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 Palestinian-American dual citizen Louai Abu Ridi, whose home in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra is besieged by Israeli settlers, poses for a picture next to a US flag on the roof of the building in Qusra on August 18, 2026. (AFP)

Palestinian-American Hoists US Flag on Home Besieged by Israeli Settlers

A Palestinian-American has raised the US flag on his home besieged by Israeli settlers, as the United States renewed criticism of the siege that has generated…

Arab World A seawater desalination plant in Tunisia

Tunisia: Sousse Turns to Seawater Desalination to Fight Water Shortage

The head of the seawater desalination plant project in the coastal Tunisian city of Sousse has said that the facility entered its trial phase at a time when…

Asharq Al Awsat (Tunis)
Arab World The Abu al-Duhur base following Israeli strikes, Syria, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)

Türkiye Rejects Israeli Claims After Strike on Syria Air Base

Türkiye rejected on Wednesday Israeli allegations that it posed a threat by preparing to send troops to a base in Syria, which was hit in a strike that the…

Arab World Dozens of Houthi missiles and drones targeted Yemen’s Mokha port (AFP)

Houthis Target Mokha to Halt Port’s Growing Role

For more than a week, Iran-backed Houthis have pounded Yemen’s city of Mokha, its port and nearby harbors close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait with dozens of…

Mohammed Nasser (Aden)
Arab World Hezbollah supporters wave the flags of the group and Iran in Beirut’s southern suburbs during a ceremony held last month to coincide with the funeral of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (EPA)

Hezbollah Threat to Mobilize the Street: Venting Anger or a Pressure Tactic?

“You have the right to be angry. But we ask you to hold that anger inside and be ready to use it when the time comes to achieve your goals and demands.” With…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Arab World A member of the Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. (AFP)

Iraq Tests Limits of State Power in Push to Rein in Armed Factions

The Iraqi government appeared to test how far it could push efforts to bring weapons under state control by arresting a senior al-Nujaba Movement figure, then…

Asharq Al Awsat (London) Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Arab World A Palestinian inspects the site of an Israeli strike on a cafe, at the seaport of Gaza City, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)

Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strike on Port Kills Six

Gaza health officials said Tuesday that an Israeli airstrike killed six people in the port of Gaza City and wounded a dozen more, while the Israeli army said…

Arab World Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meet in Tehran in July. (AFP)

Iran Parliament Speaker to Visit Iraq on Wednesday

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will travel to Iraq on Wednesday at the head of a high-level parliamentary delegation to hold talks on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Arab World A UN vehicle drives, during a Reuters' visit at Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. (Reuters)

Lebanese President to Visit Rome for Talks on UN Force’s Future, Says Official

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will head to Rome this week for talks focusing on future of the United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, whose…

Arab World  International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attend a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Aug. 18, 2026. (AP)

UN Watchdog Excavates Suspected Syrian Nuclear Site as Damascus Pledges Safeguards

Inspectors with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog have begun excavating at a site believed to be linked to a clandestine nuclear program run by Syria's…

Arab World (FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Lebanon is Handing over an Assad-era General after War Crimes Questioning

Lebanon’s judicial authorities have decided to hand over a former senior Syrian military officer under ousted President Bashar Assad to Damascus after…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World A boy walks carrying a table on his back past salvage workers scrapping the rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Hamas Tells Kushner it Intends to Become a Social Political Party

A Hamas source and another source from a Palestinian faction that took part in the latest Cairo negotiations revealed some details surrounding the summit…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)
Arab World Israeli soldiers secure the weekly tour of settlers in the streets of Hebron in the occupied West Bank (Reuters)

West Bank Siege Exposes Israel Army Inaction on Settler Violence

The Israeli military is touted as the most powerful in the Middle East, striking targets deep into enemy territory. But for more than a week, Israeli troops…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Salvage workers shovel the scrapped rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

UN Says Only 3% of Gaza Cropland Accessible and Undamaged

Just three percent of the cropland in Gaza remains accessible and undamaged, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned Tuesday, citing an analysis of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World The Banias power plant. (Tartus Governorate on Facebook)

Syria Says 3 Dead in Hydrogen Tank Blast at Coastal Power Plant

A hydrogen tank explosion at a power plant in western Syria killed three people on Tuesday, an electricity company official said. Alaa Sawda, head of the…

Arab World  Palestinians walk amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, in Gaza City, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP)

Hamas Says It Is Committed to Gaza Deal After Kushner’s Israel Visit

Hamas said on Tuesday it remained committed to the US-backed Gaza peace deal after White House envoy Jared Kushner spoke to Israel about steps towards the…

Arab World Wassim al-Assad during his trial at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Aug. 18, 2026. (SANA)

Syria Issues Death Sentence to Detained Assad Cousin

A Syrian court on Tuesday issued a death sentence to detainee Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad who was himself sentenced to death in…

Arab World A picture taken on January 21, 2018 shows damaged Syrian air force fighter planes at the Abu Duhur military airport area in Syria's Idlib province. (File/AFP)

Syria Accuses Israel of Striking Military Airfield

Syria accused Israel of striking a military airfield in the country's northwest on Tuesday, after a security source told AFP the out-of-service military…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Mohammad Ghamira, a Syrian Civil Defense worker who died after mistreatment at a police station in al-Haffah, in the Latakia countryside. (Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management)

Committee Led by Assistant Interior Minister Investigates Death of Young Man in Syrian Police Custody

Syrian authorities have detained seven people in connection with the death of a 29-year-old man who was beaten while in police custody, as two government…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Arab World The rubble and debris of flattened buildings litter the hillside following an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh al-Fawqa on August 15, 2026. (AFP)

Risk of Escalation in Lebanon as Israeli Military Prepares for ‘Intensified’ Fighting

The confrontation in southern Lebanon is entering a sensitive phase as Israeli military operations continue alongside US-mediated negotiations, while Israel’s…

Soubhi Amhaz (Beirut)
Arab World A handout photo made available by Israel's Government Press Office (GPO) shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-R)  meeting with US President Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, (2-L), the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner (L), and Minister Ron Dermer (R), attending the Israeli cabinet meeting in Jerusalem , 09 October 2025  (EPA/Handout)

Tel Aviv Says Kushner Accepts Netanyahu’s Position on Gaza

US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, agreed to the position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue assassinations…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
Arab World Smoke billows after strikes near Erbil airport on July 24, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq to Probe Drone Attack on Kurdistan PM’s Office

Iraq said on Monday it would launch an investigation into an overnight drone attack on the Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister's office, as Iran portrayed the…

Arab World  Damage in the aftermath of Houthi strikes on the Red Sea port city of Mokha, Yemen, August 10, 2026 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. (Reuters/Handout)

Houthis Fire 5 Ballistic Missiles at Bab el-Mandeb

The Iran-backed Houthi group fired on Monday five ballistic missiles at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, days after their attacks on Yemen’s Mokha all…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Arab World  Palestinian-American Louis Ridi, who seeks access to his home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that has been encircled by militant settlers for more than a week, embraces his mother at her home, in Qusra village, Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Palestinian-American Returns to West Bank to Defend His Home Under Siege by Israeli Settlers

The Palestinian-American whose home in the occupied West Bank has been besieged by Israeli settlers for over a week arrived in the region Monday and said he…