Iran expecting Biden administration to lift sanctions and resume nuclear dealMiddle Eastern leaders jockey for position as they welcome advent of new US presidentThu Jan 21 2021 - 17:30
Trump’s cut to US troops in Afghanistan is a landmine for BidenIncoming president faces unpopular move of redeploying troops to prevent Taliban takeoverSun Jan 17 2021 - 14:28
Pompeo accuses Iran of providing main sanctuary for al-Qaeda leadersSecretary of state’s parting shot designed to undermine Biden administration’s bid to recalibrate relations with TehranThu Jan 14 2021 - 18:33
‘Like a dictatorship’: Arab citizens pour scorn on US over Washington riotsMiddle Eastern social media users say protests in their countries are pro-democracyFri Jan 08 2021 - 15:50
Qatar returns to Gulf council in major diplomatic victoryQatari emir refused to capitulate to Saudi, Emirati demands and ostracism campaignWed Jan 06 2021 - 17:13
Saudi Arabia moves slowly towards granting freedoms to womenWomen can now apply for name changes for themselves and their children, and alter their social status without approval of male guardiansMon Jan 04 2021 - 16:35
Trump’s pardoning of Blackwater killers breeds resentment in IraqMove increases pressure on Mustafa al-Kadhimi to reiterate parliament’s demand for the withdrawal of all US troopsMon Dec 28 2020 - 16:45
Biden must avoid repeating Obama’s Middle East policy mistakesIncoming president’s regional priority is to ease tensions between Shia Iran and Sunni Arab states.Sat Dec 26 2020 - 01:00
Saudi Arabia asks Trump to declare Bin Salman immune from federal lawsuitCrown prince accused of dispatching agents to kill exiled senior Saudi official in CanadaTue Dec 22 2020 - 16:31
A decade after the Arab Spring, dreams of a better future lie crushedAcross the Arab world, poverty, injustice, conflict and authoritarian rule are still rifeThu Dec 17 2020 - 20:07
Yemen tops IRC emergency watchlist as most at risk of humanitarian catastropheWorld Food Programme warns that Yemen could face famine in 2021Wed Dec 16 2020 - 17:34
Moroccan-Israeli relations ‘already normal’, Rabat claimsEstablishment of full diplomatic links defended despite Arab League resolutionMon Dec 14 2020 - 19:16
Lebanese caretaker prime minister and three ex-ministers charged over port blastHuman Rights Watch says Lebanese government’s failure to pay its medical bills ‘seriously endangers health of the population’Fri Dec 11 2020 - 17:30
Iran accuses US of thwarting its efforts to acquire coronavirus vaccinesWashington’s European allies and human rights groups have called for the lifting of sanctions against Iran during the pandemicTue Dec 08 2020 - 17:17
Aid agencies fear for thousands as displacement camps in Baghdad are closedClosures follow concern camps could become new breeding grounds for IsisMon Dec 07 2020 - 15:02
Egypt frees three rights activists after widespread international condemnationAmnesty International says Egypt executed 57 men and women in October and November, compared with 32 during all of 2019Fri Dec 04 2020 - 14:46
Lebanon has failed to implement any key reforms, says FrancePolitical class squabbles over cabinet formation rather than addressing Macron planWed Dec 02 2020 - 15:14
Iran eyes sanctions prize despite scientist’s assassinationRouhani keen for Biden to reaffirm nuclear deal as Arab states condemn killingMon Nov 30 2020 - 18:14
Lebanon’s economic crisis deepens as it faces lockdown dilemmaMacron has urged all political forces in Lebanon to set aside their personal and sectarian interests to help the peopleFri Nov 27 2020 - 15:41
Rights groups condemn move of trial of Saudi woman activist to ‘terrorism court’Family highlights Loujain al-Hathloul’s case in hope of securing better conditions for activistThu Nov 26 2020 - 17:28
US move to designate Houthis as terrorists ‘will cost lives in Yemen’Aid agencies criticise Trump administration’s move in country ravaged by war and famineTue Nov 24 2020 - 10:01
G20 summit to be hosted by Saudi Arabia amid rights groups’ criticismVirtual event to focus on pandemic concerns as critics call for boycott of Riyadh for abusesFri Nov 20 2020 - 21:24
Palestinian Authority resumes relations with Israel after six-month boycottFinance likely motivator of return to security collaboration and intelligence sharingThu Nov 19 2020 - 17:31
Lebanon enters two-week Covid-19 lockdown amid political, economic crisesCases of coronavirus top 100,000 as police patrol streets to ensure complianceMon Nov 16 2020 - 16:02
