Wall Street Journal: World: Middle East
- Pompeo's Visit to Israel Seen as Election Boost to Netanyahu
Wednesday - 03/20/2019 - 08:39 PMU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Israel to discuss threats the country faces from Iran and its allies, a visit that buttresses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign message as he seeks to win a fifth term in April 9 elections.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Netanyahu's Top Challenger Is Struggling After Early Surge in Polls
Monday - 03/18/2019 - 04:31 PMBenny Gantz, a first-time politician who has emerged as the biggest threat to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election, has begun to stumble under the glare of national attention and is struggling to maintain his campaign’s momentum.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Israel Says Two Rockets Fired From Gaza Toward Tel Aviv, Raising Tensions
Thursday - 03/14/2019 - 10:00 PMIsrael’s military said two rockets were launched from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip toward Tel Aviv for the first time since the 2014 war, setting off sirens in the city and raising tensions.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Israeli Politicians Keep Distance From Arab Parties Before Vote
Tuesday - 03/12/2019 - 12:57 PMIsrael’s opposition and Arab parties both want to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in next month’s elections, but are keeping each other at arm’s length for now as interests diverge.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Algeria's President Won't Seek Fifth Term After Protests
Monday - 03/11/2019 - 06:46 PMAiling Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he won’t seek a fifth term in power, bowing to popular pressure after widespread protests shook the North African nation.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - U.S. Still Hunting for Allied Cooperation in Syria
Friday - 03/08/2019 - 07:00 PMTrump administration officials didn’t secure commitments from key European allies to send military forces to Syria, passing a target date set for Friday, but said they would continue building their case for allied involvement to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State extremist group.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Hard-Line Cleric to Head Iran's Judiciary
Wednesday - 03/06/2019 - 05:50 PMAn Iranian cleric known for his role in condemning thousands of political prisoners to death in the 1980s will take the leadership of Iran’s powerful judiciary, in a move that is expected to keep the post under the influence of the country’s hard-liners.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - U.S. Allies Battle to Oust Islamic State From Final Syrian Outpost
Saturday - 03/02/2019 - 08:14 AMU.S.-backed forces have resumed their assault to capture Islamic State’s last patch of territory in eastern Syria, ending a truce that allowed for an evacuation before an intense final battle.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Israeli Attorney General Lays Out Planned Charges Against Netanyahu
Thursday - 02/28/2019 - 05:34 PMAvichai Mandelblit intends to charge the prime minister with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Iran's President Blocks Foreign Minister's Resignation
Wednesday - 02/27/2019 - 09:47 AMPresident Hassan Rouhani rejected the resignation of his top diplomat in a bid to quell the political turbulence growing around the government as it comes under intensifying pressure from the U.S.
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- Hard-Core ISIS Members Carry Ideology From Crushed Caliphate
Monday - 03/18/2019 - 08:55 PMA hardened core committed to Islamic State’s mission raises questions about the totality of the group’s defeat even as it loses almost all its territory and its less committed members fall away.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Iraq to Open Vital Border Crossing With Syria
Monday - 03/18/2019 - 06:03 PMIraq plans to open a vital border crossing with Syria in the coming days, allowing for the increased flow of goods to Syria from Iran along a route the U.S.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
- Ragged but Alive: Yazidis Emerge From Life Under ISIS
Wednesday - 03/13/2019 - 12:34 AMTrickle of Yazidi minority members escape from last extremist stronghold, with thousands of them still missing, as the U.S.-led coalition moves to end its war against extremists in Syria.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Israel: Hezbollah Operative Is Setting Up Golan Heights Terror Network
Wednesday - 03/13/2019 - 12:13 AMIsrael said a Hezbollah operative accused of killing U.S. troops is establishing a terror network in the disputed Golan Heights, spotlighting threats the militant group poses to its security as the Netanyahu government pushes for sovereignty over the strategic area.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Algeria Strikes Ramp Up Pressure on Ailing President
