Arab World News

Syrian Authorities Say Killed Assad-Era Officer After Clash

Arab World A member of Syria's internal security forces in Tartus city. (SANA)

Syrian Authorities Say Killed Assad-Era Officer After Clash

Syrian security forces said on Sunday that they killed an army commander who served under ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, after he opened fire on them as they…

Arab World The sun sets behind apartment buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP)

Iraq Sentences US-Sanctioned Oil Official to Prison

Iraq sentenced a US-sanctioned oil official to seven years in prison after he was arrested as part of a government-led anti-corruption campaign, the country's…

Arab World  Israeli settlers look out through a metal fence, as an Israeli flag flutters nearby, on the day of their weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 29, 2026. (Reuters)

US News Agency Says Crew Attacked by Israeli Settlers in West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked an NBC crew in the central West Bank Saturday, as they were interviewing a Palestinian woman who said she’d been driven out of her…

Arab World People wave Libyan flags during a demonstration in Benghazi February 7, 2014. (Reuters)

Libya Rivals Agree Roadmap for Elections Within 24 Months at UN-Led Talks

Representatives of ‌Libya's rival political parties on Sunday signed an agreement on holding long-delayed national elections within two years to resolve…

Arab World Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event at which new weapons are distributed to Israel's police volunteer security teams in Ashkelon, Israel, October 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Far-Right Israeli Minister Boasts of Worse Prison Conditions for Palestinians

Israel's far-right national security minister on Sunday boasted of worsening conditions for Palestinian prisoners as he visited female inmates. Two months…


Arab World Arab Parliament logo

Arab Parliament Speaker Condemns Israeli Settlement Plan in West Bank

Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Yamahi strongly condemned Israel’s plan to implement the expansionist settlement project in the E1 area of the occupied…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World The logo of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman Purchase Licensing Rights

Syria Requests to Join Anti-chemical Weapons Partnership

Syria on Friday said it had requested to join the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons on the anniversary of a 2013…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World  Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (R) attends a ceremony marking 40 days since the burial of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Karbala, central Iraq, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's Qalibaf Urges Baghdad to Break Economic Dependence on Washington

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibafon Friday urged Baghdad to reduce its reliance on the dollar and draw up what he called a “precise roadmap”…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World Workers sort tobacco leaves grown by the Issa family at a farm in the southern Lebanese village of Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ayn on August 21, 2026. (AFP)

State Return to South Lebanon Extends Beyond Security to Services, Recovery

Lebanon’s push to reassert the state’s presence in the south is moving beyond security deployments to a harder test: restoring schools, services, and…

Soubhi Amhaz (Beirut)
Arab World 17 April 2026, Lebanon, Jiyyeh: A displaced Lebanese woman flashes the victory sign and displays Hezbollah and Iranian flags as they drive along the highway linking Beirut to southern Lebanon in the Jiyyeh area. (dpa)

New US Sanctions Tighten Grip on Hezbollah, Test Lebanon

New US sanctions on Hezbollah go beyond targeting money-transfer networks, signaling a broader shift in Washington’s approach to the group and its relationship…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World  Israeli flags raised by settlers as seen on a main road to Jenin City, 21 August 2026. (EPA)

Rights Group Says Israeli Settler Violence Heads to Established Palestinian Cities

An Israeli group that collects information about potential human rights violations against Palestinians says reported incidents of Israeli settler violence…

Arab World  Relatives of killed Palestinian Karim Shalaldeh, 17, cry after his body was transferred to a hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP)

Palestinian Teen Killed by Israeli Settlers After Rock Throwing Incident

A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed and another man wounded by Israeli settler gunfire after rocks were thrown Friday in Sa’ir, north of Hebron in the…

Arab World Wesam Hamada, the mother of Hind Rajab shows a picture of her late daughter during an interview with The Associated Press at an undisclosed location, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP)

Israel Will Investigate Hind Rajab’s Killing. Her Mother Wants More

The mother of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed after Israeli forces fired on her family’s car in Gaza City wants an independent inquiry into her…

Arab World Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf meet in Baghdad on Wednesday. (Iraq's Prime Minister Media Office / AFP)

Baghdad Implicitly Backtracks on Deadline to Confine Weapons to the State

The Iraqi government on Friday showed signs of backpedaling on the previously scheduled September 30 deadline to restrict weapons to the state. In statements…

Arab World Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday (EPA)

Palestinian President Welcomes Joint International Statement Rejecting E1 Settlement Plan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed a joint statement issued by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)

UN Warns 94% of Gaza's Population Urgently Needs Shelter and Basic Aid

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that civilians in the Gaza Strip continue to face severe risks from…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World The wife of 58-year-old Fathi Khazem, who was killed by the Israeli military as they tried to arrest him, stands at the bedroom door near a pool of his blood at their home in the northern city of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank on August 21, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man on Friday in the city of Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank, with the military saying he had attempted to…

Arab World A satellite image shows craters on the runways of the Abu al-Duhur airbase near Syria's Aleppo after an Israeli attack, August 19, 2026. (Pleiades Neo © Airbus DS 2026/Handout via Reuters)

Türkiye Denies Military Presence at Abu al-Duhur Airbase Before or During Israeli Strike

Türkiye has reaffirmed its support for Syria’s efforts to develop its military capabilities and infrastructure and preserve its unity and sovereignty, while…

Saeed Abdulrazek (Ankara)
Arab World Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Taher al-Aqili during a meeting with military commanders in Marib. (SABA)

Experts to Asharq Al-Awsat: Expanded Yemeni Army Deterrence Operations Pave Way for Wider Battle

Military escalation in Yemen is entering a new phase after the National Defense Council ordered an expansion of air and missile deterrence operations against…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Arab World FILE PHOTO: A general view of the US Department Of The Treasury on day two of a partial government shutdown in Washington, D.C., US, February 1, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

US Hits Hezbollah with Fresh Sanctions, Says Iran Controls it

The United States announced new sanctions Thursday against a Hezbollah financing network, while highlighting the Lebanese armed group's close ties to Iran's…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Arab World Arab League headquarters in Cairo (The League's official Facebook page)

Arab League Chief Condemns Israeli Violations in Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese Territories

Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Fahmy denounced Israel’s violations against Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese territories saying they cannot be…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World (FILES) Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi, speaks during a press conference in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on December 6, 2024. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

Abdi Announces Completion of SDF’s Civil, Military Integration with Damascus

The integration of the Kurdish administration within Syria's state institutions is now complete, Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said on Thursday. The…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Arab World Rapid Support Forces fighters (File photo - AP)

Are Defections Eroding Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces From Within?

A force of dozens of fighters led by General Musa Khamsin has defected from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and joined the army, the latest in a series of…

Ahmed Younes (Kampala)
Arab World A Lebanese army checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of the first model areas in southern Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Israel Moves to Gradually Seize Ali al-Taher After Hezbollah Rejects Evacuation

Israel is seeking to gradually seize the strategic Ali al-Taher Heights east of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, while piling diplomatic pressure on the Lebanese…

Nazir Rida (Beirut)
Arab World Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf at the entrance to parliament (parliament website)

Sources: Ghalibaf’s Baghdad Visit Fell Short of All Objectives

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Thursday backed Iraq’s push to bring weapons under state control amid a Sept. 30 deadline. Ghalibaf…

Hamza Mustafa (Baghdad)
Arab World A bulldozer prepares roads at the site of the former Israeli settlement of Kadim near the West Bank city of Jenin, 19 August 2026. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

France, Germany, UK and Italy Condemn Israel's 'E1' West Bank Plan

France, Germany, Britain and Italy condemned on Thursday plans by Israel to open up construction tenders for a residential property project called 'E1' in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World 15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli soldiers deploy in the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank, as Israeli settlers tour the area under their protection after forces closed roads and alleys, restricting the movement of Palestinian residents. Photo: Mamoun Wazwaz/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israelis Return to Last West Bank Settlement Closed over 20 Years Ago

Israelis began moving into the occupied West Bank settlement of Kadim on Thursday, the local settler council said, the last of four communities from which…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Palestinians carry the body of a person killed following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, 19 August 2026.EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar Condemn Israeli Attacks on Gaza, Call on Israel to Comply with Ceasefire Obligations

Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar on Thursday strongly condemned recent Israeli strikes in Gaza, saying in a joint statement that Israel must comply with its…

Asharq Al Awsat