Features

Features A woman walks past a residential building that was hit in an Israeli strike covered with a big Iranian flag, in Tehran on June 25, 2025. (AFP)

Early US Intelligence Report Suggests US Strikes Only Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program by Months

A US intelligence report suggests that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months after US strikes and was not “completely and fully…

Features Travelers track flight changes during Iran-Israel war (Reuters)

Lebanese Face Grueling Journeys Home After War Leaves them Stranded Abroad

Hundreds of Lebanese citizens stranded abroad during the recent Iran-Israel war hope the declared ceasefire will soon allow them to return home, after spending…

Hanan Hamdan (Beirut)
Features US President Donald Trump (Reuters)

Ceasefire Ends Iran-Israel War, Stakeholders Weigh Costs and Benefits

In a stunning development, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire that effectively ended the conflict between Iran and Israel. The announcement…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Features FILE - This file image made from a video aired Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, by Israeli television station Channel 10, shows what the television station claims is Israel's nuclear facility in the southern Israeli town of Dimona, the first detailed video of the site ever shown to the public. (Channel 10 via AP, File)

As It Attacks Iran's Nuclear Program, Israel Maintains Ambiguity about Its Own

Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear program because its archenemy's furtive efforts to build an atomic weapon are a threat to its existence…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features A Hezbollah supporter walks near a site previously targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs during a pro-Iran demonstration on Friday (EPA)

Israeli-Iranian Conflict Alarms Residents of Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

As the Israeli-Iranian conflict intensifies, many Lebanese, particularly in Hezbollah strongholds such as South Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s…

Hanan Hamdan (Beirut)
Features Students in an English class at a primary school run by URWA for Palestinian refugees at the Mar Elias refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

As the UN Turns 80, Its Crucial Humanitarian Aid Work Faces a Clouded Future

At a refugee camp in northern Kenya, Aujene Cimanimpaye waits as a hot lunch of lentils and sorghum is ladled out for her and her nine children — all born…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features 
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (left) and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, pictured during their alliance to oust Omar al-Bashir in 2019 (AFP)

Sudan's Relentless War: A 70-Year Cycle of Conflict

While world conflicts dominate headlines, Sudan’s deepening catastrophe is unfolding largely out of sight; a brutal war that has killed tens of thousands,…

Ahmed Younes (Kampala)
Features File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)

10 Years after Europe's Migration Crisis, the Fallout Reverberates in Greece and Beyond

Fleeing Iran with her husband and toddler, Amena Namjoyan reached a rocky beach of this eastern Greek island along with hundreds of thousands of others. For…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Will Israel’s Interceptors Outlast Iran’s Missiles?

Israel has a world-leading missile interception system but its bank of interceptors is finite. Now, as the war drags on, Israel is firing interceptors faster…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Features FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

The Iran-Israel war has helped strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically and overseas, just as his grip on power looked vulnerable. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Features The United Nations logo is seen on a window in an empty hallway at United Nations headquarters during the 75th annual UN General Assembly high-level debate in New York, US, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar

These are 5 Things the UN Does that You May Not Have Known

The United Nations' vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features Shops remain shuttered Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

Fear Stalks Tehran as Israel Bombards, Shelters Fill Up and Communicating Grows Harder

The streets of Tehran are empty, businesses closed, communications patchy at best. With no bona fide bomb shelters open to the public, panicked masses spend…

Features Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

How Israel Used Spies, Smuggled Drones and AI to Stun and Hobble Iran 

Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with…

Features A Syrian man takes pictures with his mobile phone of Iranian missiles on their way toward Israel, as they pass over Damascus airspace, Syria, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

War-weary Syrians and Lebanese Watch from the Sidelines as Missiles Fly in Israel-Iran Conflict 

In a park overlooking Damascus, 25-year-old Khaldoun Hallak has spent the past few evenings with his friends, drinking yerba mate, snacking on nuts, smoking…

Features A poster of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Iran. (Reuters)

Is Hezbollah Capable of Fighting Israel Again?

Hezbollah has once again threatened to take up the fight against Israel amid the conflict between Iran and Israel. The Lebanese people have been warily…

Caroline Akoum (Beirut)
Features  In this photo released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(US Air Force via AP, File)

What to Know About Bunker-Buster Bombs and Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Facility

If the US decides to support Israel more directly in its attack on Iran, one option for Washington would be to provide the "bunker-buster" bombs believed…

Features Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei looks on, in a televised message following the Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Iran Leader Khamenei Sees His Inner Circle Hollowed Out by Israel 

Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cuts an increasingly lonely figure. Khamenei has seen his main military and security advisers killed by…

Features Smoke billows from an explosion in Tehran on June 16, 2025. (AFP)

Iranians in Europe Share ‘Mixed Feelings’ on Israel Offensive 

As Israel and Iran trade fire in their most intense confrontation in history, members of the Iranian diaspora in Europe are torn between hopes for change and…

Features Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

Iraq Treads a Tightrope to Avoid Spillover from Israel-Iran Conflict 

In Iraqi airspace, Iranian missiles and drones have crossed paths with Israeli warplanes, forcing Baghdad to step up efforts to avoid being drawn into the…

Features US President Donald Trump gestures as he attends a family photo session during the G7 Summit, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

Trump Is at a Moment of Choosing as Israel Looks for More US Help Crushing Iran's Nuclear Program 

President Donald Trump in about eight hours Monday went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained "achievable" to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents…

Features A satellite image shows new vehicle tracks and dirt piles over underground centrifuge facility at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran after airstrike in Iran in this handout image dated June 15, 2025. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)

How Much Damage Have Israeli Strikes Caused to Iran’s Nuclear Program?

Israel has carried out wide-ranging military strikes on Iran, hitting sites including some of its most important nuclear facilities. Below is a summary of…

Features This picture shows the empty arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025, after Israel closed its airspace to takeoff and landing. (AFP)

100,000 Israelis Stranded Abroad, Authorities Warn They Should Not Return by Land

Around 100,000 Israelis remain stranded abroad as Israel’s airspace stayed closed amid its ongoing strikes on Iran. Authorities in Tel Aviv fear Iran or its…

Kifah Zboun (Ramallah)
Features Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts ballistic missiles fired from Iran over the city of Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 June 2025. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

What is Israel's Multi-layered Defense against Iranian Missiles?

Israel has multi-layered air defenses against attacks by Iran, which has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and suicide drones at Israel over the past two…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features People gather near a damaged building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

What Role Did the ‘Mossad-Tehran Branch’ Play in Operation Rising Lion?

Just hours after launching its military operation “Rising Lion” against Iran, Israel revealed an extensive and long-standing intelligence campaign conducted by…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)