Middle Orient

Ismail Haniyeh was elected Sunday to a second four-year term as chairman of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip. The 59-year-old leader and father of 13 has been the de facto leader of the Gaza Strip and head of the Islamist organization’s political bureau since May 2017. He …

At least three people were killed on Sunday in an ambush on Shi’ite mourners in a town south of Beirut, a day after a revenge killing of a member of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, security sources and a senior source in the group said. The three were shot in the town …

Four missiles fired by Israeli warplanes in Syria’s Homs province early on Thursday were shot down by the Syrian army using Russian-made “Buk” air defence systems, RT has reported. According to the report, two Israeli F-16 jets fired the guided missiles from Lebanese airspace.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that his government had evidence Iran was responsible for a drone attack Thursday night on an Israeli-operated oil tanker, the Mercer Street, off the coast of Oman that killed two people.

Let’s stop all the hand wringing and angst over Afghanistan. Now. It’s fooling no one. America, Britain and their NATO allies have had 20 years to help put the country back on its feet, deliver human rights, female equality and a democratic government free of corruption. They’ve failed. Despite the …

Reportedly, more than 300 cities—nearly a fourth of all municipalities—face water shortages and drought. Protests erupted in southwestern Khuzestan province in mid-July and then spread to several other provinces. It is being said that water shortage was due to governmental mismanagement and neglect. The riots that started from Khuzestan province …

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told the German paper Bild on July 25 that those fleeing Afghanistan should go to “neighboring” countries such as Turkey, rather than European Union countries, to seek asylum. It’s a shameful statement because of trying to humiliate refugees and Turkey that he puts into a position …

On July 26, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi made his second visit to Washington to discuss the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq as part of the fourth and final round of the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue series. President Biden and Prime Minister Kadhimi announced that the U.S.-Iraq combat mission in …

Chairman Deutsch, Ranking Member Wilson, distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to offer my thoughts on the unfolding economic and political crises in Lebanon, and their implications for U.S. policy.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eight government-affiliated forces and three opposition fighters died in the clashes Thursday. Tensions between Syria’s pro-government forces and opposition fighters have escalated in Daraa, the Syrian city considered the birthplace of the 2011 uprising against the regime. Two civilians, including one child, died …