middle east

Ortagus: ‘Lebanese Government Good at Declaring Things, But Lacked Action’

Morgan Ortagus, former deputy United States special envoy to the Middle East, made her first public appearance on March 10 at the Harvard Kennedy School, since leaving the Donald Trump administration.  She remarked on the situations in Iran and Lebanon surrounding the current conflict. Lebanon On Lebanon, Ortagus emphasized the importance ...

UNICEF: Dozens of Children Killed as Israel-Hezbollah War Intensifies

At least 83 children have been killed and 254 others wounded since the outbreak of the March 2 war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a statement issued Monday by UNICEF. The agency’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said the figures highlight the growing toll of the conflict on children ...

Strike Blamed on U.S. Kills Four Iran-Backed Fighters in Iraq: Armed Group

Four fighters from the Tehran-backed Kataeb Imam Ali group were killed on Tuesday in air strikes blamed on the US in northern Iraq, the armed faction announced. The group said its fighters were killed in "American aggression" against their position in the Debs district of Kirkuk province. The bombing targeted a position that belongs to ...

War in the Middle East: Casualty Figures from Across the Region

Since the US and Israel unleashed strikes on Iran on February 28, war has spread across the region and casualties have been reported in countries across the Middle East. Due to reporting restrictions, AFP has not been able to independently verify all of the following tolls. The figures are based on numbers released by governments, militaries, ...

Iraq Welcomes the Appointment of Iran's New Supreme Leader

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani welcomed on Monday the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader after his predecessor and father was killed in US and Israeli strikes. "We express our confidence in the ability of the new leadership in the Islamic Republic of Iran to manage this critical stage," ...

Iran Strikes Gulf Energy Infrastructure as Regional War Drives Oil Prices Higher

Iran launched a new wave of strikes across the Gulf on Monday, targeting energy infrastructure and military-linked facilities in several countries as the regional conflict triggered by the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran continues to widen. One of the most significant attacks struck Bahrain’s Al Ma’ameer oil facility, a major petroleum ...

Tehran Under Fire: Week One

Seven days into the U.S.–Israeli offensive against Iran, the conflict continues to escalate. Airstrikes hit Tehran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military officials, and targeted key sites including the Natanz nuclear facility and military bases in Isfahan, Qom, and Kermanshah. This video recaps the first week of the ...

Iranians Including Diplomats Evacuated from Beirut on Russian Plane: Lebanese Official

More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP on Sunday. The evacuation came after Lebanon on Thursday banned any activity by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps -- a main backer of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah -- and imposed a visa ...

Rocket Attack Intercepted Over U.S. Embassy in Baghdad: Security Sources

Air defence systems intercepted rockets fired at the US embassy in Baghdad, security sources told AFP. It is the first such attack on the embassy in Baghdad since the start of the war in the Middle East, triggered by a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, into which Iraq has been dragged. Loud bangs were heard on Saturday night in Baghdad, AFP ...

Iran Security Chief Says U.S., Israel Seeking 'Disintegration of Iran'

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani said on Saturday that the United States and Israel were seeking to break the Islamic republic apart. "Their issue was... the fundamental disintegration of Iran," said Larijani in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on state TV. On February 28, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran that killed ...

Lebanese Should Not Despair

Once again, Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, have dragged Lebanon into a war. Once again, Hezbollah has shown that its loyalty is to its paymaster in Tehran, not to the Lebanese people or state, whose well-being and security are matters of indifference to them. Once again, Hezbollah's practice of using human shields to protect its facilities and ...