TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's foreign minister traveled Friday to China on his Asian tour aimed at keeping world markets open to Tehran amid an intense sanctions campaign from the U.S. as tensions across the Persian Gulf remain high. Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered...
US Pulls Nonessential Staff From Iraq Amid Mideast Tensions
BAGHDAD — The U.S. on Wednesday ordered all nonessential government staff to leave Iraq, and Germany and the Netherlands both suspended their military assistance programs in the country in the latest sign of tensions sweeping the Persian Gulf region over still-unspecified threats that the Trump administration says are linked to...
Police: Army Vet Drove Into People Thinking They Were Muslim
SAN FRANCISCO — An Iraq War veteran deliberately drove into a group of pedestrians because he thought some of the people were Muslim, California authorities said Friday. Isaiah Joel Peoples, 34, faces eight counts of attempted murder for injuring eight people, including four who remain hospitalized. The most seriously injured...
AP Interview: Iraqi Militia Leader Wants US Troops to Leave
BAGHDAD — The leader of one of the most powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq said Monday that he expects a vote in the coming months by Iraq's parliament calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, underscoring the jostling for power between Iran and the U.S. in this key Middle...
Navy SEAL to Plead Not Guilty to Murder Charge of ISIS Teen
SAN DIEGO — A decorated Navy SEAL is facing charges of premeditated murder and numerous other offenses in connection with the fatal stabbing of a teenage Islamic State prisoner under his care in Iraq in 2017, along with the shooting of unarmed Iraqi civilians. Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher plans...
Trump in Iraq on First Visit to Troops in Troubled Region
AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq — President Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday, leaving behind a partially shuttered U.S. government to greet American troops helping hold off extremists in a country where thousands of Americans died during the recent war. It comes a week after Trump stunned his...
Trump Pulling Out of Syria. Might Afghanistan Be Next?
WASHINGTON — Against the advice of many in his own administration, President Donald Trump is pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. Could a withdrawal from Afghanistan be far behind? Trump has said his instinct is to quit Afghanistan as a lost cause, but more recently he's suggested a willingness to...
Iraq Celebrates Victory Over IS While Grappling With Legacy
BAGHDAD — Iraq began removing cement walls from areas surrounding the capital's most fortified enclave Monday, opening parts of the so-called Green Zone to traffic in a symbolic move coinciding with nationwide celebrations marking the anniversary of the country's costly victory over the Islamic State group. The partial reopening of...
Iran, Feeling Sanctions Bite, Looks for Outlet in Iraq
BAGHDAD — At this year's Baghdad International Fair, Iranian businessmen displayed thick, colorful Persian rugs to impressed onlookers while others showcased the latest in Iranian manufacturing in power generators and industrial tools. For Iranian companies, the annual Baghdad International Fair is a major event, as exporters in carpets, foodstuffs and...
Opinion: Why I Love Being a Veteran
If you had told me how I’d look back with fondness on the time I served as brigade commander during the worst of Diyala Province in 2006-2007, I would have smirked. Of course I’d love being a veteran, I can imagine my younger self thinking. It meant I would be...