BAGDHAD, IRAQ — Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, Iraqi television and three Iraqi officials said. The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or...
Esper Says Iran May Be Planning More Attacks on US Interests
WASHINGTON — Iran or its proxy forces may be planning further strikes on American interests in the Middle East, and the U.S. is prepared to take preemptive military action if it gets sufficient warning, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday. “The game has changed,” Esper said, citing a series of...
Militiamen Breach US Embassy in Baghdad; Trump Blames Iran
BAGHDAD — Angered by deadly airstrikes targeting an Iran-backed militia, dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area in one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent...
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Vows Revenge to US Airstrikes
BAGHDAD — An Iranian-backed militia said Monday that the death toll from U.S. military strikes in Iraq and Syria against its fighters has risen to 25, vowing to exact revenge for the "aggression of evil American ravens." The U.S. attack — the largest yet targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia —...
Japan OKs Divisive Plan to Send Naval Troops to Mideast
TOKYO — Japan on Friday approved a contentious plan to send its naval troops to the Middle East to ensure the safety of Japanese ships transporting oil to the energy-poor country that heavily depends on imports from the region. The Cabinet's decision reflects tensions that have escalated between Iran and...
Iraq President Rejects Iran-Backed Bloc's Nominee as PM
BAGHDAD — Iraq's president refused Thursday to designate the Iran-backed parliamentary bloc's nominee for prime minister after he was rejected by anti-government protesters, saying he was prepared to submit his resignation to Parliament. Barham Saleh said in a statement issued by his office that he would not name the governor...
Iran Frees Chinese-American Scholar for US-Held Scientist
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Princeton scholar held for three years in Iran on widely criticized espionage charges was freed Saturday as part of a prisoner exchange that saw America release a detained Iranian scientist, a rare diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of tensions. The trade...
Anti-Headscarf Law Activist Sues Iran in US Over Harassment
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian-American activist famous for her campaign against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, for women has sued Iran in U.S. federal court, alleging a government-led harassment campaign targets her and her family. Masih Alinejad’s lawsuit seeking monetary damages comes in the aftermath of...
Iran Says It Killed ‘Rioters’ in Deadliest Unrest in Decades
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that its security forces shot and killed protesters across the country to put down demonstrations last month over the sharply spiking price of gasoline, the deadliest unrest to hit the country since the turmoil of the 1979 Islamic...
Iran Supreme Leader Claims Protests a US-Backed ‘Conspiracy’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday claimed without evidence that recent protests across the Islamic Republic over government-set gasoline prices rising were part of a “conspiracy” involving the U.S., as authorities began to acknowledge the scale of the demonstrations. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the...