Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, discussed the latest escalation in the Middle East in a conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, reported by Russian news agency TASS.On April 1, Israel carried out an airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus and on April...

If the Gaza war raging since October 7 has created tough challenges for Jordan, it now faces the additional threat of being stuck in the middle of a widening Israel-Iran conflict.

Stock markets fell and oil prices climbed Tuesday on growing fears of a wider war in the Middle East after Israel's army chief vowed a response to Iran's unprecedented attack on his country at the weekend.The selling came after Wall Street's three main indexes tanked in response to forecast-beating US...

Gulf states are grappling with the widening Middle East conflict as hostilities between Iran and Israel threaten their security and ambitious plans to reshape their economies.Leaders of the resource-rich Gulf monarchies engaged in a rapid round of diplomacy after last weekend's Iranian drone and missile strikes on Israel raised the...

Tehran, IranIran temporarily closed its nuclear facilities over "security considerations" in the wake of its massive missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend, the head of the UN's atomic watchdog said Monday.Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a UN Security Council meeting, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)...

The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has seen a surge in violence since early last year, particularly since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza on October 7. At least 468 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the West Bank since October 7, according...

In light of the military escalation and developments in the Middle East region, the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council held its 44th extraordinary meeting on April 15, 2024, at the headquarters of the Qatari Embassy in Tashkent

It was the first time Hezbollah claimed such an attack in six months of near-daily cross-border clashes between the Iran-backed group and Israel since the Gaza war broke out.

The Kremlin on Monday called for a de-escalation in the Middle East after Iran's unprecedented weekend attack on Israel."We are extremely concerned about the escalation of tensions in the region and we call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint. Further escalation is in no one's interests," Kremlin...

Saturday's bombardment of more than 300 ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones -- which were mostly repelled by air defenses -- compounded worries about the outlook for US interest rates following more forecast-beating inflation and jobs data.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) says the Iranian armed forces’ attack on the Israeli regime was carried out based on Article 51 of the UN Charter, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).Under UN Chapter VII's 'Action with respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace,...

Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, retorted that the Islamic republic was exercising its "inherent right to self-defence" and "had no choice" but to act. He insisted his country did "not seek escalation or war", but would respond to any "threat or aggression".

Iran's attack came in retaliation for an April 1 strike that levelled the five-storey consular annexe of the Iranian embassy in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals. Tehran has since vowed to avenge the strike which was widely blamed on Israel.

As expected, Iran retaliated early Sunday by firing more than 200 drones and missiles toward Israel in response to Israel's covert attack of Iran's diplomatic office in Damascus that killed nine people.

The latest bombardments in Gaza came after Israel said it had strengthened air defences and paused leave for combat units, following a deadly April 1 air strike that destroyed Iran's consulate building in Damascus. Iran blamed its arch foe Israel, which has stepped up strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria...

"Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true -- they are bringing us together," Gallant said, after the two discussed Iran's threats of retaliation for a deadly air strike on its consulate in Syria.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Wednesday that Israel "must be punished and will be punished", days after one of his advisers said Israeli embassies are "no longer safe". Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz swiftly replied on social media site X that "if Iran attacks from its territory, Israel...

Israel's foreign ministry denounced Ireland's new prime minister for not mentioning the hostages held by fighters in Gaza during a speech to the Irish parliament.

The strike came as talks in Cairo aimed at a ceasefire and a hostage release deal dragged on without signs of a breakthrough. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, suggested the strike was an attempt to shift Hamas's negotiating stance, but insisted it would not work.

Biden urged Netanyahu "to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country"

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had no indication of an "imminent" Israeli assault on the city, the last in the Gaza Strip yet to be the target of a ground invasion and where around 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.

The new measures come a day after Turkey said Israel had blocked its attempt to airdrop aid to Gaza. "This decision will remain in place until Israel declares a ceasefire immediately and allows adequate and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza," the trade ministry announced on social media.

On Monday evening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported an alert in the area of Eilat, which was targeted in February by intercepted ballistic missile fire from Yemen's Houthi rebels, allies of Palestinian Hamas. "The target was successfully intercepted by the 'C-Dome' naval defence system," it said.

Amir-Abdollahian is set to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad during the visit, while Syria's information ministry said he was to inaugurate a new Iranian consular section. Syria's pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the officials' talks would be "mainly focused" on repercussions of last week's strike.

At least 33,175 people have been killed in the besieged Palestinian territory in Israel's campaign of retaliation for the October 7 attack, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. At least another 459 Palestinians have been killed in violence in the occupied West Bank.

The Damascus airstrike targeted the Iranian consulate, resulting in the death of IRGC commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and several other IRGC officers. Since then, Iran has issued threats of a "harsh response" against Israel.

At the start of Israel's war with Hamas in October, Donald Trump loudly presented himself as the key US ally's ultimate champion. But six months and more than 33,000 deaths in Gaza later, he has become increasingly vague on the intensity of that support. Trump has halfheartedly commented on the...

Organizers said about 100,000 people converged at a Tel Aviv crossroads renamed "Democracy Square" since mass protests against controversial judicial reforms last year. Chanting "elections now", protesters called for his resignation as the war in Gaza enters its seventh month on Sunday, AFP correspondents reported.

Israel and Hizbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering the war in Gaza. Hizbollah targets Israeli positions close to the border, while Israel retaliates with raids that go deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory.

United Nations - Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has escalated into a "betrayal of humanity", the United Nations' humanitarian chief said on Saturday. In a statement on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the war, Martin Griffiths, the outgoing under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, called for...

"The demands ... are complete ceasefire, withdrawal of the occupation forces from Gaza, the return of the displaced to their residential areas, freedom of movement of the people, offering them aid, shelter, and a serious hostage exchange deal," Hamas said. Its insistence came as US President Joe Biden urged an...

Tehran, Iran - Iran on Saturday again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike on Damascus, with the army chief saying his country's enemies will "regret" the killings.Tehran has vowed to avenge Monday's air strike on the Syrian capital it blamed on its arch-enemy Israel, which...

US, Egypt and Qatar have been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip. Biden, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, "made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including...

Monday's strike in the Syrian capital levelled the five-storey consular annex of the Iranian embassy and killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals. Nasrallah, whose fighters have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since the Gaza war began in October, said the strike on the Iran consulate...

According to a report in magazine +972, Israel has used AI to identify targets in Gaza -- in some cases with as little as 20 seconds of human oversight. Guterres said that he was "deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military's bombing campaign includes Artificial Intelligence as a tool...

According to reports in US media, Burns would meet in the Egyptian capital with Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel. The talks in Cairo would focus on freeing hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters.

Israel said it was targeting a "Hamas gunman" when it killed in Gaza seven aid workers whose deaths caused an international outcry, with its military admitting violations of its own rules of engagement. The drone team who killed them made an "operational misjudgement of the situation", an internal Israeli military...

Brussels, Belgium - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday Washington wanted to see "results" showing more aid was reaching Gazans after Israel announced it would open routes into the territory.Israel announced on Friday that it would allow "temporary" aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after the United...

The threat of regional war compounded fears that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates as much as previously expected, with the focus now on the release of key US jobs data later in the day. The sell-off followed a plunge across the board on Wall Street.

According to statistics cited by Al Jazeera television, about four children die every hour because of the actions of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Women and minors account for at least 70 percent of the total number of missing persons, which has reached 7,000.

The resolution -- which passed with 28 of the council's 47 member states voting in favour, six opposed and 13 abstaining -- marked the first time the United Nations top rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest-ever war to beset the besieged Palestinian territory.

Washington, United States--The father of US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger, one of seven aid workers killed in an Israeli strike earlier this week, said Thursday his son was hesitant to go to Gaza but had felt a need to help.Flickinger, 33, was among a group of World Central Kitchen staff who died...

Dubai, UAE - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to halt its coordination of humanitarian aid with Israel following the death of seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers in Gaza, i24NEWS reported. According to reports, the Emirati foreign ministry has expressed its outrage to the Israeli ambassador Amir Hayek...

Tehran, Iran--Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mourned Thursday the seven Revolutionary Guards killed in a strike in Syria, which he has blamed on Israel and has vowed to "punish", state media reported.The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian embassy's...

Israel has declined to comment on the Damascus strike but analysts saw it as an escalation of Israel's campaign against Iran's regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war. Among the dead were seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said deadly attacks on humanitarian staff showed either deliberate intent or reckless incompetence, and called for a change in how the war is being conducted. The medical charity added that children were turning up in hospitals with gunshot wounds from drones.

Tehran, Iran - Iran has repatriated the bodies of seven Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike on the country's consular annex in Damascus, which Tehran blamed on Israel, local media reported.The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian embassy's consular...

Jerusalem - The Israeli army has suspended leave for its combat units, it said on Thursday, amid the Gaza war and as tensions with Iran grew after a strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus.Israeli media reported that the military was also calling up more reservist soldiers "against the background of...

Paris, France -- Israel's almost six-months-old war in Gaza since the October 7 attack has revived calls for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.Spain's left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced plans to soon recognize a Palestinian state, breaking with other Western powers which have long argued this...

In addition to access to humanitarian aid, the UN's report on children and armed conflict also lists the number of children killed and wounded, as well as attacks on hospitals and schools. The report draws up a "list of shame" of government forces and other armed groups responsible for the...