Iran’s threats to Gulf countries are not new and nor did they suddenly appear. Since the rise of the mullahs’ rule, Iran has turned into a country ruled by a revolutionary leader and is stepping up its rhetoric that some describe as “uncontrolled and unbalanced”. After a year of Khomeini’s rei
Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, the twin sister of the last shah of Iran Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi has died in France aged 96. The late princess played an active role in the political and diplomatic Iranian arena for decades, and first became well known in 1945 when she led a mission to Moscow in order to
In a report issued by the US Department of State, Iran occupied first place for world-wide human trafficking, in particular the trafficking of children. Iranian police stations have registered strange complaints such as unearthing tombs, stealing parts of corpses and smuggling them. Children are the
The Iraqi Minister of Interior Mohammed Al-Ghabban described Iraq’s security cooperation with neighbouring countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, as outstanding. He stressed that this cooperation was not affected by rising political tensions between the two countries. Al-Ghabban told Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia is considering offering shares in the largest oil company in the word Saudi Aramco in an initial public offering (IPO) which may mean that assets of about 3.63 trillion US dollars will be accessible to citizens and investors. Saudi Aramco yesterday confirmed that it had been considering
Yesterday was the “Friday of Remorse” in Iran; remorse for last Sunday’s attacks on the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad respectively. The attacks have been denounced by the Arab, Muslim and international community. The lecturer of the Tehran Friday sermon Emami-Kashani consi
Gunmen opened fire at the entrance of a hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Hurghada on Friday, wounding two foreign tourists, security sources said. The assailants had arrived by sea to launch the assault, the sources said. The ISIS militant group said on Friday an attack on Israeli touris
Asharq Al-Awsat received a video showing the Iranian embassy in Sana’a, in which the embassy appears to be completely intact, which stands to put an end to all Iranian allegations on the Gulf coalition pounding its embassy with an airstrike. The video shows the Iranian flag raised over the embassy n
MIAMI (AP) — An alleged recruiter for the al-Qaida terrorist organization has been released from the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and sent home to Kuwait, part an ongoing effort to winnow down the number of men held at the detention center and eventually close it. Faez Mohammed al-Kandari was
BEIRUT, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Warnings of widespread starvation are growing as pro-government forces besiege an opposition-held town in Syria and winter bites, darkening the already bleak outlook for peace talks the United Nations hopes to convene this month. The blockade of Madaya, near the borde
BRUSSELS, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The European Union on Friday welcomed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s decision to allow humanitarian access to the town of Madaya, and called for a halt to all attacks on civilians in the conflict, ahead of peace talks later this month. The war in Syria has
BAGHDAD, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Foreign special forces have been carrying out raids on an ISIS stronghold in northern Iraq ahead of an offensive planned later this year to retake Mosul, the largest city under the group’s control, Iraq’s parliamentary speaker said. Several attacks behind
HOUSTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – A Palestinian born in Iraq who entered the United States as a refugee more than five years ago appeared in federal court in Houston on Friday to face charges he supplied support to ISIS and lied to U.S. officials. Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan, 24, was one of two Middle
BAR ELIAS, Lebanon, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Syrian refugee Hussein Hammoud is banking on a broom handle to protect his 12 children from the winter cold. He is using one to prop up the flimsy shelter that has already collapsed once this year under the weight of snow in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. &
BEIRUT, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Syrian rebels said President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents are under international pressure to make concessions that would prolong the conflict, underscoring their doubts about a new U.N.-led drive for peace talks planned to begin this month. An opposition council
LONDON, Jan 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday appealed for immediate access to the Yemeni city of Taiz where it said all hospitals had been forced to close some services and were overwhelmed with wounded patients. WHO said its trucks carrying oxygen
ANKARA/BAGHDAD, Jan 8 (Reuters) – An attempted attack by Islamic State on a military base in northern Iraq shows Turkey’s decision to deploy troops there was justified, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, suggesting Russia was stirring up a row over the issue. Turkey deployed a forc
ISTANBUL/DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Turkish police detained six people including local officials from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) on Friday in a raid on one of its Istanbul offices, days after President Tayyip Erdogan said he backed legal action against its
Iran’s persistent expansion into the Arabian world has been ongoing for 30 years, unceasingly provoking sectarian chaos between social communities in the Arab region. Moreover, Iran has exerted political efforts in the government arena, exhausted by international foreign policies, which proved to be
The 8-year-banned football administrator, Michel Platini told The Associated Press that he remains determined to overturn the eight-year ban he was handed by FIFA’s ethics committee last month, but that the deadline for the Feb. 26 election is too short, forcing him to give up on his dream of
