Middle East

US must lift sanctions if they truly want to help Iran fight against coronavirus pandemic — Rouhani

Washington’s offers to help Tehran against the deadly Covid-19 disease are disingenuous, because it is the US sanctions that undermine people’s access to medical care, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said.

Virus horror: Death every 10 minutes

Coronavirus is killing one person every 10 minutes in Iran, with the death toll climbing to more than 1200.

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Iran State TV Warns ‘Millions’ In Country Could Die From Coronavirus

Roughly nine out of 10 of the over 18,000 cases of the new virus confirmed across the Middle East come from Iran.

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Coronavirus Iranian deaths at 853, Ayatollah Bathaei-Golpaygani dies

The country's death toll from Covid-19 has now reached 853 in total, with 129 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry official tweeted on Monday.

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Latest Middle East

Netanyahu's political future uncertain after challenger Gantz chosen to form new Israeli government

Gantz has a month to cobble together a governing coalition as country deals with COVID-19

4 years ago

A combination picture shows Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, who has been asked to try to form a government, and Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a corruption trial. (Corinna Kern, Amir Cohen/File Photo/Reuters)

Iraq base attack: US in retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed fighters

The US has launched retaliatory air strikes against a pro-Iranian militia group in Iraq after a rocket attack killed two of its soldiers.

4 years ago

GETTY IMAGES / Two Americans and a Briton were killed in a rocket attack on a base in Iraq on Wednesday (file image)

US carries out retaliatory air strikes in Iraq against Iran-backed groups

The United States waged a series of precision air strikes on Thursday against an Iran-backed militia in Iraq that it blamed for a major rocket attack a day earlier that killed two American troops and a 26-year-old British soldier.

4 years ago

FILE PHOTO Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP | Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitaries fire their weapons as they advance near the town of Tal Abtah, south of Tal Afar, on November 30, 2016. © Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP

Coronavirus: Why experts say Iran could be lying about its COVID-19 outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak in Iran is spreading rapidly, with more than 8000 people infected. And now a “fake cure” has killed dozens.

4 years ago

Firefighters disinfect a traditional shopping centre in northern Tehran. Picture: AP/Ebrahim NorooziSource:AP

Saudi Arabia detains three senior members of royal familyi

Three senior members of Saudi Arabia's royal family, including the king's brother, have been arrested for unexplained reasons, US media report.

4 years ago

REUTERS / Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is considered the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia

Acute crisis in Syria's Idlib demanded our direct talks, Putin says as he meets Erdogan in Moscow

Dozens of Turkish troops died in a Syrian airstrike as no one knew they were there, Putin told Erdogan, stressing the crisis in the Syrian province is so dire that a personal conversation between the two leaders is needed.

4 years ago

Turkish troops patrol in the town of Atareb in the rebel-held western countryside of Syria's Aleppo province on February 19, 2020. © AFP / Aref TAMMAWI

Afghan conflict: US conducts first air strike on Taliban since deal

The US military has conducted an air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, just hours after President Donald Trump said he had had a "very good talk" with a leader of the group.

4 years ago

AFP / Taliban fighters were celebrating the US deal earlier this week

Afghanistan says Taliban have resumed deadly attacks after signing deal with U.S.

6 civilians among the dead in 33 attacks in the past day, Afghan's interior ministry says

4 years ago

Afghan Taliban militants and villagers are shown at a gathering Monday as they celebrated the deal signed with the U.S., in the province of Laghman. According to Afghan officials, the Taliban have resumed attacks after a 'reduction in violence'

US starts pulling out troops as peace deal with Taliban is signed

The US has begun withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after signing a peace deal with the Taliban, America’s enemy in its longest-ever war.

5 years ago

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani attend the signing of a US-Taliban agreement. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Afghanistan's Taliban, US sign peace deal

Peace deal signed in Qatari capital, Doha, will pave the way for the complete withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

5 years ago

The peace deal was signed after 18 months of talks in Doha [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

‘Get out of the way, let us deal with Assad regime’, Erdogan says he told Putin regarding Idlib, Syria

As tensions in Idlib province reach the boiling point, Turkey has asked Russia to let it fight the Syrian government face-to-face, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed.

5 years ago

FILE PHOTO. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. ©Presidential Press Office / Handout via REUTERS

Turkey & Syria on brink of WAR in Idlib: How did it come to this?

Alarming developments in Syria’s Idlib saw dozens of Turkish soldiers killed in a Syrian airstrike and Ankara responding with own fire and fury. But anyone following the conflict would know the escalation didn’t start overnight.

5 years ago

FILE PHOTO. A Syrian army soldier holds a Syrian flag as he stands on a military vehicle in Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, Syria. ©REUTERS / Omar Sanadiki

33 Turkish soldiers confirmed killed in Idlib airstrike as Erdogan chairs emergency meeting on Syria

At least 33 Turkish servicemen have been killed in an airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province, while an unspecified number of soldiers were injured. Turkish officials attributed the strike to the Syrian military.

5 years ago

Israel says it struck Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza and Syria

The Israeli military says it has launched air strikes against a Palestinian militant group in Gaza and Syria in response to rocket fire.

5 years ago

GETTY IMAGES / Israel said it launched the airstrikes in Gaza and Syria in response to rocket fire

Iran's leaders warn low turnout in election will boost Trump

Voters set to shun Friday’s parliamentary poll in sign of protest or indifference

5 years ago

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a low turnout would benefit Donald Trump’s economic sanctions on the country. Photograph: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Donald Trump confirms al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi has been killed in US operation

President Donald Trump has confirmed al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi has been killed in a US operation in Yemen.

5 years ago

Qassem al-Rimi has been killed by the US.Source:AFP