Tehran, Iran-- Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid will make an official visit to Iran in the near future as the two countries seek to consolidate their relations amid the warming of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.The visit of the Iraqi president to Iran was confirmed in a phone conversation...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, during which they discussed a number of issues of common interest between the two countries.The two sides discussed the next steps in light of what...

TEHRAN, IRAN- Iran said on Thursday it had "forced" a US submarine to surface as it was crossing the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, a claim the Americans promptly denied.Admiral Shahram Irani, the commander of Iran's navy, told state TV the USS Florida nuclear submarine was "approaching and passing...

In one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade, more than 80 people died and hundreds were injured at a charity distribution event in Yemen, according to Houthi officials. The tragedy struck the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country a few days before Eid al-Fitr. A Houthi official said many women and...

If China successfully mediates the Israel-Palestine peace talks, it will cement its status as a global peacemaker, a role that has long been reserved for the United States.

"The technical committees are now doing their work in this context, and it is expected that there will be exchange visits to consider the procedures we need to reopen embassies." foreign ministry spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari told a briefing. A UAE official confirmed that the reopening of embassies is "under process".

The Syrian president met with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus. This is the first visit to Syria's capital by a Saudi official since the start of the country's civil war in 2011, marking a new era in ties betwee the two countries.

The two countries had severed ties seven years ago after Saudi Arabia executed a revered Saudi shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. They have pledged to work for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East, where they have been supporting opposite sides in the conflicts of Syria and Yemen.

A day after a major prisoner exchange, more than 100 prisoners of war were flown from Saudi Arabia to Yemen on Monday, raising hopes for peace in the future. Two ICRC planes carrying 48 prisoners each flew to Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, while a third with eight captives took off...

Iran's judiciary had said in November 2021 that a trial had opened in Tehran for 10 military members in connection with the jet's downing.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -  Iraq's Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab said on Sunday that the releases of the Tigris River will improve in the coming days.He also said that an invitation was extended to the Iranian Minister of Energy to attend the third Baghdad Water Conference.Diab said that "meetings and...

The closures were announced a day after police said they have now implemented a plan to deal with women who violate the law, using surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology. The requirement for women to wear the headscarf in public was enshrined in law shortly after the Islamic revolution of...

Iranian police said they will deal with women who violate the Islamic dress code. The number of women defying the dress code that headscarves must be worn in public has risen since a protest movement triggered by the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, 22, for allegedly flouting it.

Arab countries gathered in Jeddah on Friday to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness as regional relations shift following Saudi Arabia and Iran's decision to resume ties.

The pro-Palestinian rallies follow months of unrest in Iran sparked by the September death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young women arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules. The rallies, an annual fixture since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, are held on the last Friday of Ramadan.

The first plane departed Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, for government-controlled Aden hours after a Saudi delegation departed without a fresh truce but with plans to meet again. Both initiatives come a month after Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran, who back opposing sides in the Yemeni conflict, agreed to re-establish...

Friday's nine-nation talks in Jeddah, the Red Sea gateway to Mecca, come after Syria's foreign minister arrived on a previously unannounced visit - the first since the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011.

Friday's nine-nation talks in Jeddah come after Syria's foreign minister arrived on a previously unannounced visit -- the first since the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011. It was one in a flurry of events that were nearly unthinkable before Saudi Arabia and Iran announced to restore ties.

It's raining peace in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia has taken lead in normalizing ties with countries such as Turkey, Iran and Syria in the past few months.

Nearly 900 prisoners, most of whom were fighting with Houthi rebels, will be flown between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which leads the military coalition fighting on behalf of the ousted government, the official said on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, IRAN  -  Iran's parliament has adopted proposals to toughen penalties for perpetrators of violence against women which could be voted into law within months, state media has reported.Initiated more than 10 years ago, discussions in parliament led to the adoption on Sunday of the general principles of a draft bill...

The delegation's arrival comes roughly a month after China helped broker a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, fuelling hopes for progress on ending the Yemen conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Omani mediators arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Saturday.

Iran's foreign ministry said a delegation will visit Saudi Arabia by April 14 to pave the way for reopening its diplomatic missions there following a similar move by Riyadh. The announcement comes a day after a Saudi delegation arrived in Tehran and follows a historic meeting between the two Gulf...

Tehran, Iran--Police in Iran said on Saturday they plan to use "smart" technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country's strict Islamic dress code.A statement said the force would "take action to identify norm-breaking people by using tools and smart cameras in public places and...

Saturday's visit is part of "implementing the tripartite agreement" reached on March 10 between the two regional powers, brokered by China, to restore relations ruptured in 2016, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The two longtime Middle East rivals have now pledged to work together.

Nearly a decade of war in Yemen has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, both directly and indirectly, and triggered what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The Huthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering the conflict with the government backed for eight years by...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Dozens of schoolgirls were poisoned Saturday in several schools across Iran, local media reported, in continuation of the mysterious phenomenon that has shaken the country for months.Since late November many schools, mostly for girls, have been affected by sudden poisoning incidents from gases or toxic substances, in some...

France's foreign minister has held a rare face-to-face meeting with her Iranian counterpart in China, urging Tehran to release French nationals "arbitrarily detained" in Iran, the foreign ministry said. Catherine Colonna, traveling with French President Emmanuel Macron on his state visit to China, met Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beijing.

The two regional powers have cut ties twice since the 1987 crackdown on protesting Iranian pilgrims in Makkah. They have now pledged to work together for regional stability.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan have pledged to reopen diplomatic representations within two months.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran on Wednesday welcomed a US call to help end the long-running conflict in Yemen by backing a peace process, one year after a United Nations-brokered truce dramatically reduced fighting.Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have multiplied since the Yemeni government's main foreign backer Saudi Arabia signed a Chinese-brokered...

Iran and the United Arab Emirates have long had close economic ties which continued even during the diplomatic chill. A veteran diplomat who served most recently as director general of the foreign ministry's diaspora affairs department, Reza Ameri's career had previously taken him to Algeria, Sudan and Eritrea.

Reza Noshadi, who heads the National Iranian Gas Company’s engineering subsidiary, said that Iran will be able to export gas to Oman through the 200-kilometer pipeline from Minab to Kuhmobarak.

Damascus, Syria - An Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed two Syrian civilians, state media reported, the fourth such attack on government-held areas of the war-torn country in less than a week.During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory,...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Twenty Iranian schoolgirls were hospitalized Tuesday after the latest in a mysterious wave of poisoning attacks that have sickened thousands of pupils, state media reported.The girls were treated after suffering shortness of breath, in Tabriz, capital of the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan, reported the news agency IRNA."Emergency...

Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of two women, the judiciary said after a viral video appeared to show them being attacked by a man for not wearing the hijab. Video footage widely shared on social media in Iran appeared to show the two women customers, who were not wearing hijab...

Tehran, Iran--An officer from Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards was killed in Israeli air strikes on Syria early on Friday, a website affiliated with the Guards said.During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters,...

Syria's foreign ministry condemned the strikes, accusing Israel in a statement of trying to "escape internal divisions", as the country faces a severe domestic crisis over controversial judicial reforms.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia has agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a "dialogue partner", state media reported on Wednesday, the latest indication of closer political ties with China.The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 as a political, economic and security organization to rival Western institutions.Besides China,...

Riyadh's move to partner with the bloc comes less than three weeks after the unveiling of a landmark China-brokered reconciliation deal with Iran to restore full diplomatic relations that were severed seven years ago.

In his first comments on the matter to be made public since the deal was struck, Xi said the dialogue promoted by China would "play a major role in strengthening regional unity and cooperation". Crown Prince Mohammed on Tuesday "expressed the Kingdom's appreciation for the Chinese initiative to support efforts...

The proposed meeting between Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian aims to implement a reconciliation deal brokered by China.

The Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground, said 19 people were killed in the first wave of US strikes: three Syrian soldiers and 16 members of Iran-backed militias. After the strikes, Biden sought to lower the temperature saying the US "does not seek conflict...

The US president sought to lower the temperature on Friday, saying the United States "does not seek conflict with Iran, but is prepared to act forcefully to protect our people". Hours after the strikes, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said 10 rockets were fired at American and coalition forces at...

Kanani was referring to criticism, including from France, of Iran's response to months-long protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini after the 22-year-old's arrest for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women. Hundreds of people have been killed, including dozens of security personnel, and...

Mohammed bin Salman has also worked to mend rifts with regional rivals like Qatar and Turkey, and even offered up the Gulf kingdom as a possible mediator for the war in Ukraine.

Reaffirming their resolve to implement a landmark bilateral reconciliation deal, the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers spoke by phone to mark the beginning of Ramadan and vowed to meet soon. The two ministers "exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan", which begins in both countries on...

The UN has confirmed that Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government have reached an agreement to exchange more than 880 prisoners. This comes in the wake of the China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries. The two regional powers back...

Dubai, UAE - Saudi Arabia and Iran are taking more steps to consolidate their ties following the rapprochement between them brokered by China. The Iranian government on Sunday proposed to Saudi Arabia three locations for a foreign minister’s  level meeting. Addressing a news conference in Tehran,  Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Iran's top security official on Sunday signed a deal with Iraqi authorities for "protection" of their common border, the Iraqi prime minister's office said, months after Tehran struck Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's north.Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region hosts camps and rear-bases operated by several Iranian Kurdish factions, which...