Category: Middle East

Erdogan: Nordic NATO Bid Could Still Be Nixed If Vows Unkept

ISTANBUL—Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession, Turkey’s leader warned Thursday that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the close of the alliance’s summit in Madrid that the 10-article agreement with…


Israel’s Bennett Hands Premiership to Foreign Minister Lapid, Won’t Seek Reelection

Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett handed over Israeli premiership to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday after lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament (Knesset). The Knesset dissolution followed the collapse of Bennett’s ruling coalition and opened the way for a Nov. 1 election that will be Israel’s fifth in less than four years. Accompanied by their…


Iran May Face New EU Sanctions If Nuclear Deal Collapses, UK Minister Says

If the Iranian regime doesn’t agree to a nuclear deal soon, the UK will consider “all options” with its allies, including imposing E.U. sanctions, a British minister said on Thursday. The comments came after MPs warned that the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is “imminent,” but a weak nuclear deal “probably isn’t worth the paper it’s…


Dual Citizen Pleads Guilty to Illegally Shipping US Technology to Iran

An Iranian–American dual citizen pleaded guilty on June 28 to conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods, technology, and services to the Islamic Republic, officials said. Kambiz Attar Kashani violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by shipping goods and technology to Iran without obtaining legal authorization from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of…


OPEC+ Sticks to Oil Output Policy, Avoids Debate on September Plans

LONDON—OPEC+ said on Thursday it would stick to its planned oil output hikes in August but avoided discussing policy from September onwards as prices have risen on tight global supplies and worries that the group has little ability to pump more crude. Thursday’s meeting of the group that includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other major…


3 Injured, Including Israeli Military Officer, During Clashes With Palestinians at Contested Holy Site

Three people, including an Israeli military officer and two civilians, have been wounded after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers who were praying at a contested holy site in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to officials. The officer—Shomron Regional Brigade Commander, Col. Roi Zweig—was injured after the army returned fire on the gunmen, according…


Israeli Parliament Votes to Dissolve, Country Now Heads to 5th Election in 4 Years

The Israeli Parliament voted to dissolve itself on Thursday, triggering new elections to be held in November and marking the country’s fifth election in three-and-a-half years. The unlikely coalition, which saw eight parties from the left, center, and right united in their goal to keep then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of power, had in recent weeks been plagued…


2 Men Missing in Floods in Northwest Turkey

ISTANBUL—Two people were missing after heavy rains and floods hit northwestern Turkey. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Tuesday that one of the missing men is a digger operator who was swept away by floods in Duzce Province and the other is a resident in a village in Kastamonu Province. Heavy rains affecting six provinces, caused…


War Has Killed 1.5 Percent of Syria’s Population: UN Estimate

GENEVA—The U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday that 306,887 civilians had been killed in Syria during the conflict since March 2011, or about 1.5 percent of its pre-war population, in what it said was the highest estimate yet. Syria’s conflict sprang out of peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule in March 2011 and…


Argentina, Iran Apply to Join BRICS Group of Emerging Economies That Includes China and Russia

Argentina and Iran have applied to join to become members of the group of emerging economies known as the BRICS, according to officials. The BRICS includes the world’s leading emerging market economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and is an acronym for those developing nations, which represent 42 percent of the world’s population…