WASHINGTON (AFP) – At least 11 American troops were injured in an Iranian attack on an Iraqi base where American soldiers were deployed, US Central Command said Thursday (Jan 16), although the US military had previously maintained there were no casualties. “While no US service members were killed in the Jan 8 Iranian attack on […]

TEHERAN (AFP) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday (Jan 16) he wants to avoid war after Teheran and Washington appeared on the brink of direct military confrontation in early January for the second time in less than a year. Ahead of parliamentary elections on Feb 21 – predicted to be a challenge for […]

At least 18 civilians are reported to have died in air strikes that hit a market and an industrial zone in the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib. A monitoring group said Russian and Syrian government planes carried out the attacks. The air strikes happened despite a ceasefire brokered earlier this month by Russia and Turkey. […]

There have been anti-government protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and other cities after the Iranian authorities admitted they had “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian International Airlines plane. Some of the protesters have been heard shouting slogans against the leadership. So how strong is opposition in Iran, and what do the protesters want? Who are […]

It has taken more than 40 years, but finally the rulers responsible for the brutal repression Iran has suffered since its 1979 revolution have revealed themselves to be little more than a bunch of incompetent and corrupt liars. The regime’s woeful attempts to conceal the full extent of its involvement in the shooting down of […]

DUBAI (REUTERS) – Iran said on Tuesday (Jan 14) it had arrested people accused of a role in shooting down a Ukrainian airliner and had also detained 30 people involved in protests that have swept the nation for four days since the military belatedly admitted its error. Wednesday’s downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, […]

AMMAN (REUTERS) – The Syrian army said on Tuesday (Jan 14) Israeli jets attacked the main T4 air base in Homs province and that its air defences downed several missiles in strikes that caused only material damage. An army spokesman told state media that four Israeli missiles did reach the base, but said air defences […]

A landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers has in effect collapsed, almost five years after it was agreed. Here’s how it got to this point. What did the deal do? Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful. But suspicions it was being used as a cover to develop a nuclear bomb […]

Several people have been detained in Iran over the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane with a missile, the country’s judiciary says. Spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said investigations into the incident were continuing, but provided no details. President Hassan Rouhani said the probe would be overseen by a “special court”. Ukrainian International Airlines flight […]

Israeli police have arrested a rabbi who is suspected of holding around 50 women and children in conditions of slavery. The arrest follows a raid on a complex in Jerusalem, where the alleged victims are believed to have been kept isolated from their families. The women had been punished in various ways and had money […]