Middle East

Hardliner Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi may be frontrunner in the race to elect the next president of Iran.

The explosion of violence appears to have come from nowhere but has deep roots in the country.

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

"What we desire is that active measures are taken," Turkey's vice president, Fuat Oktay told reporters after morning prayers marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Iran’s IRGC head Hossein Salami warned last week that Israel was vulnerable to one large tactical operation because the country is so small.

Presented by The Jerusalem Post and the Khaleej Times | June 2, 2021 | Dubai | Live on jpost.com and khaleejtimes.com

Erdogan and Putin call for work to be done on sending international peacekeepers to the region to help safeguard Palestinians, a proposal Turkey has made since 2018.

Two Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, according to Palestinian reports.

To date there is no clear candidate from the reformist camp, and anyone too popular might be disqualified by Iran’s Guardian Council.

The "A-120" is said to have a range of about 120 kilometers and was seen in footage shared by Hamas of a long rocket being loaded by masked terrorists into a launcher in the Gaza Strip.

Ministers require permission from the Prime Minister’s Office and the cabinet secretary for overseas trips.

A Revolutionary Guards statement accused US naval ships of "unprofessional behavior such as flying helicopters, firing flares and aimless and provocative shooting."

Despite a full lockdown aimed at curbing COVID-19 cases, the protesters in Istanbul, including Syrians & Palestinians, carried Palestinian flags while chanting "Down with Israel, down with America."

The United Nations, Egypt and Qatar have contacted Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to prevent further violence. Haniyeh defended the actions taken today against Israel.

"Revenge...revenge...Oh, Hamas, bomb Tel Aviv!" they chanted.

At Iran’s Press TV, its propaganda network focused on Western audiences in English, has wall-to-wall coverage of the violence in Jerusalem.

A video shows the man lifting a burning Israeli flag and attempting to wave it, before a sudden burst of wind causes the fire to quickly spread down the pole and to his clothes.

A tanker off the coast of Syria had a fire in one of the engines.

The increasing attacks on Shi’ite minorities could be considered genocide. ISIS has done this before in their acts of genocide against Iraq's Yazidi minority in 2014.

The raid comes amid tensions in Yemen and Iran’s attempt to support the Houthi rebels. However, it may be linked to other militant groups in Yemen or even the Horn of Africa or elsewhere.

At first, a car bomb was detonated in front of the Sayed Al-Shuhada school on Saturday, and when the students rushed out in panic, two more bombs exploded.

Accusing Israel of being a “cruel” and “terrorist” state is part of Ankara’s desire to use the tensions in Jerusalem to boost Turkey’s image.

Jordan, which has custodianship of Moslem and Christian sites in Jerusalem, said Israel should respect worshippers and international law safeguarding Arab rights.

"The Israelis, who had access to Soleimani’s numbers, passed them off to the Americans, who traced Soleimani and his current phone to Baghdad."

The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to Iranian media reports.

Three Iranian males, one who was his half-brother, kidnapped the victim and went to the village of Borumi near the capital of Ahvaz and murdered him during the night.

The Palestinians have also succeeded in making the Sheikh Jarrah dispute appear as being part of an overall Israeli scheme to drive Arabs out of Jerusalem and “Judaize” the city.

The United States has expressed its readiness to lift many of its sanctions on Iran at the Vienna nuclear talks but Tehran is demanding more, Iran's senior negotiator said on Friday.

The tensions in Jerusalem go back to late April when Ramadan began and Israeli police restricted access to Damascus Gate.

Does Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei want to see the outcome of June's presidential election before agreeing to a new nuclear deal?

The report said Iran’s regime can use “Detour deliveries over ‘third states’ in order not to identify the final buyer” and “the use and misuse of inexperienced freight deliverers and transporters."

Salami says Israel’s security bubble has been burst, brags about maritime, cyber and Dimona operations, ‘Zionist regime’ collapsing from within.

The US-led anti-ISIS Coalition said that just after two in the morning, “Ain al-Asad Air Base was attacked by an unmanned aerial surveillance system. No injuries reported. A hangar was damaged.”

75% of the population depends on state assistance for basic needs.

The kingdom is recalibrating its foreign policy and resetting relations with its neighbors as it works to stop the influence of global powers in the region

The Hezbollah chief spoke of growing relationships with other Middle Eastern countries and warned Israel and the Gulf states of imminent Iranian threats during his Quds Day speech.

Khamenei was speaking on Iran's annual Quds Day, which uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, held on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran have been locked in a rivalry that has played out in proxy wars across the region.

The JCPOA was a bad deal that worked pretty well. Canceling it, in contrast, led Iran to multiply its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons or force concessions from the US.

EU, UN call for Israel not to evict Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah homes, as court delays ruling.

Iran has "continued to take steps that are restarting dangerous parts of their program that the nuclear agreement stopped,” he told MSNBC.

PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS: The decision to delay Palestinian elections will have far-reaching implications

BEHIND THE LINES: Neither Ankara nor Tehran want a strong Iraq, or a strong Syria. On the contrary, the fragmentation of these countries suits both.

"Is it likely? Only time will tell, because as I said, this is ultimately a matter of a political decision that needs to be made in Iran," he added.

An important step in realizing the economic potential of Israel’s relations with the Gulf states and in making the dream of peace between the peoples of the region come true

The German embassy in Rabat was not immediately available to comment.

This is the second consecutive night that Syrian media reports an attack attributed to the IDF in Syria.

