middle-east - INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR JOURNALISM AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

120 Iran MPs sign motion to question Rouhani

As many as 120 Iranian parliamentarians yesterday signed a motion to question President Hassan Rouhani on a number of economic files. ...

Iraq confirms 1,796 new COVID-19 cases, 62,275 in total

The Iraqi Health Ministry on Monday confirmed 1,796 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 62,275. ...

Terror attack kills 1, injures another in Afrin, Syria

A person was killed and another injured on Sunday when a bomb-laden vehicle exploded in Afrin, northern Syria, according to security sources. ...

Iran records highest daily COVID-19 fatalities

Iran on Sunday confirmed 163 more fatalities from coronavirus, the largest daily spike in the country since the outbreak, caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 11,571. ...

Lebanon, Iraq discuss exchanging oil for food

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab and Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar discussed on Friday exchanging Iraq’s oil with Lebanon’s food and other industries, news agencies reported. ...

UN suspends two Middle East peacekeeping staff over sexual misconduct

Two male staff members of the UN peacekeeping operation in the Middle East have been placed on leave after an initial inquiry found they had engaged in sexual misconduct, a U.N. spokesman said, Reuters reports. ...

Iran threatens retaliation after what it calls possible cyberattack on nuclear site

Iran will retaliate against any country that carries out cyberattacks on its nuclear sites, the head of civilian defense said, after a fire at its Natanz plant which some Iranian officials said may have been caused by cyber sabotage. ...

Lebanon suicides blamed on 'hunger'

Two suicides in Lebanon on Friday, apparently linked to the country’s deepening economic downturn, have sparked a new wave of criticism over the government’s mishandling of the crisis. ...

US seeks to seize gasoline in four Iran tankers bound for Venezuela

US prosecutors late on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is shipping to Venezuela, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to increase economic pressure on the two US foes, Reuters reports. ...

Lebanon blocks Iran cargo ships from docking over US sanctions fears

Al-Masri warned the consequences of violating these laws, even under the conditions of economic crisis, could be severe. ...

US ambassador appears on Lebanese TV despite court-imposed ban

Lebanese media broadcast interviews with the US ambassador on Sunday, ignoring a ruling by a judge who banned the diplomat from television for a year over remarks that criticized the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah. ...

Satellite image: Iran blast was near suspected missile site

An explosion that rattled Iran’s capital came from an area in its eastern mountains that analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites, satellite photographs showed Saturday. ...

Six migrants dead, dozens rescued off Libya coast: UN

A woman who gave birth at sea was among 93 migrants rescued off Libyan shores as they tried to reach Europe, but six others died along the way, the UN’s migration agency said Saturday. ...

Iran says Tehran blast was industrial gas tank explosion

An industrial gas tank exploded overnight in Tehran, Iran’s defence ministry has said, after images of the blast were widely shared on social media. ...

Iraq forces raid HQ of Iran-backed Hezbollah Brigades

Iraq’s counterterrorism agencies carried out a raid last night on the headquarters of the Iranian-supported Hezbollah Brigades, one of the most powerful factions of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in southern Baghdad. At least 13 of the group’s members are believed to have been arrested, although there have been contradictory, unconfirmed accounts of what happened and of the number of those detained. ...