Features

Features A satellite view shows vehicles at an entrance to Pickaxe Mountain tunnels, of the Natanz nuclear facility, near Natanz, Iran, June 21, 2026. Vantor/Handout via REUTERS

What is Pickaxe Mountain, the Iranian Nuclear-linked Site Threatened by Trump?

US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack a site linked to Iran's nuclear program known as Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep…

Asharq Al Awsat (London) Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Features Labour MP and challenger for leader of the Labour party, Andy Burnham, waves as he leaves after delivering a speech in Manchester, northern England, on June 29, 2026. (AFP)

Andy Burnham, a Mayor from England’s North, Is Poised to Become Britain’s Next Prime Minister

Andy Burnham got to the top through a mix of patience and risk-taking. A decade ago, Burnham abandoned a 20-year climb up the Labour Party ladder in London…

Features Yemen’s armed forces claimed responsibility for targeting the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent the Iranian aircraft from landing. (EPA)

How the Yemeni Gov’t Handled Iran’s Sanaa Airport Escalation

Yemen’s leadership viewed an Iranian aircraft’s attempt to land at Sanaa airport last Monday as more than an aviation incident that could be overlooked to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Aden)
Features Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sign a military cooperation agreement in Cairo on Feb. 4. (Turkish Presidency)

How Could Growing Egypt-Türkiye Ties Shape Regional Conflicts?

A series of high-level meetings between Egypt and Türkiye has culminated in the first visit by an Egyptian defense minister to Ankara in 13 years, raising…

Ahmad Jamal (Cairo)
Features  A resident of a nursing home eats fruit to beat the heat in Munich, Germany, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)

Ticking Time Bomb? Europe’s Ageing Population Brings Challenges

The population of the 27-nation European Union will peak in 2029 before falling in the coming decades, according to a report published Tuesday that spotlights…

Features Atef Najib at the Damascus courthouse on April 26, 2026. (Reuters)

Atef Najib in Court: Reconstructing the Story of the ‘First Spark’ in Syria’s Uprising

The arrest of schoolchildren in the southern Syrian city of Daraa in March 2011 is widely regarded as the spark that ignited the Syrian uprising. What began as…

Sultan al-Kanj
Features This video grab taken on April 3, 2026, from undated UGC images shared on social media on April 1, 2026, shows thick plumes of smoke rising following airstrikes in Baharestan, in Iran's central Isfahan province. (Photo by various sources / AFP)

Israel Struck an Iranian Steel Facility. Was it a Valid Military Target?

Washington: Yeganeh Torbati Over the course of the Iran war, US and Israeli warplanes hit missile depots and launchers, security forces’ headquarters and…

Features Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa: The Emir Who Transformed Qatar

With the passing of the Father Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar closes the chapter on one of the Gulf region's most significant political and…

Mirza al-Khuweildi (Doha)
Features  A youth releases a kite in the colors of the Palestinian flag as he takes part in a kite festival under the theme "The Land Is Our Land and the Sky Is Our Sky," in the village of Burin near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP)

‘Our Land, Our Sky:’ West Bank Palestinians Fly Kites in Defiance of Israeli Settlers

As brightly colored kites climb above Burin, a Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, children race across a sun-baked hillside, watching their…

Features US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa alongside the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Türkiye, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

What Does Removing Syria from the US List of State Sponsors of Terrorism Mean for Its Economy?

The US administration’s decision to begin the process of removing Syria from its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) - where it has remained since 1979 -…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Features Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier while Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP)

Who Benefits from the Damascus Bombings at Such a Sensitive Time?

Two successive explosions struck one of Syria’s most sensitive locations at a particularly delicate moment for the country’s authorities, occurring about 10…

Souad Jarous (Damascus)
Features  In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a long-range ballistic missile bursts out of the sea during a test launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific on Monday, July 6, 2026. (Li Xiangchao/Xinhua via AP)

What to Know About China’s Rare Ballistic Missile Test and Why It Raises Concerns

China's navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile Monday from a nuclear-powered submarine — a move that experts said showed Beijing's increasing skill…

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Features This picture shows the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Froun on June 30, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon’s South Takes a Breath as Families Return to Shattered Homes and Lives

On a beachfront in the coastal city of Tyre, war has finally abated just enough for children to play in the waves and families to gather under parasols as life…

Features US President Donald Trump speaks during the Salute to America 250 celebration on the National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 04 July 2026. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO / POOL

Trump Won Big Spending Promises from NATO Last Year. This Week in Türkiye, He'll Try to Enforce Them

President Donald Trump got what he wanted from NATO at last year’s summit: an alliance whose members had largely acceded to his demands to step up their…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Government Press Office shows Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (R) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at the governmental palace in Beirut on July 2, 2026. (Lebanese Government Press Office / AFP)

Syrian FM’s Visit Lays Groundwork for Strategic Partnership with Lebanon

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani‘s visit to Beirut was more than a diplomatic stop. Coming amid sweeping regional changes, particularly in Lebanon, it…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Features FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump participates in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, June 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo

NATO Chief May Have to Match His Made-for-Trump Sales Pitch to Keep a Summit on the Rails

Since he started work as NATO secretary-general almost two years ago, Mark Rutte has spent much of his time trying to keep the United States anchored to the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features The aftermath of a bombing in the Eastern sector of south Lebanon Fronts (AP)

Lebanon Enters Conflict Management Phase as End Remains Elusive

Negotiations to cement the ceasefire in southern Lebanon, alongside talks on the future of the south, the role of the Lebanese army and international…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Features Most of the 6.1 million Afghan returnees who have arrived from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023 are listed as undocumented. Aimal ZAHIR / AFP

Afghans Come Home But Risk Exclusion Without any ID

Lugging suitcases across the border after packing up in Pakistan, Afghans are returning home with their worldly possessions but often lack one key item to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features National flags of NATO members flutter at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium April 2, 2025. (Reuters)

What Are the Key Challenges Facing NATO?

NATO leaders gathering for a summit in Ankara on July ‌7-8 will discuss a host of challenges facing the alliance, from Europe taking on more…

Features Iraqi security personnel in their vehicle guard the street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)

Inside ‘Operation Dawn Strike’: The Covert Mission to Separate Iraq from Iran's Influence

Government and security sources have revealed that the wave of arrests carried out by Iraqi authorities last Sunday unfolded along two parallel tracks. One…

Ali Saray (London)
Features A near-empty market in Khartoum (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudanese Endure Hardship Under the Weight of War

For many Sudanese, the question is no longer when the war will end, but how they can make it through another day as prices soar and their ability to secure…

Asharq Al Awsat (Khartoum)
Features Iraqi factions that fought alongside Iran in the recent war with the United States. (Popular Mobilization Forces media)

Baghdad Emerges as Next Arena in US-Iran Confrontation

More than a month after winning parliament’s confidence on May 14, 2026, Ali al-Zaidi’s government remains unfinished. Nearly 10 ministerial portfolios are…

Hisham Daoud
Features A bird flies near an Iranian flag and a banner with a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Mojtaba Khamenei: Iran’s Unseen Leader Shadowed by Late Father

Mojtaba Khamenei, who has spent his career behind the scenes and is yet to appear in public as Iran's new supreme leader, faces the formidable challenge of…

Features People ride past a banner with a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran’s New Leaders Post-Ali Khamenei

A group of military, theocratic and civilian figures, rather than a single individual, have led decision-making in Iran since the killing of longstanding…