential blocks. According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces continue …

Israeli forces stormed Ramallah and raided an exchange office, injuring dozens of people, amid further raids in Jerusalem and across the West Bank The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that 33 Palestinians were injured when Israeli forces stormed Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, using live fire, rubber …

Blackouts and dry water taps are nothing new for Iranians, but this year the country’s infrastructure problems have become a true crisis, one that is gripping 90 million people at once. Water scarcity, extreme heat and power outages further weaken an already strained economy, in a population so disillusioned with …

Syria’s civil war broke out in March 2011, in reaction to the brutal crackdown by the regime of Bashar al-Asad of popular protests that were part of the wider Arab Spring. In supporting the Syrian rebels, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initially used the language of humanitarian intervention, claiming to …

Declassified files show Britain has long known of Israel’s criminality against Palestinians, as Whitehall has deepened its military, trade and diplomatic support. The parallels are remarkable. There were “numerous reports that the Israeli authorities have prevented medical and other humanitarian assistance from reaching those in need”. The Red Cross was …

The world is celebrating the anticipated signing of a security agreement between Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Israel, hailed as evidence of Sharaa’s moderation and a departure from his radical Islamist past. However, this narrative is misleading. Islamist doctrine permits, and even encourages, temporary truces—up to 10 years—with adversaries until …

In a wide-ranging interview, a senior Israeli diplomat has shared with Newsweek his nation’s strategy for realizing lasting change across several fronts that have been embroiled in a nearly two-year war, as well as addressing growing backlash emanating from allies, including the United States. Just two weeks before the conflict …