Middle Orient

As a result of the clashes, Zirak Zahir, a Kurdish shepherd, and a militant were killed, he said. The other assailant fled the scene. A Kurdish shepherd was killed in southeast Kirkuk on Sunday by suspected ISIS militants, a security source told Kurdistan 24.

Armed supporters of a powerful Iraqi cleric who clashed with security forces in the capital began to withdraw from the streets Tuesday, restoring a measure of calm after a serious escalation of the nation’s political crisis. Following two days of deadly unrest that sparked fears instability might spread throughout the …

Iran has successfully implemented advanced uranium enrichment program, with the first of its cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges operating at its Natanz underground fuel enrichment plant, Reuters first reported, citing a report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. The report comes as the world powers, …

Iranian authorities have called on Iraqi factions to seek political solutions as Baghdad streets saw deadly clashes between members of the Shiite Sadrist movement and their Tehran-backed rivals. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said constitution-based dialogue among political blocs was the only path toward stability and security in Iraq, where the …

Prime Minister Yair Lapid was surprised by the briefings to the press of Mossad Director David Barnea, who accused the West and the United States of generating a strategic catastrophe for the region. The intense efforts by world powers to reach agreement with Iran on its nuclear program are sending …

Following Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s order, his followers have withdrawn completely from the Green Zone and evacuated the parliament building. At a press conference at noon in Baghdad, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered his followers to withdraw from the Green Zone within 60 minutes. …

The situation in Baghdad has calmed somewhat after cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to pull back. Several regional countries have issued statements on the political violence in Iraq, expressing concern at the violence and urging calm. Last night supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the seat …

Faruk Fatih Ozer, who reportedly fled with $2 billion in investors’ assets, had an Interpol red notice. Faruk Fatih Ozer, a Turkish businessman wanted by the Turkish authorities over charges of staging a cryptocurrency scam, was arrested in Albania and is awaiting extradition to Turkey, the Turkish Interior Ministry announced …

Protesters respond to call by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr to leave Green Zone after clashes leave 30 people dead. Iraqi supporters of powerful Shia leader Moqtada Sadr have withdrawn from Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone after after deadly violence overnight rocked the Iraqi capital. Tuesday’s move came shortly after al-Sadr called …

Clashes between U.S. troops and Iran-backed militias in Syria this month have prompted new scrutiny of the Pentagon’s mission in Syria, as tit-for-tat strikes threaten to escalate tensions in the region. The U.S. decision to target facilities in eastern Syria on Tuesday — which officials say had been used to …