Middle-East
US sanctions against Hezbollah hurts Lebanon: Russian envoy
Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin said on Saturday that US sanctions against Hezbollah is hurting Lebanon amid its current crisis, local media reported.
Arab FMs meet in Cairo to discuss Trump's Mideast plan
Arab foreign ministers are meeting Saturday in Egypt's capital to discuss a White House plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would grant the Palestinians limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, while allowing Israel to annex all its settlements there and keep nearly all of east Jerusalem.
Iranian president says Trump's Mideast peace plan "despicable"
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan as "despicable," Tasnim news agency reported Thursday.
Israel headed for clash with ICC over West Bank settlements
Emboldened by a supportive White House, Israel appears to be barreling toward a showdown with the international community over its half-century-old settlement enterprise in the West Bank.
Israeli Cabinet postpones vote on West Bank annexation
A senior Israeli minister said on Wednesday that a Cabinet vote to endorse annexation of parts of the West Bank will not take place early next week, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge a day earlier to act quickly after the U.S. released a plan to end the conflict that was rejected by the Palestinians.
Nighttime attack on US Embassy in Baghdad injured 1
A top US commander said on Monday mortars were used in an attack on the American embassy in Baghdad that injured one person and caused some material damage the previous night, not katyusha rockets as was initially reported by staffers and a statement from the military.
Iraq's Shia leader calls for scheduled pullout of US troops from Iraq
Iraqi Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr on Friday called for a scheduled withdrawal of US troops from Iraq through peaceful means.
Russian president Putin visits Israel
Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Israel on Thursday for a one-day visit during which he will take part in the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.
Masked gunmen kill local commander of Iran's security forces
Masked gunmen on Wednesday ambushed and killed the local commander of a paramilitary security force in southwestern Iran, an associate of Iran's top general recently killed in an American drone strike in Baghdad, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Israel's Netanyahu calls for global opposition to ICC
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged on Tuesday a global "sanction" against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the wake of a possible war-crime investigation against Israel.