Iran coronavirus deaths jump to 26 as top officials, including vice president, become infected
The coronavirus epidemic in Iran has cost 26 lives, the health ministry announced Thursday, with a vice president becoming the latest top official to be infected as the spread appeared to accelerate. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a news conference that the tally of ...
'Revenge, revenge': Black-clad Iranians mourn general killed by U.S.
Black-clad mourners packed Iran's second city Mashhad on Sunday as the remains of top Gen. Qassem Soleimani were paraded through the streets after he was killed in a US strike. "Iran's wearing black, revenge, revenge," they chanted as darkness fell and they followed a truck ...
Iraq condemns U.S. airstrikes on Iran-backed militia as unacceptable and dangerous
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Monday condemned U.S. airstrikes on bases of Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, a move that could plunge Iraq further into the heart of a proxy conflict between the United States and Iran. The U.S. military carried out airstrikes on Sunday ...
Iraqis step up anti-Iran protests as deadline for new prime minister looms
Thousands took to the streets in Iraq's capital and across the south Sunday to protest Iran's kingmaking influence, as the latest deadline for choosing a new prime minister loomed. Anti-government rallies have rocked Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south since Oct. 1, with demonstrators calling for ...
A senior U.S. military official said on Wednesday attacks by Iranian-backed groups on bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq were gathering pace and becoming more sophisticated, pushing all sides closer to an uncontrollable escalation. His warning came two days after four Katyusha rockets struck a ...
A prominent civil society activist was shot dead late Sunday in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala while returning home from anti-government protests, a neighbor told AFP. Fahem al-Tai, 53, had been taking part in weeks of rallies denouncing Iraq's entrenched political elite as corrupt, inept ...
Lebanon government in 11th hour reform drive as protests swell
Lebanon's teetering government was expected Monday to approve a belated economic rescue plan as the nation prepared for a fifth day of mass protests against the ruling elite. A proposed tax on mobile messaging applications last week sparked a spontaneous, cross-sectarian mobilization that has brought ...
Two Iran-linked fighters killed in unclaimed drone attack in Iraq, paramilitary force says
Two paramilitary fighters were killed on Sunday in an unclaimed drone attack near Iraq's western border with Syria, the powerful Hashed al-Shaabi force said in a statement. The deaths come after a month of mysterious blasts at Hashed al-Shaabi arms depots and training camps that ...
Netanyahu hints at Israeli involvement in Iraq blasts targeting pro-Iran forces
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Thursday of possible Israeli involvement in attacks against Iranian-linked targets in Iraq. A series of blasts in the past few weeks have hit weapons depots and bases belonging to paramilitary groups in Iraq, many of them backed by ...
Criticism grows over mass beheading of Shiites in Saudi, some of whom were minors when charged
Saudi Arabia faced growing criticism Wednesday for its mass execution of a group comprised mostly of people from the kingdom's Shiite Muslim minority, some of whom the U.N. said were minors when charged. U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned Riyadh's execution Tuesday of 37 Saudi ...
King restores citizenship of 551 convicted Bahrainis after global outcry
Bahrain's king Sunday ordered the citizenship of 551 Bahrainis to be restored, after his country was harshly criticized by the U.N. and rights groups for revoking people's nationalities. "His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has issued an order, reinstating the citizenship of 551 ...
Roaring along Baghdad's highways, the "Iraq Bikers" are doing more than showing off their love of outsized motorcycles and black leather: They want their shared enthusiasm to help heal Iraq's deep sectarian rifts. Weaving in and out of traffic, only the lucky few ride Harley ...
