Middle East

Regional rivals are engaged in increasingly bitter diplomatic sparring as Ankara threatens to expand its Iraqi operations to strategically important region used by Iranian-backed militia

City destroyed during IS occupation now welcomes Pope Francis

Officials say first freight train will leave Istanbul Thursday and is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on March 16 

US officials say Iran’s support for rebel groups has also destabilized broader region

Reporters Without Borders says US intelligence supports its complaint

Press freedom group cited the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Inauguration Day action by Biden also has done little to boost US visa issuances to Iranians in past six weeks as other obstacles to Iranians entering US remain

Biden administration and European officials continue efforts to reopen negotiations with Iran about a new nuclear deal

After 15 years, Israel’s Supreme Court has decided non-Orthodox converts are Jewish and entitled to citizenship

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says famine is bearing down on Yemen and 16 million people are expected to go hungry this year

People arbitrarily detained in Syria have been forcibly disappeared, subject to torture, sexual violence or death in detention 

Five million on brink of starvation; children are especially vulnerable  

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said if US truly wants to begin renegotiating nuclear deal, the path is clear: US must effectively remove the sanctions

A group of French women who joined the Islamic State group continue a hunger strike as part of their demand for France to repatriate them and their children, but it is a tough proposal for French politicians as presidential elections approach

Francis, 84, will become the first pope to visit Iraq when he begins a packed three-day trip on Friday