Middle Orient

An air strike late on Tuesday hit fuel tankers in Syrian territory shortly after they entered from Iraq, killing about 15 people, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The strike hit two of the eight tankers that entered from Al Qaim border crossing in western Iraq to Albu …

The chief of staff of the Iranian military, Mohammad Bagheri, called on Monday for greater military cooperation with Iraq. In a phone call to Iraq’s recently appointed defense minister, Thabet Muhammad Saeed Al Abbasi, Bagheri said military relations between the two countries should be boosted, and called for the armed …

The Financial Action Task Force is planning to ramp up oversight of crypto providers, sources say. Countries that fail to implement anti-money laundering guidelines for cryptocurrencies could be added to a “grey list” that includes Syria and Haiti under a global watchdog’s plans to tighten scrutiny of virtual assets.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says it has arrested 26 people — all foreigners — in connection with last month’s attack on a Shi’ite pilgrimage site in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz that has been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group. In a statement published on November 7, the …

Repatriations of foreign woman and children affiliated to Islamic State from detention camps in northeast Syria hit a record high in 2022, Kurdish authorities said on Tuesday. Thousands of foreigners including women and children had gone to Syria to live in IS’s so-called “caliphate” until 2019, when U.S.-backed Kurdish forces …

Iran is marking its 53rd day of protests across the country on Monday as protests in numerous cities expanded throughout the country the day before. The city of Marivan, following a burial ceremony, witnessed intense confrontations between locals and the regime’s oppressive security forces who were opening fire on locals …

Egypt-Turkey talks to normalize their relations were halted in the wake of Ankara’s recent oil deal with Libya’s Tripoli-based government. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Oct. 29 that talks with Turkey to heal their yearslong political rift have come to a halt over Turkish policies in neighboring Libya. “Talks …

Lawmakers in Iran call for severe punishments for “rioters” amid the country’s unrest. During an open session of parliament on Nov. 6, 227 parliament members signed an open statement asking Iran’s judiciary to take “decisive” action against protestors. The statement began by saying that enemies of Iran have tried for …

Iran must be punished for its “complicity in Russian terror,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech on Sunday evening. He added that “absolutely everyone who helps Russia prolong this war must bear responsibility for the consequences of this war along with it.” Zelenskyy said, “The whole world will …

Yemeni military forces have advanced into a large valley in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan to dislodge Al-Qaeda militants who have long used the area for recruiting, storing arms and staging deadly attacks against government-controlled areas, a military spokesperson told Arab News on Saturday. Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a spokesman for the …