Category: Middle East

Israeli Fighter Jets Strike Launch Sites in Response to Lebanese Rocket Attack

Israel on Thursday launched rockets at an artillery launch site in Lebanon as a response to attacks from the Lebanese earlier this week, officials said. The Israeli military said fighter jets targeted the launch sites from which the Lebanese rocket attacks originated on Wednesday. A separate infrastructure used in past terror attacks on Israeli territory…


Military Chief: Iran Made ‘Big Mistake’ in Shipping Attack Which Killed Briton

Iran’s reckless behaviour risks triggering a “disastrous” escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, the head of the British military has said. Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter said Iran made a “big mistake” when it targeted the Mercer Street tanker, killing a Briton and a Romanian. The drone attack on July…


Hijacking Ends in Arabian Sea, Says UKMTO, as Oman Identifies Tanker Involved

DUBAI—Oman on Wednesday identified the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess as the tanker involved in a hijacking which Britain’s maritime trade agency earlier said was over. The statement by Oman’s Maritime Security Centre was the first official confirmation of Tuesday’s incident in the Arabian Sea which maritime security sources had told Reuters involved suspected Iranian-backed forces. Iran…


2 Rockets From Lebanon Strike Israel, Drawing Israeli Retaliation

JERUSALEM—Two rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck Israel, which responded with several rounds of artillery fire amid heightened regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week. Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said there were no casualties on the Israeli side of the hilly frontier,…


Tanker Seized by Suspected Iran-Backed Forces in Arabian Sea, Maritime Sources Say

DUBAI/LONDON—Iranian-backed forces are believed to have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, three maritime security sources said, after Britain’s maritime trade agency reported a “potential hijack” in the area on Tuesday. Two of the sources identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess in…


Iraq Says US to Return 17,000 Ancient Artifacts Looted After Invasion

BAGHDAD—The United States is returning more than 17,000 ancient artifacts looted and smuggled out of Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003, including a 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq said on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of antiquities disappeared from Iraq after the 2003 invasion that toppled leader Saddam Hussein….


US Sees ‘Collective Response’ to Tanker Attack Blamed on Iran

WASHINGTON—The United States is confident Iran attacked an Israeli-managed tanker last week, killing two, the top U.S. diplomat said on Monday, predicting a “collective response” but saying he did not think the incident necessarily signaled anything about Iran’s incoming President Ebrahim Raisi. “We have seen a series of actions taken by Iran over many months,…


UK Tension With Iran Rise After Oil Tanker Attack

LONDON—Britain and Iran issued warnings to each other’s diplomats Monday as tensions escalated over a recent attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea. Britain began the day by summoning Iran’s ambassador, Mohsen Baharvand, to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in response to Thursday’s drone strike on the MV Mercer Street, which killed…


Outgoing Iran President Says Government Not Always Truthful

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Iran’s outgoing president on Sunday acknowledged the Iranian regime at times “did not tell part of the truth” to its people during his eight-year tenure, as he prepares to leave office with his signature nuclear deal with world powers in tatters and tensions high with the West. President Hassan Rouhani’s comments, aired…


US, UK, and Israel Blame Iran for Oil Tanker Attack; Tehran Denies

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—The United States and the United Kingdom joined Israel on Sunday in alleging Iran carried out a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, putting further pressure on Tehran as it denied being involved in the assault. Calling it a “unlawful and callous…