Category: Middle East

US Conducts Airstrikes in Syria After 1 Killed in Suspected Iranian Drone Attack on Base

The U.S. military carried out an airstrike in Syria on Thursday after a drone attacked a U.S. base, killing one and injuring six more, including service members, according to the Department of Defense (DOD). In a late Thursday night statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that he had authorized U.S. Central Command forces to carry out…


US ‘Extremely Troubled’ by Israel’s New West Bank Measure Repealing Disengagement Law

The White House is “extremely troubled” by the Israeli Knesset’s vote to repeal parts of a 2005 law that had banned Israelis from entering and residing in four communities in the northern West Bank. Israeli lawmakers approved the private bill—sponsored by Yuli Edelstein, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Liberal Movement/Likud party—in a 31-18 vote in the…


Afghan Taliban Raid in Kabul Kills 3 ISIS Terrorists

ISLAMABAD—An overnight raid by Taliban forces in Afghanistan’s capital killed three members of the ISIS terrorist group, a Taliban spokesman said on Wednesday. The regional affiliate of ISIS—known as ISIS  in Khorasan Province—has been the key rival of the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. The terrorist group has increased its attacks,…


US Announces Sanctions on Iran Drone Procurement Network

WASHINGTON—The United States said Tuesday it is imposing a new round of sanctions on Iranian firms and people accused of procuring equipment used for Iranian drones. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control coordinated with the FBI to designate four firms and three people in Iran and Turkey for allegedly buying equipment, including European-made engines, to…


Saudi Arabia Releases US National Almadi From Prison, Says Son

RIYADH—Saudi authorities released on Tuesday a U.S. citizen jailed for 19 years for posting criticism of the government on Twitter but he remains banned from travelling, his son said, as the kingdom moves to ease tension with the United States. Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, was jailed for 16 years by a criminal court in 2022…


Security Minister Refuses to Confirm Government Action on Iran Revolutionary Guards

Britain’s security minister has refused to definitively state whether a branch of Iran’s armed forces will be proscribed after increasing concerns over the regime’s activity in the UK. Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Tom Tugendhat declined to directly answer questions from several MPs on whether the UK will make the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…


World Bank Estimates Syria’s 3-Year Earthquake Recovery Needs at $7.9 Billion

WASHINGTON—The World Bank on Monday said the February earthquakes are expected to have caused Syria’s real GDP output to contract by 5.5 percent in 2023, with recovery and reconstruction needs estimated at $7.9 billion over three years. The World Bank said its Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment report estimates the earthquakes that hit northern and…


Australia Sanctions Iranian Police Responsible for Mahsa Amini’s Arrest and Detention

The Australian government has extended its sanctions regime to include the four Iranian police officers allegedly responsible for the arrest, detention, and ill-treatment of Mahsa Amini. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a media release that among those targeted by the government are four members of the Morality Police who were responsible for the arrest,…


Iranian Court Sentences 2 to Death Over Deadly Shrine Attack

DUBAI—An Iranian court has handed out death sentences to two men over an attack on a Shi’ite shrine in Iran that killed 15 people in October and was claimed by the ISIS terrorist group, the state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday. Fars Province judiciary head Kazem Mousavi said the two men had been found…


Florida Libel Bill May Challenge Long-Standing Supreme Court Decision

Zak Young says his business and livelihood were destroyed—and innocent lives endangered—when CNN allegedly trashed him in TV and print stories. As an elite security operator who had the skills and contacts to extract people from Afghanistan as it fell to the Taliban, Young saw himself savaged as a black marketer seeking to fleece helpless…