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...
Saudi Arabia Says 2 Oil Tankers Damaged by Sabotage Attacks
FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates — Two Saudi oil tankers and a Norwegian-flagged vessel were damaged in what Gulf officials described Monday as a "sabotage" attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. While details of the incident remain unclear, it raised risks for shippers in a region vital to...
World Economy Forecast to Slow in 2019 Amid Trade Tensions
DAVOS, Switzerland — The world economy absorbed more bad news Monday: The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for 2019. And China, the world's second-biggest economy, said it had slowed to its weakest pace since 1990. The IMF cut its estimate for global growth this year to 3.5 percent,...
Iran President Warns of ‘War Situation’ as Sanctions Resume
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran greeted the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Monday with air defense drills and a statement from President Hassan Rouhani that the nation faces a "war situation," raising Mideast tensions as America's maximalist approach to the Islamic Republic takes hold. The sanctions end all economic benefits America...
Turkish Court Convicts US Pastor of Terror yet Frees Him
ALIAGA, Turkey — A Turkish court on Friday convicted an American pastor on terror charges but released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave the country, a move that's likely to ease tensions between Turkey and the United States. The court near the western city of Izmir sentenced...