BEIRUT — Massive explosions rocked downtown Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the port, damaging buildings and blowing out windows and doors as a giant mushroom cloud rose above the capital. Witnesses saw many people injured by flying glass and debris. An Associated Press photographer near the port saw people...
Masked Gunmen Attack Protesters in Iraq Holy City; 18 Killed
BAGHDAD — Masked gunmen opened fire at Iraqi protesters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala on Tuesday, killing 18 people and wounding hundreds, security officials said, in one of the deadliest single attacks since anti-government demonstrations erupted earlier this month. The overnight attack came as Iraqis took to the...
Lebanese Prime Minister Quits Amid Anti-Government Protests
BEIRUT — Lebanon's prime minister resigned Tuesday, bowing to one of the central demands of anti-government demonstrators shortly after baton-wielding Hezbollah supporters rampaged through the main protest camp in Beirut, torching tents, smashing plastic chairs and chasing away protesters. The demonstrators later returned to the camp in time to hear...
Hezbollah Leader: Israeli Drones Over Lebanon Will Be Downed
BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah said Sunday that his group will confront and shoot down any Israeli drones that enter Lebanese airspace from now on, raising the potential for conflict amid heightened regional tensions. Hassan Nasrallah also vowed to retaliate to an Israeli airstrike inside Syria that...
Hezbollah Leader: Israeli Drones Over Lebanon Will Be Downed
BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah said Sunday that his group will confront and shoot down any Israeli drones that enter Lebanese airspace from now on, raising the potential for conflict amid heightened regional tensions. Hassan Nasrallah also vowed to retaliate to an Israeli airstrike inside Syria that...
Israel Says Its Jets Struck Iranian Military Sites in Syria
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said its jets struck Iranian military targets in Syria early Monday, an announcement that marked a rare departure from Israel's years-long policy of ambiguity regarding activities in neighboring Syria. The military said the targets included munition storage facilities, an intelligence site and a military training...
How Assad and Hezbollah Beat the West in Syria
Syrian President Bashar Assad’s downfall seemed all but guaranteed at many points during the eight years since the Arab Spring began to topple Middle Eastern dictators, Haaretz reported. Yet Assad has now outlasted fellow despots like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, and also Western leaders like President Barack...
Iran Must Release U.S. Citizens If It Wants Nuclear Treaty
WASHINGTON — The United States issued a steep list of demands Monday to be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the deal scuttled by President Donald Trump and threatened "the strongest sanctions in history" if Iran doesn't change course. Drawing sharp contrasts with the 2015 deal, Secretary...
Trump Backs Out of Iran Nuclear Deal. What's Next?
Thanks to Donald Trump, the hard-won deal that set up a process to end Iran’s nuclear weapons programme is on its deathbed. After weeks of entreaties and visits from his counterparts in the other states that signed the accord, Trump has announced that the US will be withdrawing from it...
Tillerson's Firing and Pompeo's Rise Make Mideast War More Likely
After U.S. president Donald Trump fired his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, many analysts have focused on how this high-level ouster took place: unceremoniously, on Twitter, not in a face-to-face meeting. As a former Middle East analyst at the State Department, though, I think the real drama of replacing America’s...