Sunday - 03/10/2019 - 11:30 PMPressure is mounting on Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down as workers at the country’s massive state oil and gas companies went on strike on Sunday and some opposition groups urged the military to intervene after more than two weeks of protests.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Senators Decry Saudi Human Rights Abuses
Thursday - 03/07/2019 - 04:21 AMSenators warned that Saudi Arabia is committing a growing list of rights abuses, citing the detention and alleged torture of a U.S.-Saudi physician, adding to pressure on the Trump administration to reconsider its close ties to the country’s rulers.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - U.S.-Backed Forces Are Holding 2,000 Suspected ISIS Fighters in Syria
Tuesday - 03/05/2019 - 10:58 PMU.S.-backed forces in Syria are holding more than 2,000 suspected Islamic State fighters, U.S. defense officials said, at least double previous estimates and an obstacle to Trump administration plans to withdraw U.S.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share
- Saudis Prepare to Put Rights Activists on Trial
Friday - 03/01/2019 - 10:08 PMSaudi authorities said they are preparing to place 18 detained women’s rights activists on trial in spite of months of international pressure to release them.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Despite Pressure From Trump, OPEC Stands Firm on Oil Curbs
Wednesday - 02/27/2019 - 09:25 AMOPEC will likely keep cutting its production in the second half of this year, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said, defying pressure from the Trump administration to dampen oil prices.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - As U.S. Pushes to Isolate Iran, Rouhani Fights to Keep Top Diplomat
Tuesday - 02/26/2019 - 04:34 PMIran’s president scrambled to avert a political crisis from the resignation of his top diplomat, praising him on live TV and dispatching senior officials to urge him not to quit.
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- Trump Says Islamic State About to Lose Its Last Hold on Syrian Land
Wednesday - 03/20/2019 - 07:05 PMPresident Trump said the Islamic State extremist group would suffer its final territorial defeat by the evening, a prediction that came as U.S.-backed local fighters in Syria said the battle had entered its final stages.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Syrian, Russian Airstrikes Target Rebels in Last Stronghold
Thursday - 03/14/2019 - 04:49 PMSyrian and Russian airstrikes on the last rebel stronghold in Syria have intensified in recent days, raising fears of a military offensive that the U.N. has long warned would cause a humanitarian disaster.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Senate Votes to End U.S. Aid in Saudi Fight in Yemen
Wednesday - 03/13/2019 - 07:08 PMThe Senate approved a measure that would end U.S. military assistance for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, reproving the Trump administration for the second time over its support of the kingdom.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Iran Seeks Help From Iraq to Defy U.S. Sanctions
Monday - 03/11/2019 - 04:17 PMIranian President Hassan Rouhani is seeking to boost economic links with Iraq on his first official visit to the neighboring country, at a time when the U.S. is upping efforts to curb Tehran’s regional influence.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Iranian Court Sentences U.S. Navy Veteran, Human-Rights Lawyer
Monday - 03/11/2019 - 08:03 PMAn Iranian court has sentenced a U.S. Navy veteran for an unspecified crime, according to Iranian state-linked media, in a move that threatens to further strain relations between Washington and Tehran.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - U.S. Gives European Allies Friday Target to Sign on to Syria Proposal
Thursday - 03/07/2019 - 07:51 PMThe Trump administration is giving eight European allies until Friday to commit troops to a U.S. proposal to stabilize northeastern Syria, U.S. officials said.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Saudi Arabia to Ease Entry for Tourists
Tuesday - 03/05/2019 - 05:34 PMOfficials in Saudi Arabia are working to loosen tourism restrictions this year for foreign visitors including Americans to help diversify the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Kushner Pushes Peace Plan on Middle East Tour
Thursday - 02/28/2019 - 05:35 PMThe president’s son-in-law wrapped up a Middle East tour to raise support for an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, a swing that included his first meeting with the Saudi crown prince since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Israel Attorney General to Charge Netanyahu With Bribery, Fraud
Thursday - 02/28/2019 - 09:42 PMIsrael’s attorney general said he would charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, a move that could imperil the leader’s April election bid.
More | Talk | Read It Later | Share - Saudis Likely to Push to Maintain Output Cuts Despite U.S. Pressure
Monday - 02/25/2019 - 02:26 PMSaudi Arabia and others in OPEC are likely to back a continuation of oil-production curbs when the group meets in April, according to officials in the cartel, in defiance of U.S.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share