Tag - middle-east

 
 

MIDDLE EAST

A satellite view shows an overview of Fordo underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, on June 22.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025
U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites set up 'cat-and-mouse' hunt for missing uranium
Iran's more than 400 kg of uranium is enough, if further enriched for up to nine nuclear weapons.
Hamas militants carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between the two sides, in the central Gaza Strip, in February.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 28, 2025
Battling to survive, Hamas faces defiant clans and doubts over Iran
Hamas fighters are operating autonomously under orders to hold out as long as possible but the Islamist group is struggling to maintain its grip.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025
Trump says he'd consider bombing Iran again and drops sanctions relief plan
Trump reacted sternly to Khamanei's first remarks after a 12-day conflict with Israel that ended with the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites.
This satellite image taken on June 19 shows damage at the Iranian nuclear facility at Arak in central Iran after an Israeli strike.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2025
An Iranian nuclear weapon just became more likely
The U.S. and Israel are likely to learn this the hard way when Iran abandons all doubts about pursuing nuclear breakout.
A monitor in Tokyo on Friday shows the 225-issue Nikkei average exceeding 40,000 for the first time since January.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 27, 2025
Nikkei hits 40,000 level as trade hopes fuel Japan stock rally
Exporters such as carmakers were among the biggest contributors to gains.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday. He expressed anger and threatened to sue over media reports claiming the U.S. strike on Iran delayed its nuclear program by only a few months.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2025
Airstrikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear ambitions — diplomacy might
The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community earlier this year was that Iran was up to three years away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2025
Iran would strike back if attacked, supreme leader says
In his prerecorded remarks, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised that Iran would not surrender despite U.S. President Donald Trump's calls.
The United Nations Security Council holds a vote during a meeting on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the bodies headquarters in New York on Feb. 24.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 26, 2025
Democracy shouldn’t be used as an ideological weapon
The democracy-vs-autocracy framing has widened the divide between democratic countries — “us” — and Russia and its allies — “them.”
A mural depicts Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday. Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests and an intensified street presence based around checkpoints.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025
Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war with Israel
Iranian rights group HRNA said it had recorded the arrests of 705 people on political or security charges since the start of the war, many of them accused of spying for Israel.
An aerial view of the damage to Iran's Fordo enrichment facility iafter the U.S. strikes on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025
Fragile ceasefire holding as Trump envoy says talks with Iran 'promising'
As the truce held, news emerged of a classified preliminary U.S. intelligence report that concluded American strikes on Iran had only set back its nuclear program by a few months.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on April 7. Without further diplomacy, the Iran-Israel conflict could become an endless, no-win situation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025
Trump abandons ‘America First’ for Middle East quagmire
Iran's acceptance of the ceasefire is what in Japanese politics is called a “feigned death” tactic.
Taxi drivers wait for fares under a patriotic billboard in Tehran on Tuesday, the day of the ceasefire announcement.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2025
Twelve day Middle East war shows how 'normal' the unthinkable has become
The ructions that have torn through the Middle East aren’t likely to fully reveal their impact for years to come.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement during a visit to the site of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was hit by an Iranian missile barrage in the central city of Rehovot, Israel, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 25, 2025
Netanyahu sees redemption in Iran war, but Gaza looms large
After months of political turmoil, war and plummeting popularity, Israel's powerful strike on Iran is likely to reframe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legacy, allies and analysts say.
The Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran scored a tactical win and prompted a tentative ceasefire, but they failed to eliminate the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear ambitions or shift the long-term strategic calculus.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025
There is no 'one-and-done' on Iran's nuclear ambitions
Trump still faces tough calls that will decide the future of non-proliferation.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025
Trump baffles with sudden U-turn on China buying Iranian oil
U.S. Treasury and State department officials handling Iranian oil sanctions were surprised by Trump’s statement and uncertain how to immediately interpret it.
A Palestinian carries a sack of aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025
U.S. to give $30 million to Gaza aid operation despite violence concerns
This is the first known U.S. government financial contribution to the group, which uses private U.S. military and logistics firms to bring aid into Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car, "The Beast," as he arrives for a dinner at the Huis ten Bosch Royal Palace during a NATO leaders summit in The Hague on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2025
Strike set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, U.S. report says
The findings suggest that President Donald Trump’s statement that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated was overstated.
Chinese President Xi Jinping described relations with Iran as "strategic" in a 2023 meeting with then-president Ebrahim Raisi, and backed Tehran in its fight against "bullying."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 24, 2025
China helpless as Middle East war craters regional leverage
Analysts say Beijing's ties with Tehran are central to its efforts to ensure a regional counterbalance against both the U.S. and Israel.
A security guard in Tehran stands during a ceasefire early Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025
Explosions ring out in Tehran despite Trump's order to Israel to stop strikes
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had carried out no further strikes after Netanyahu spoke to Trump.
A woman wipes away tears as she walks down a row of displays in Tehran on Monday featuring people killed in Israeli strikes.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2025
Big questions loom over Trump's announcement of Israel-Iran ceasefire deal
U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an Israel-Iran ceasefire suggests he may have bombed Tehran’s rulers back to the negotiating table. But will the deal hold?

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji