Former Iranian top nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian told Iranian media in a recent interview that the Islamic republic will never agree to dismantle portions of its nuclear infrastructure, threatening to bring renewed focus to what has already become a contentious political debate over the degree to which the Obama administration has accurately conveyed the...

Sectarian violence in and around Bahgdad killed seven people on Tuesday, extending bloodshed that in January had claimed more than 1,000 lives – the worst monthly figure in nearly six years – and deepening fears that Iraq may be entering into a cycle of instability that risks outright state failure. Monday had seen violence...

The Washington Times on Monday conveyed reports indicating that a surge in executions has taken place inside Iran since the inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani – now reaching “about 66 people per month, 19 more per month than during the 2-year period before… [he] took office” – with the result being that the...

By the end of 2013 Israeli hospitals had treated at least 200 Syrians wounded in that country’s war, garnering international attention – including from analysts at U.S. think tanks – highlighting Israel’s nearly singular role in directly alleviating Syrian suffering: Mira Eli, the nurse in charge of the maternity delivery...

Testimony given yesterday to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations seems likely to deepen debates over the robustness of the Obama administration’s approach to Iran, many of which have become proxies for more narrow debates over the degree to which Congress should have a voice in approving any comprehensive deal...

European companies are scrambling to rush back into Iran’s newly reopened markets despite Obama administration statements insisting that the Islamic republic “is not open for business,” threatening to undermine confidence in the White House’s management of the diplomatic battlefield as the West and Tehran head into comprehensive nuclear negotiations scheduled for mid-February. Benjamin...

Turkish media outlet Hurriyet Daily News described early on Monday the final compensation figure that Israel will provide to Turkey as part of a reconciliation deal between the two countries, years after Ankara largely froze bilateral relations in the aftermath of a U.N. report that confirmed Jerusalem’s legal interpretation of a 2010...

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday told a group of 15 U.S. congressmen that the Obama administration’s policy toward Syria had failed – and that Washington must rush to arm relatively moderate rebel elements as to offset both Al Qaeda-linked radicals and the Iran-backed Bashar al-Assad regime – according to Sens....

Hamas security sources this weekend told Agence France Presse on Sunday that the Iran-backed terror group was withdrawing roughly 600 fighters from the border between Israel and Gaza, where they had been recently been stationed and tasked with preventing smaller terrorist groups from launching rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians and soldiers....

Deutsche Welle assessed last week that the coming year will likely witness a continuing decline in Hamas’s domestic and regional positions, with the German outlet quoting Gaza-based political scientist Mukhaimar Abusaada bluntly evaluating that under “under the current circumstances 2014 is going to be a very bad year” for the Iran-backed terror group....