UN agency for Palestinian refugees makes ‘urgent’ appeal for fundingUnrwa says staff face pay deferrals unless it can raise €60m in coming weeksWed Nov 11 2020 - 16:30
Trump plans weekly rounds of sanctions on IranBiden administration likely to re-engage with Tehran rather than punish itTue Nov 10 2020 - 15:46
Biden presidency will be a great relief for many Arab leadersAutocrats will mourn Trump’s loss, but most will not miss his destabilising effectSun Nov 08 2020 - 15:29
Arab world strongly supports Joe Biden for US presidentSurvey finds 39% back Democratic candidate while only 12% support Donald TrumpSun Nov 01 2020 - 17:22
Nice attacker does not represent Islam, says Arab and Muslim leadersBrahim Aouissaoui one of thousands of young Tunisian men radicalised by Islamic State, al-QaedaFri Oct 30 2020 - 17:54
Trump’s Sudan-Israel ‘normalisation’ deal still faces obstaclesDiscussions to be held in coming weeks amid division between proponents and opponentsMon Oct 26 2020 - 18:34
Yemen facing major famine as lack of funds forces aid cutsSaudi Arabia has halved its pledge to $500m while Emirates have given nothing this yearFri Oct 23 2020 - 16:33
Hariri returns as Lebanon’s prime minister as political instability continuesClashes erupt in Beirut after president’s nominee secures narrow backing of parliamentThu Oct 22 2020 - 18:30
Erdogan ally’s win in Turkish Cypriot election a blow for reunificationSurprise victory by nationalist Ersin Tatar could torpedo UN efforts to restart talksMon Oct 19 2020 - 17:15
Saudi Arabia’s failure to win human rights seat a rebuke to crown princeKingdom was only candidate not to secure a seat on the 47-member UN human rights councilSun Oct 18 2020 - 20:05
A year of crisis: How Lebanon’s ‘revolution’ turned to disasterGood-humoured protests a year ago soon turned fractious – and then tragedy struckFri Oct 16 2020 - 15:35
Erdogan reviving Ottoman role of regional power and defender of faithfulTurkey’s involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh most recent in series of opportunistic movesThu Oct 15 2020 - 00:22
Turkish Cypriots back at polls as reunification talks hang in balanceRe-election of Akinci would reboot UN-brokered talks on bi-zonal bi-communalityMon Oct 12 2020 - 20:15
Iran’s bank sector targeted by new round of US sanctionsTrump move puts Iranians at risk of hunger and illness in context of Covid-19 pandemicFri Oct 09 2020 - 16:39
Turkish-Cypriot move to reopen beach condemned as ‘serious violation’Cyrus’s president Nicos Anastasiades calls move ‘exceptionally unacceptable’Wed Oct 07 2020 - 17:48
Kurds planning to release relatives of Islamic State fighters from campThousands to be allowed leave squalid camp in Syria after outbreaks of Covid-19Tue Oct 06 2020 - 20:59
US decision to adopt tough measures against Baghdad is ‘wrong one’Pompeo pressure to disarm pro-Iran militias comes as ‘October surprise’ strikes fearedThu Oct 01 2020 - 20:25
Macron chides Lebanon over government formation failureIn wake of Mustapha Adib resigning, French president condemns ‘collective betrayal’Mon Sept 28 2020 - 19:06
Palestine quits rotating presidency of Arab League over refusal to condemn Israeli dealsBlockade of Gaza described as ‘almost a death sentence during the pandemic’Thu Sept 24 2020 - 16:42
UAE-Bahrain peace deal with Israel highlights split in Arab worldNormalisation without peace is seen by most Arabs as breaking Arab ranksWed Sept 16 2020 - 18:08
Lebanon fails to meet emergency cabinet creation deadlineNo ministers named in Beirut amid calls for reform and access to $21bn in pledged fundsMon Sept 14 2020 - 18:35
US wars since 9/11 have displaced at least 37 million people, study findsBrown University Costs of War project examined eight countries in the Middle EastThu Sept 10 2020 - 20:22
Saudi king Salman tells Trump Palestinian statehood is essentialSaudi Arabia unwilling to normalise relations with Israel until it withdraws from conquered Arab territoryMon Sept 07 2020 - 17:20
Palestinians launch effort to heal divisions and unite their ranksConcern rising over stark implications of deal between UAE and IsraelSun Sept 06 2020 - 15:35
Lebanese philanthropist Lady Cochrane (98) dies of blast injuriesMarried in 1946 to Ireland’s honorary consul, she was both grande dame and caretakerTue Sept 01 2020 - 18:16
Lebanon’s new PM faces raft of competing prioritiesMustapha Adib must satisfy international donors and also deal with warring campsMon Aug 31 2020 - 16:33
