Category: Middle East

Alabama Woman Who Joined ISIS Hopes to Return From Syria Camp

ROJ CAMP, Syria—A woman who ran away from home in Alabama at the age of 20, joined the ISIS terrorist group and had a child with one of its fighters says she still hopes to return to the United States, serve prison time if necessary, and advocate against the terrorists. In a rare interview from…


US Says Iran May Be ‘Contributing’ to War Crimes in Ukraine

MEXICO CITY—The Biden administration said Monday that Iran’s sale of lethal drones to Russia for use in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine means the country may be “contributing to widespread war crimes.” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan leveled the charge against Iran on Monday as he spoke to reporters accompanying President Joe Biden on a…


Cargo Ship Bound for China Refloated After Being Stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal

The bulk carrier MV Glory, which was bound for China, was refloated after running aground in the Egyptian waterway of the Suez Canal on Jan. 9, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). Adm. Ossama Rabiee, chairman and managing director of SCA, said the ship suffered a technical failure 23.6 miles into its passage through…


Pakistan Frees 524 Afghan Illegal Immigrants From Karachi Jail

KARACHI, Pakistan—Afghan authorities said on Saturday that 524 Afghan illegal immigrants have been released from a jail in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi. Pakistani police in multiple raids last month detained at least 1,200 Afghan nationals who entered Karachi without valid travel documents. A video shared by the embassy on Twitter showed women…


Phares Book Exposes the Deal Behind the Iran Nuclear Deal

Commentary Middle East strategist, expert, and author Walid Phares explains why the United States went from slamming Iran as part of the “Axis of Evil” in former President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address to a nuclear deal that Iran had no intention of honoring in 2015 with the signing of the…


Iran Executes Two Prisoners in Ongoing Protests, Threatens More

The Islamic Republic regime executed 22-year-old Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini for the killing of a member of its paramilitary Basiji forces, during nationwide protests. A trial was held for this case in mid-November and five people were sentenced to death and 11 others were sentenced to long prison terms. The tribunals don’t allow…


Taliban Signs First Foreign Deal With China for Oil Extraction Project

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has signed an oil extraction agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC), the country’s first major foreign deal since the Taliban seized control in 2021. Under the contract, the CAPEIC will invest $150 million in one year and $540 million in the next three years for…


Afghan Hospital Wards Fill With Children Suffering From Pneumonia

KABUL—In a bitterly cold bedroom at the start of winter in Kabul, 22-year Maryam sat with her baby son bundled up in a red jumper as he coughed days after being discharged for the third time from a hospital ward for suspected pneumonia. Every time 10-month old Rahmat’s parents bring him home from the crowded,…


Afghan Taliban Kill 8 in Raids of ISIS Hideouts in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD—Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban killed eight Islamic State militants and arrested nine others in a series of raids targeting key figures in a spate of attacks in Kabul, a senior Taliban government spokesman said Thursday. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban government, said the raids in the capital city and western Nimroz province on Wednesday targeted…


Iran Shuts Down Cultural Center Over Cartoons Targeting Khamenei

Iran shut down a French cultural center in Tehran over the publication of cartoons published by a French satirical magazine that were deemed offensive. The French Research Foundation, which includes a rich library that is used by Persian-speaking Iranian students and academics, was closed by the Islamic Republic for years, but was reopened during the…