Archives for January, 2021

Six days after disappearance, Turkish worker returns home

Following a public outcry, Turkish electrician Gokhan Gunes returned to his family Tuesday after six days of alleged torture.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei speaks during a news conference in the capital Tehran on July 22, 2019. - Iran's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was a "legal measure", Rabiei said otoday.
Iran impounded the Stena Impero tanker on July 19, on allegations it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat. (Photo by str / AFP) (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran to restrict nuclear inspections unless sanctions lifted

Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said Iran would start restricting short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities beginning next month.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 05: Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton speak onstage at 'Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton discuss their new book 'The Book of Gutsy Women' at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre on November 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Turkey enraged by Clintons' TV show exalting Syrian Kurdish women fighters

Turkey’s state-run press agency is churning out angry coverage of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea producing a TV series about the Syrian Kurdish women fighters who were key in defeating the Islamic State.

Indian Jews bring traditional celebrations to Israel

Members of the Jewish-Indian Bene Israel community are eager to share their Malida ceremonies and traditions with other Israelis, and this year they're doing it over Zoom.

Explosions over Riyadh as CENTCOM commander visits region

No group has yet claimed credit for the blasts, which came three days after the Saudi military said it shot down an enemy projectile over Riyadh.

An Iranian man wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US embassy in the capital Tehran, on December 30, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran urges US to end sanctions it says hinder vaccine access

Iran says sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump are preventing the country from securing the COVID-19 vaccines it needs.

Israeli minister makes first ever visit to Sudan

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen met with a top Sudanese leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and invited him to visit Israel.

Israeli military: Palestinian attacker shot and killed by soldiers

Israeli and Palestinian officials offer differing accounts of West Bank violence.

Following Netanyahu, Israeli politicians flock to TikTok

With an election campaign practically virtual, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians flock to TikTok.

Iraqi youths watch an event celebrating the inauguration of a street named after the late Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in the southern city of Basra on January 8, 2021, more than a year after a US drone strike killed Iran's revered commander Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Muhandis (image) near the capital. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurdish officials call Iran's Soleimani film 'insult' to Peshmerga

Peshmerga that fought on the front lines against the Islamic State see the film as an "insult and belittling the role of Peshmergas."

HAMDAYET, SUDAN - DECEMBER 6: A woman walks with a donkey as refugees from the Tigray region of Ethiopia wait to be transferred to a camp with more infrastructure at a UNHCR reception area in the east Sudanese border village of Hamdayet on December 6, 2020 in Hamdayet, Sudan. Last week, the Ethiopian government declared victory in its nearly month-long battle with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which sent 45,000 people fleeing to Sudan and displaced thousands more within the Tigray Region. In

How Egypt is supporting Sudan in border conflict

As tensions escalate between Sudan and Ethiopia on the border, a Sudanese delegation headed to Cairo raising questions about Egypt’s role in the conflict.

TOPSHOT - Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Kohelet Policy Forum conference in Jerusalem, on January 8, 2020. - Netanyahu today warned Israel would strike a "resounding blow" if attacked by arch foe Iran, as regional tensions spike after the US killing of military commander Qasem Soleimani. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu bristles in warning as Biden seeks reentry to Iran deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting to the new US administration that reentering the original nuclear deal with Iran could spell Israeli military action.

A picture taken on February 19, 2020, shows a general view of the airport of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo upon the relaunch of commercial flights. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

As Syrian regime touts reopening, Iran continues to lurk at Aleppo airport

International air traffic has resumed at Aleppo International Airport, but it is believed to remain under the control of Iranian forces.

TOPSHOT - A picture taken during a press tour provided by the Russian Armed Forces on September 15, 2017 shows Russian soldiers standing guard in a central street in Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor, as local children pose nearby. / AFP PHOTO / France2 / Dominique DERDA (Photo credit should read DOMINIQUE DERDA/AFP via Getty Images)

Is Russia exploiting Iranian weakness in east Syria?

Iranian forces are concerned about losing their influence and their members in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province in favor of the formations supported by Russia.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference at the Washington Convention Center March 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. With thousands of delegates and attendees, the annual AIPAC conference is the largest gathering of the pro-Israel movement in the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PA vows to sue US ambassador over support to Israeli settlements

The Palestinian Authority has threatened to sue former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman after he recognized the City of David settlement project in Jerusalem.

Iranian commander threatens to 'destroy' US ships

A general in Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps made the provocative statement less than a week into Joe Biden's presidency. The new US president has said he wants to talk with Iran.