Outgoing Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has moved to create an entire agency within the presidential office that will ensure his continued influence after the inauguration of his successor, Hassan Rohani. Bloomberg conveyed reports Tehran-based newspapers on what’s to be called the “Former President’s Office:” The office will be staffed by...

Saudi Arabian Airlines may be banned from operating at New York City’s John F. Kennedy airport because of its policy of not selling tickets to Israeli passport holders. New York City’s Public Advocate, Bill de Blasio held a press conference explaining the development, after a member of de Blasio’s staff...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit the Jordanian capital on Wednesday in a bid to get Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab League on board for peace talks with Israel. Kerry was originally scheduled to visit Israel on this, his sixth trip to the region...

Egyptian state TV announced this morning that Egypt’s interim government would be unveiling its first cabinet since the removal from power of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, after clashes in Cairo on Monday and early Tuesday killed 7 people and injured more than 250 others. Demonstrators demanding the release of the...

Turkish police arrested dozens of people in Istanbul Tuesday for holding a demonstration in the city’s Taksim Square, bringing to at least 133 the total number of people arrested in connection with ongoing anti-government protests.More than 3,500 Turkish citizens have also been detained in connection with the unrest, and Turkish police are...

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed three ayatollahs to terms on the country’s powerful Guardian Council, the 12-member body responsible for vetting candidates and legislation for conformity with Islamic principles and the Iranian constitution. In a decree issued on Tuesday, the Leader cited article 91 of the Iranian Constitution...

European Union courts are dismantling sanctions designed to stall Iran’s nuclear program at the behest of companies and individuals targeted by the sanctions. Courts are demanding that European governments provide information – much of it sensitive and classified – justifying the asset freezes, visa restrictions, and other measures imposed by the...

European countries are rushing to head off what’s being labeled “jihad tourism,” as evidence emerges that radicalized Europeans are traveling to Syria to fight against the Bashar al-Assad regime. Officials are expressing concerns that their citizens will eventually come home as battle-hardened jihadists: Mounting evidence of a growing number of...

The Sinai Peninsula is fast becoming the primary battleground between the Egyptian military and Islamist groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian off-shoot Hamas, to Al-Qaeda and Salafist groups. The peninsula’s always-tenuous stability has been further undermined by the successive falls of Egyptian presidents Hosni Mubarak in 2011...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas over the weekend to wish him a happy Ramadan holiday. “I called to send you my blessings for Ramadan,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. “I hope that we will have the opportunity to talk...