RAMALLAH — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday officially tasked Hamas with forming a new Palestinian government as Palestinian legislators were sworn in during the opening ceremony of the second Palestinian Legislative Council. The ceremony was held simultaneously in the presidential compound in Ramallah and the parliament building in Gaza City, …

Seyed Ali Khamenei was born in Mashhad Khorasan province of Iran, in 1939. He began religious studies before completing the elementary education. He attended the classes of masters of “Sath” (seminary lectures based on reading textbooks) and “Kharej” (seminary lectures not based on reading textbooks) in Mashhad, such as Haj …

One of the pieces of news that has influenced Middle East these days is the recent interview of Abdolhalim Khadam who was the second important person in Syria for three decades. This interview and its immediate effect which was announcing that Asad

Last night TV had a report on the visit of Mr Ahmadinejad to Hormozgan province. Although such coordination and wide coverage of the news of the president’s trips by IRIB is unprecedented, it is a good act to keep people informed of the performance of their government. This is what …

Since January 19th to 21th, simultaneous with Eid-e-Ghadir, the second tripartite sitting of Institute for Interreligious Dialogue, Anglican Church of England and Lutheran Church of Germany was held in Tehran. We (my wife, my good friends at the institute and me) were the host and therefore we were busy from …

With its election, Iraq has entered a new atmosphere for which it should be congratulated. In my trip to Emirate, I came across an official board from Iraq in the lobby of the hotel who had come there to extend their condolence on behalf of Iraq.

The issue of insult to the holy prophet of Mohammad (pbuh) in some western newspapers has had a widespread effect in the world. There are some points to be mentioned here:  1. There is no doubt that one of the most serious elements that can create widespread unity in the …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Russia’s plans to talk to Palestinian election winner Hamas drew a low-key response on Sunday from Israeli interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, according to remarks attributed to him by a government official. “I think the Russian position is mistaken, as I have stated.

EUROPEAN UNION foreign policy chief Javier Solana embarks on a Mideast charm offensive Monday to calm protests over controversial Prophet Mohammad cartoons, and to limit the diplomatic fallout from the row.

LONDON (Reuters) — A British newspaper released a video on Sunday apparently showing British soldiers savagely beating Iraqi teenagers in 2004, prompting Prime Minister Tony Blair to promise a full investigation.