The US forces that led the coalition against the Islamic State group will complete their withdrawal from Syria within a month, three sources told AFP on Monday, as troops began leaving a major base. The withdrawal comes as Syria's government expanded its control to the
Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned of a wider escalation if his country was attacked, after US President Donald Trump raised the threat of strikes. Trump has sent a major deployment of air and sea power to the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran
By Elwely Elwelly DUBAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Iranian students defied authorities with protests for a third day on Monday, weeks after security forces crushed mass unrest with thousands killed and as the United States weighs possible air strikes against the Islamic Republic.
The Trump administration is maintaining pressure on Iraq over the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the influence of Iran-backed militias in the country.
The U.S. State Department ordered nonessential diplomats to leave Lebanon, as Trump's threat of a potentially imminent strike, aimed at exerting military pressure on Iran to concede to U.S. demands over its nuclear program, looms over the region
ISLAMABAD/ KABUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - At least 13 civilians were killed and seven injured in Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, the United Nations said on Monday, as cross-border tensions escalated following a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan. The reported toll
The leading candidate to become Iraq's next prime minister, former premier Nouri al-Maliki, told AFP on Monday that he will not withdraw his nomination after pressure from the US, while also seeking to allay Washington's concerns. Since the US-led invasion that overthrew former
LISBON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A surge in U.S. aircraft activity at the Lajes air base in the Azores is covered by a decades-old bilateral treaty and does not require authorisation from Lisbon, Portugal's foreign minister said on Monday. The country's left-wing opposition has
The US State Department has ordered most US government personnel and their family members to leave the embassy in Lebanon.
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Britain's populist Reform UK party unveiled "radical" plans on Monday to stop what it called an immigration "invasion", promising to create an agency to deport thousands of illegal migrants and to leave human rights treaties if it wins power. With
Israeli settlers attempted to set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank village of Tell early Monday, the Palestinian Authority's ministry of religious affairs said. "The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the attempt by a group of settlers to set fire
Feb 23 (Reuters) - Iraq's foreign minister said on Monday Turkey had agreed to take back Turkish citizens from among thousands of Islamic State detainees transferred to Iraq from Syria when camps and prisons there were shut in recent weeks. Iraq took in the detainees in an
By Feras Dalatey and Orhan Qereman DAMASCUS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. forces began pulling out of their largest base in northeastern Syria on Monday, two Syrian military and security sources said, part of a wider departure as the U.S.-allied government in Damascus consolidates
Iran vowed on Monday to retaliate "ferociously" against any attack by the United States and reiterated warnings of a regional conflagration in response to President Donald Trump's threat of limited strikes. The bellicose rhetoric from Tehran and Washington came as both sides
Iran said Monday that a US attack of any scale would spur the Islamic republic to respond "ferociously", after President Donald Trump said he was considering limited strikes against the country. The United States has built up forces in the Middle East to pile pressure on Iran
Iran warned the United States on Monday that any attack would be met "ferociously" in response to President Donald Trump's threat of limited strikes, while students staged new protests against the Islamic republic. Tehran and Washington's threats came as both sides worked to
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Human rights are under assault worldwide, the United Nations chief warned on Monday, citing widespread abuses of international law and devastating civilian suffering in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine. "The rule of law is
President Donald Trump's threats to attack Iran provide little detail on what the long-term US goal would be in the event of a sustained or even brief conflict. Trump sent warships and dozens of fighter planes to the Middle East and has several options to choose from that could