Iraqi security forces arrested a senior paramilitary leader on Wednesday in a move that will raise tension with powerful Iran-backed militias accused of attacks on international troops and killing hundreds of protesters and activists. The arrest puts Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi’s loyalist security forces in the army and counter-terrorism …

Ashkenazi told Danon that Le Drian’s comments are “unacceptable, baseless, far from reality and Israel wholly rejects them.” Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi summoned French Ambassador to Israel Eric Danon on Thursday to deliver an official reprimand following French Foreign Minister Yves Le Drian’s comment that Israel was on its way …

Egypt invited Israel and Gaza to Cairo to discuss the return of captives and the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday that the latest developments between Israelis and Palestinians reaffirmed the need for direct talks between the …