From calling out vulnerability in Israel's maritime trade to claiming Mossad operatives were killed in Iraq, IRGC general lists Iran's operations and threats to Israel and the region in an interview.

"The path toward peace with our neighbors in the Middle East goes through mutual recognition," Ashkenazi said during the event. "Recognizing each other's culture, traditions, ambitions and dreams."

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

When high profile people or those involved in sensitive work fall out a window, it is naturally considered suspicious.

The strike targeted a "civilian plastic warehouse," according to SANA. Initial reports and video from the scene indicated that a large fire had broken out in the area.

Over the last decade, there were increasing divisions in the region as Iran gobbled up property in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen and as Saudi Arabia worked closely with Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain.

The attacks are growing and coincide with Iranian-backed attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia. They also go hand in hand with Iran trying to wring concessions from the US in Vienna.

President Biden and the Crown Prince discussed the strategic importance of the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, among other regional issues.

The government has exempted foreign holidaymakers from the 2-1/2-week long lockdown in an effort to revitalize tourism, a critical sector of the Turkish economy.

The findings from the three European intelligence agencies in 2021 contradict Khamenei’s claims and are likely to fuel a new debate about rejoining the Iran nuclear deal.

Belgian authorities have said they will oppose any potential swap deal with Western prisoners, prosecution lawyers said.

A Palestinian journalist from Ramallah said that PA media outlets have refused to publish anything about Najjar’s case out of fear of being punished by the Palestinian security forces.

So what does Turkey think about Saudi Arabia’s possible détente with Iran?

The diplomat was 51, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported. Other reports put her age at 52.

Mounted archery is a hard skill to master. Centuries ago it helped Genghis Khan's Mongol army conquer much of Asia and today is showcased in niche competitions.

A United Nations arbitrations committee is poised to examine a Palestinian Authority complaint that Israel has committed acts of apartheid.

It would appear rumors about a rapid return to a deal and US appeasement of Iran’s regime may not be on the cards as quickly as some have predicted.

This shift to the east is a topic that has been discussed openly in Iran for years, including in its leading media.

On International Press Day, observed on May 3, recently released 2021 World Press Freedom Index finds Mideast journalists subject to arrest, attack, work ban, and other forms of judicial harassment.

Go-Gulf report looks at the Middle East’s latest online shopping developments

“They opened fire at my home, tossed stun grenades and broke the doors,” the candidate said.

Turkey has established a new military base in Iraq and Turkish-backed extremists in Syria continue to threaten Kurds, Yazidis and Christians.

Audio of Zarif giving an interview in which he slammed Soleimani and appeared to suggest the IRGC had undermined him has led to controversy.

"I hope that the noble people of Iran and all the lovers of General Soleimani, and especially his family, will forgive me," said Zarif.

Two firefighters were seriously injured and two of the fire trucks battling the flames caught fire and were destroyed.

"We think this is the fifth time that a severe attack has been carried out on Natanz's facilities in the last 15 years," said the former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

This finding can be added to the 60 cultural and historical relics and sites that have already been discovered during a survey led by the Iranian archaeologist Hossein Azizi.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday the talks were in "an unclear place," meaning it was uncertain whether they would lead to an agreement.

Abbas blamed Israel for the delay, explaining it had rejected a request to allow for Palestinians to vote in Jerusalem. Israel has not issued a formal public response on the matter.

The controversy over the Jerusalem vote provided Abbas with a good excuse to call off the elections. There's nothing better than blaming Israel for obstructing the planned elections.

Abbas’s political opponents condemned the decision as a “big catastrophe” and called on the PA president to proceed with the elections.

ISIS attacked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters near Pirde in Iraq overnight.

Ankara has backed away from its more aggressive foreign policy amid domestic and economic strain

Iran, China and Russia are the biggest security threats to Sweden

Iran has already been under indefinite suspension since September 18, 2019, a move that was overturned in March by the Court of Arbitration for Sports located in Switzerland.

According to the Israeli official, the Israeli delegation told the US delegation that there is no point negotiating specific details at this moment of the “longer and stronger” deal

Reiterating Israel's position that it does not consider itself bound by the diplomacy, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said: "A bad deal will send the region spiraling into war."

The recording, shedding a rare light on ties between the government and the elite Guards, has angered hardliners in Iran, who called the leak "an espionage act."

They also found tombs nearby from the later Hyksos period (1650 to 1500 B.C.), when Western Asian migrants took over the country, putting an end to Egypt's Middle Kingdom.

Unless Tehran transforms its foreign policy, any rapprochement will be marginal, experts say.

A ban over claims that fruit and vegetables are used to smuggle drugs comes as the country experiences its worst economic and political crises ever.

After massive drug and weapons seizures, Saudi Arabia bans the import of Lebanese produce, with support from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE.

While the final itinerary was unclear, there were tentative plans for the team to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

Abbas is reportedly planning to announce his plans to postpone the elections indefinitely because of Israel's failure to respond to a PA request to hold the vote in Jerusalem.

The road, that Regavim said links Area B of the West Bank and Area C, is located near the Palestinian city of Tubas and the village of Tayasir.

'Additional focus of Iran’s intelligence is the observation of and fight against opposition groups domestically and abroad.'

The comment contrasts with remarks made by Prince Mohammed in 2017, after becoming crown prince, in which he called the supreme leader of Iran "the new Hitler of the Middle East."

A 35-year-old fell to her death from a balcony in Cairo last month after neighbors confronted her over suspected pre-marital relations, prompting an outpouring of anguish from single Egytpian women.