middle-east - INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR JOURNALISM AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

Iranian police fired live rounds to disperse protesters, say witnesses

Iranian authorities fired live ammunition to disperse protesters in Tehran on Sunday night, wounding several people, according to witness accounts provided to the Guardian and footage circulating on social media. ...

Iran plane downing: Second day of protests turns up heat on leaders

Iran's leaders are facing a second day of protests following their admission the military shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board, many of them Iranians. ...

Russian, U.S. defense chiefs discuss Middle East crisis

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the situation in the Middle East with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a phone conversation, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. ...

US 'ready for serious negotiations with Iran' amid warning of more action in Middle East

The US says it is ready to take part in "serious negotiations" with Iran as it insisted the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani was an act of self-defence. ...

Nineteen killed as bus plunges into Iran ravine

At least 19 people have been killed and 24 others injured in a bus crash in northern Iran, local media say. ...

Iran refuses to hand over airliner's black box

Iran is refusing to hand over the black box of the doomed Ukrainian airliner to Boeing amid an investigation into what caused the crash that killed all 176 people aboard the flight out of Tehran early Wednesday, according to a report. ...

Iran attack: ballistic missiles targeted US troops in Iraq

Iran has carried out a ballistic missile attack on air bases housing US forces in Iraq, in retaliation for the US killing of General Qasem Soleimani. ...

Iran plane crash: Ukraine International Airline jet crashes killing 176

A Ukrainian Boeing-737 carrying 176 people has crashed in Iran and officials say there is no chance of finding survivors. ...

Qasem Soleimani: Stampede kills 40 mourners at burial in Iran

Forty people have been killed in a stampede as Iranians flocked to the burial of a top commander killed in a US drone strike, officials say. ...

France, Germany, UK double down on efforts to de-escalate Iran tensions

EU leaders have urged restraint on all sides over the volatile situation with Iran, as Nato ambassadors met in Brussels. In a phone call to US President Donald Trump, France’s Emmanuel Macron expressed "total support" with its allies, while urging Iran to avoid “destabilising” action, as Tehran announced its fifth step back from the 2015 nuclear deal. ...

Japan PM Abe sticks to plan to deploy forces to Middle East

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe repeated his plans to deploy the Self-Defense Forces to the Middle East to ensure the safety of its ships, even as tensions in the region erupt in the wake of the United States’ killing of one of Iran’s top military commanders. ...

Iraqi MPs back plan to expel US troops

Iraqi MPs have passed a resolution calling for foreign troops to leave the country after the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad airport last week. ...

Libya conflict: Tripoli military school suffers deadly air strike

At least 30 people have been killed and 33 others wounded in an air strike at a military school in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, officials have said. ...

US to deploy 3,500 additional troops to the Middle East after Soleimani killed

The U.S. military will send about 3,500 additional soldiers to the Middle East following the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani less than a day earlier, NBC News reported Friday, citing three U.S. defense officials and one U.S. military official. ...