Middle Orient

The recording, shedding a rare light on ties between the government and the elite Guards, has angered hardliners in Iran, who called the leak “an espionage act.” Iran imposed travel bans on 15 people for alleged involvement in a leaked audio recording in which the foreign minister complains about the …

‘Additional focus of Iran’s intelligence is the observation of and fight against opposition groups domestically and abroad.’ The German intelligence agency for the state of Bavaria said last week in its new report that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not ceased its drive to obtain weapons of mass destruction …

Reiterating Israel’s position that it does not consider itself bound by the diplomacy, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said: “A bad deal will send the region spiraling into war.” An Israeli cabinet minister sharpened his country’s warnings against what it would deem a bad new nuclear deal between Iran and world …

The latest Turkish military operation against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan comes at a time when Ankara finds itself increasingly under strain, both on the domestic front and in its frosty ties with Washington. The Turkish military has launched a critically timed ground and air offensive against Kurdish militants in …

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that President Joe Biden’s recent recognition of the Armenian genocide should not have come as a surprise. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Turkey shouldn’t make any additional purchases of Russian weaponry, warning that doing so could provoke further US sanctions. …

Talks to reunite Cyprus have again failed to unblock a four-year pause in negotiations over the future of the Eastern Mediterranean island. The latest attempt to lay the ground for the resumption of talks to reunite Cyprus failed after a three-day summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference …

After nearly a decade of conflict, the extensive damage inflicted on Syria’s environment is emerging as another devastating, if less visible, tragedy of its civil war. Polluted soil and contaminated water are exacerbating the already severe suffering of Syrian civilians, undermining their ability to meet their basic needs and jeopardizing …

Less than two months to Iran’s presidential elections and the regime has yet to officially announce its candidates for the mock vote that will bring Iran’s next president to power. But this isn’t the only thing that sets this year’s Iran elections apart. An unprecedented number of Iranians, on social …

A double bomb attack Tuesday in northern Syria killed a child and wounded 20 other people, according to local sources. Assailants detonated a bomb-laden motorcycle and a vehicle in two separate locations of Jarablus district in Aleppo province.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, gave a wide-ranging interview on Saudi TV on Tuesday, touching on his relations with United States President Joe Biden, the Yemeni civil war and Saudi-Iranian relations. MBS, as the crown prince is known, with whom the White House said it …