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Middle East

  • Syrian government forces guard al-Shaddadi prison after taking control of the facility south of the city of Hasakah on Tuesday.
    Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images
    Why the fate of ISIS prisoners in Syria is back on the radar
  • A photograph shows machinery demolishing a structure inside the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 20, 2026. Israeli bulldozers began demolitions at the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in east Jerusalem on January 20, in what the organisation called an "unprecedented attack". The compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been empty of UNRWA staff since January 2025, when a law banning its operations took effect after a months-long battle over its work in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by ILIA YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images)
    Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/Getty Images
    Israel starts demolishing UN agency headquarters in East Jerusalem after ban
  • Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participate in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on January 15, 2026. Amid the ongoing developments in Iran, several Kurdish opposition groups have become active along the border separating the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Iran. The KDPI, a leftist Kurdish group of Iran that has been running an armed struggle against the Islamic Republic's regime in Iran from exile for decades. (Photo by Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
    Osama Al Maqdoni/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
    After decades of fighting the Iranian regime, Kurds see victory edging closer
  • This aerial photo taken from a helicopter shows al-Asad Air Base in the western Anbar desert of Iraq on December 29, 2019.
    Nasser Nasser/AP/File
    Iraq announces full withdrawal of US forces from its federal territory
  • Syrian government forces launch a rocket towards Kurdish forces near Dibsi Faraj in the northern Syrian Tabqa area, Raqa province on January 17, 2026. Syria's army took control of swathes of northern Syria and threatened to bomb parts of Raqa province on January 17, after Kurdish forces pulled back from territory they had held for over a decade. The government appeared to be seeking to extend its grip on parts of the country under Kurdish control a day after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a "national language" and granting the minority official recognition.
    Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images
    Syria’s military has seized swaths of Kurdish-held territory. Here’s what we know.
  • U.S. Air Force Airmen inspect a KC-135 Stratotanker during pre-flight checks at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, June 26, 2023. The KC-135 Stratotanker allows air assets to significantly increase flight time and decrease time spent on the ground. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero)
    Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero/US Air Force/File
    Major Middle East powers urge Trump not to attack Iran as US moves some personnel from key base
  • Screenshot 2026-01-14 at 3.45.20 PM.png
    Whatsapp
    Execution of Iranian protester Erfan Soltani postponed, family says, as Trump claims ‘killing has stopped’
  • In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, a 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-1B Lancer deployed to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing prepares to taxi on April 13, 2018, and launch a strike mission from Al Udeid AIr Base, Qatar, in support of the multinational response to Syria's recent use of chemical weapons. Two B-1Bs, deployed to Al Udeid AB from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., employed 19 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER), marking the first combat employment of the weapon.
    Master Stg. Phil Speck/AP
    The weapons the US could employ in any new strike on Iran
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  • <strong>Mehdi Zatparvar, Robina Aminian, Ebrahim Yousef</strong>
    Social Media
    A student, a bodybuilder and a father of three among those killed during protests in Iran
  • Anti-government protestors demonstrate on January 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.
    Getty Images
    A morgue overflowing with more body bags than answers amid Iran’s latest crackdown on dissent
  • Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran on January 9, 2026. The nationwide protests started in Tehran's Grand Bazaar against the failing economic policies in late December, which spread to universities and other cities, and included economic slogans, to political and anti-government ones.
    MAHSA/Middle East Images/Getty Images
    Protesters in Tehran describe seeing ‘bodies piled up’ in hospitals after crackdown by authorities
  • Reza Pahlavi is photographed for Paris Match on May 07, 2024 in Paris, France.
    Alvaro Canovas/Paris Match/Getty Images/File
    The son of Iran’s last shah is rallying protesters. But do Iranians really want another king?
  • Mandatory Credit: Photo by STRINGER/EPA/Shutterstock (16215932b) Iranian shopkeepers and traders protest against the economic conditions, as tear gas is fired by anti-riot police in Tehran, Iran, 29 December 2025. Iran is experiencing an economic crisis as the value of its currency declines as a result of tensions between Iran, Israel, and the USA as well as sanctions implemented by the US and EU against Iran. Iranian shopkeepers protest over economic crisis in Tehran, Iran Islamic Republic Of - 29 Dec 2025
    EPA/Shutterstock
    Iran faces a pivotal moment. Can a tired regime contain a fresh wave of protests?
  • iran.jpg
    • Video 1:58
    IranWire
    Video Protesters march across Iran Thursday with large crowds in capital 1:58
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  • TOPSHOT - This picture taken on January 8, 2026 shows columns of smoke rising from Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods amid intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces. Syria's military warned civilians in two besieged Kurdish neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo to leave on December 8, as it prepared to conduct a fresh wave of strikes targeting Kurdish positions. Thousands have already fled the area following clashes between the army and Kurdish-led forces that have killed more than a dozen people. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP via Getty Images)
    Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images
    Syrian army launches new strikes in Aleppo as fighting with Kurdish-led SDF intensifies
  • Saudi-backed forces move to capture key Yemeni city as crisis with UAE deepens
  • Saudi Arabia’s dispute with the UAE exposes a deeper regional power struggle
  • Former Israeli hostage recounts sexual abuse in Hamas captivity and fear of becoming a ‘sex slave’
  • Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
    Fars News Agency/AP
    Iran appoints new central bank governor after mass protests as currency hits record low
  • Video Currency plunge sparks Iran’s biggest protests in years 2:39
  • Israel to suspend operations of several aid groups in Gaza as countries warn of renewed ‘catastrophic’ humanitarian crisis
  • Video Palestinians struggle to survive in devastated environment 1:59
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