May 4th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — With 10 days to go until a deadline for President Trump to decide whether to keep the United States in the Iranian nuclear agreement, public backing for the deal matched a record high in a nationwide poll that also shows net support at its highest level.
A Morning Consult/Politico survey — conducted online April...
April 6th, 20180Turkey, Iran and Russia pledge to work for stability in Syria
ANKARA — Turkey, Iran and Russia pledged on Wednesday to accelerate efforts to bring stability to Syria, underlining their joint commitment to the country a day after President Trump raised the prospect of withdrawing U.S. troops.
A statement by the three countries after...
March 30th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of more than 100 U.S. national security experts — including nearly 50 retired military officers and more than 30 former ambassadors — is urging President Trump to remain in the Iran nuclear deal as sources say it is becoming increasingly likely he will withdraw.
The statement titled "Keep...
March 30th, 20180UNITED NATIONS — On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council condemned a barrage of missile attacks against Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthi group and expressed grave concern at reports of violations of an U.N. arms embargo on Houthi leaders.
In a statement, the 15-member Security Council expressed alarm at a Houthi threat to...
March 30th, 20180BRUSSELS/PARIS — France, Britain and Germany are struggling to persuade their E.U. partners to back new sanctions on Iran to preserve its nuclear deal, diplomats said, with Italy doubting whether the measures can stop the United States from pulling out in May.
At a closed-door meeting of E.U. ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday,...
March 23rd, 20180BEIRUT — Iran played a significant role in defeating ISIS in the Middle East and has brought stability to most of the region, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.
Iran has been locked in a regional power struggle with Saudi Arabia that has spilled into the wars in Syria and Yemen, where they have backed opposing...
March 23rd, 20180WASHINGTON — President Trump gave a warm welcome to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday and credited U.S. defense sales to the Saudis with boosting American jobs, even as Riyadh's involvement in Yemen's civil war faced criticism.
In the Oval Office, Trump and the crown prince praised the strength of U.S.-Saudi...
March 20th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. ― President Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will discuss tensions with Iran and a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen which has come under criticism in Congress when they meet on Tuesday.
Their talks at the White House are part of the first visit by the prince to the United States since...
March 16th, 20180RIYADH/SANAA — Saudi Arabia and its adversaries in Yemen's armed Houthi movement are holding secret talks to try to end a three-year-old war that has unleashed the world's worst humanitarian crisis, diplomats and Yemeni political sources said.
A Saudi-led coalition is fighting to counter the influence of Riyadh's arch-foe Iran, an...
March 16th, 20180BEIRUT — Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah does not expect its arch foe Israel to launch a war for now in Lebanon but is prepared for one, the deputy leader of the group told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
As the war in Syria enters its eighth year, Sheikh Naim Qassem also said there was no end in sight to the conflict which would...
March 16th, 20180RIYADH — Saudi Arabia will develop nuclear weapons if its arch-rival Iran does so, the kingdom's crown prince said in remarks released on Thursday, raising the prospect of a nuclear arms race in a region already riven with conflict.
"Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a...
March 9th, 20180TEHRAN/PARIS — Iran will not negotiate with the West over its presence in the Middle East, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday, a few days after France's visiting foreign minister sought to raise Tehran's role in regional conflicts.
Jean-Yves Le Drian flew to Tehran on Monday with a brief to reaffirm European...
February 23rd, 20180Over the next few weeks, I want to take a look back to February and March of 2003, to those fateful days leading up to the Bush administration's disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq. I remember all too well the lies that were told, the hysteria that was created, the bullying tactics that were used to silence debate and the mass...
February 13th, 20180DAMASCUS - Israel will face “more surprises” should it again attack Syrian territory, Damascus said on Tuesday, after Syria’s air defenses shot down an advanced Israeli warplane during the fiercest flare-up between the old foes in 36 years.
The F-16 jet was hit over northern Israel on Saturday as it returned from a raid on a...
February 9th, 20180DAMASCUS/ANKARA — The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed on Thursday to meet in Istanbul to discuss the conflict in Syria, a Turkish presidential source said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the meeting in two phone calls on Thursday with the Russian and Iranian presidents, the source said. The date of the summit...
ROME — Italy and Iran signed a framework credit agreement on Thursday to fund investments worth up to 5 billion euros ($6.02 billion) in Iran, Italy's Economy Ministry said.
The deal was signed between two Iranian institutions, Bank of Industry and Mine and Middle East Bank, and the investment arm of Italian state-owned holding...
January 12th, 20180PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron stressed to President Trump in a telephone call on Thursday the importance of abiding by a nuclear deal with Iran ahead of a decision by the U.S. president that could reinstate sanctions on the country.
"The president ... recalled France's determination in favor of a strict application of the...
January 5th, 20180Huge pro-government rallies sweep major Iranian cities where tens of thousands of supporters waved Iranian flags and pictures of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as placards saying "death to seditionists."
TEHRAN — Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief announced the "end of the sedition" Wednesday as hundreds of thousands...
January 3rd, 20181PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said it was important to maintain dialogue with Iran, warning that the tone of comments adopted by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia toward Tehran was virtually a path to war.
“The official line pursued by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, who are our allies in...
January 3rd, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Wednesday played down protests in Iran as economic discontent, saying they were not rooted in the political issues which spurred huge numbers to demonstrate in 2009 and were expected to end soon.
“In Iran there is nothing to worry about and the issue is being taken...
January 1st, 20180DUBAI — Anti-government demonstrations continued for a fifth day in Iran on Monday, after 10 people were killed during the biggest protests since the pro-reform unrest of 2009.
Video posted on social media showed crowds of people, some chanting “Death to the dictator!”, walking through the streets.
The Fars news agency...
December 22nd, 20170ASTANA — U.N. special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he would take part in the latest round of Syrian peace talks in the Kazakhstan capital Astana on Friday, with a month to go before he hopes to break the deadlock in political talks in Geneva.
Delegations from the Syrian government and some opposition groups are...
December 15th, 20170By Mary Turfah
Last Wednesday, Donald Trump announced his plans to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as recognition, against that of the world, of Israel's right to Jerusalem as its capital.
But the idea that Trump has "endangered" the peace process is misleading because it presupposes the existence of...
December 8th, 20170On Wednesday, Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.
The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at President Trump's decision to...
December 4th, 20170SANAA - Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed in a roadside attack on Monday after switching sides in Yemen’s civil war, abandoning his Iran-aligned Houthi allies in favor of a Saudi-led coalition, foes and supporters said.
Analysts said Saleh’s death would be a huge moral boost for the Houthis and serious blow to the...
December 2nd, 20170GENEVA — The Syrian government delegation arrived in Geneva on Wednesday to participate in another round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks to bring an end to the Syrian Civil War, now in its seventh year.
All the previous rounds of U.N.-backed peace talks have failed to reach a peace deal, and have often been seriously hindered by the...
December 2nd, 20170TEHRAN — This week, Iran's Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei called on the country's military leaders to expand the country's naval capabilities, the Iranian media reported. In a meeting with senior Navy commanders in Tehran, Khamenei said the Navy should boost its assets and capabilities both in terms of military gear and combat...
November 28th, 20170PARIS — Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Monday that the political and militant group Hezbollah must stop interfering in regional conflicts and accept a neutral policy to bring an end to Lebanon’s political crisis.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which forms part of the Lebanese government, is fighting alongside Syrian...
