Middle Orient

Iran, IAEA spar over access to Karaj nuclear site

The International Atomic Energy Agency claims that Iran has limited its access to the Karaj nuclear facility, where surveillance cameras have been damaged. The spokesperson for Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, has responded to the International Atomic Energy Agency on limitations on access to parts of Iran’s nuclear program. …

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Syrian Kurds, opposition take cases to Washington

Delegations from Kurdish-held northeast Syria and the Turkey-backed Syrian National Coalition will meet separately with US officials this week. Two Syrian political movements that offer competing visions for the country’s future are paying official visits to Washington this week. Both the US-backed Kurds and the Turkey-supported opposition are there to …

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Shadow contracts, corruption keep the lights out in Iraq

In the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, glossy election campaign posters are plastered alongside jungles of sagging electrical wires lining the alleyway to Abu Ammar’s home. But his mind is far from Iraq’s Oct. 10 federal election. The 56-year-old retired soldier’s social welfare payments barely cover the cost of food …

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Foreign Ministers Reach Agreements On Iranian Gas, Electricity Exports To Iraq

The foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq made agreements on issues relating to the export of gas and electricity from the Islamic Republic to its western neighbor. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein held a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in …

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Iran’s foreign minister says nuclear talks to restart ‘very soon’

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters that Iran plans to return to the negotiating table after suspending its participation at the end of June. Iran’s new foreign minister said Friday that Tehran will “very soon” resume its participation in talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. “The Islamic Republic …

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Syrian government eyes control of key highway in northwest

Increased military movements by government forces and Russia near the Idlib fronts and the strategic M4 highway indicate that the battle against the Turkey-supported opposition may be drawing near. Since mid-September, the Syrian government has been leading a large-scale military operation against opposition factions to expel them from areas under …

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Cyprus president criticizes Turkish policy in Iraq, Syria at UN summit

The ongoing Turkey-Cyprus conflict was a major theme of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades speech at the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades tore into Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the UN summit Friday, criticizing Turkey’s policies not only in Cyprus, but in Iraq …

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UN says at least 350K killed in Syria’s war, ‘certainly an undercount’

The United Nations’ human rights office on Friday updated the death toll from Syria’s civil war for the first time since August 2014. The United Nations has counted more than 350,000 deaths from Syria’s ruinous civil war, a figure the UN human rights chief acknowledged on Friday is a major …

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Saudi-linked SoftBank invests heavily in Israel

The investment of SoftBank in Israel and the appointment of former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen as its representative in the country might signal Saudi interests in Israeli technology. The entry of the Japanese SoftBank, considered one of the largest venture capital firms in the world, to direct activity in Israel …

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Iran introduces own version of maximum pressure

Iran may return to the table in a few weeks, but expect it to continue waiting for the United States to make concessions. Anyone hoping for quick progress in talks to restore the Iran nuclear deal would find little reason for cheer in the posture adopted by Iranian Foreign Minister …

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