Middle East

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's newest ship, the Shahid Mahdavi, center right, under construction in a shipyard west of Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 21, 2022. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is building the massive new support ship near the strategic Strait of Hormuz as it tries to expand its naval presence in waters vital to international energy supplies and beyond, satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press show. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Ship expands Iran Revolutionary Guard’s reach to new waters

Analysts say a new support ship Iran is building will expand its naval presence in waters vital to international energy supplies. The ship also provides a large, floating base from which to run the small fast boats that largely make up its fleet designed to counter the U.S. Navy and other allied forces in the region.

The Greek-flagged oil tanker Prudent Warrior, background, is seen as it sails past Istanbul, Turkey, April 19, 2019. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized two Greek oil tankers on Friday, May 27, 2022, in helicopter-launched raids in the Persian Gulf, according to officials. The actions were an apparent retaliation for Athens assisting the U.S. in seizing Iranian crude oil in the Mediterranean Sea over violating Washington's crushing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. (Dursun Çam via AP)

Iran seizes 2 Greek tankers in Persian Gulf as tensions rise

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized two Greek oil tankers Friday in helicopter-launched raids in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks before departing Tehran's Mehrabad airport for a trip to Oman, Monday, May, 23, 2022.

Economic protests challenge Iran’s leaders as hopes for nuclear deal fade

Street protests in several Iranian cities in recent weeks, sparked by the soaring costs of food and other staples, have underscored the challenges facing Iran’s government from global shortages caused by war in Ukraine and the continued imposition of Western sanctions as talks to restore a 2015 nuclear deal remain stalled.

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A child begs on a side walk in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 22, 2022. Some 1.1 million Afghan children under the age of five will face malnutrition by the end of the year. , as hospitals wards are already packed with sick children . (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

1.1 million Afghan children could face severe malnutrition

Though aid agencies' massive humanitarian program succeeded so far in staving off outright famine the past six months, they are struggling to keep pace with relentlessly worsening conditions.

Police officers detain a supporter of Pakistan's key opposition as clashes broke out during a protest march toward Islamabad, in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Pakistani authorities blocked off all major roads into the capital Islamabad on Wednesday, after a defiant former Prime Minister Imran Khan said he would march with demonstrators to the city center for a rally he hopes will bring down the government and force early elections. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan’s ousted prime minister urges followers to banned rally

Protest marches have raised fears of major violence between supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan and security forces. The government of Khan's successor, Shahbaz Sharif, has banned the rally and warned Khan he could face arrest if he went ahead with the demonstrations.

Freelance journalist Austin Tice went missing in Syria in 2012 and has not been heard from since. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)

US asks Lebanese general for help freeing Marine veteran Austin Tice in Syria

Biden administration officials have asked a Lebanese general for help securing the freedom of Austin Tice, a journalist and U.S. Marine Corps veteran missing in Syria since 2012.

Yellow tape marks bullet holes on a tree and a portrait and flowers create a makeshift memorial at the site where Palestinian-American Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed in the West Bank city of Jenin, Thursday,, May 19, 2022. Almost two weeks after the death of Abu Akleh, a reconstruction by The Associated Press lends support to assertions from both Palestinian authorities and Abu Akleh's colleagues that the bullet that cut her down came from an Israeli gun. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

US has not been asked to help in probe of reporter's killing

The U.S. State Department says neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority has formally requested U.S. assistance in the investigation of the killing of a Palestinian-American reporter in the West Bank two weeks ago.

President Joe Biden prepares to board Air Force One at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

Biden’s Iran envoy says nuclear talks aren’t dead but time is running out

The top U.S. envoy to the Iran nuclear talks says that efforts to revive the 2015 agreement are faltering but that he believes offering Tehran “limited” sanctions relief could still salvage the accord and provide the basis for a broader deal.

Israeli police confront mourners and journalists covering the funeral of slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in east Jerusalem, Friday, May 13, 2022. Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American reporter who covered the Mideast conflict for more than 25 years, was shot dead Wednesday during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israel says 5 Palestinians arrested in alleged attack plots

Israeli police and the Shin Bet security service said in a statement that five Palestinian men planned a shooting attack against a far-right member of the Knesset and kidnappings of Israeli soldiers.

Evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 30. U.S. service members are assisting the Department of State with a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) in Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Victor Mancillal)

Commanding officer describes a small Norfolk unit’s big role in the Afghanistan evacuation

Making it work was the task of 30 operations planners from a small military team: the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, working with senior State Department leaders.

Mourners follow a truck carrying the flag draped coffin of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei who was killed on Sunday, in his funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi vowed revenge on Monday over the killing of Sayyad Khodaei who was shot at his car by two assailants outside his home in Tehran, a still-mysterious attack on the country's powerful paramilitary force. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Thousands attend funeral for slain Guard colonel in Iran

Iran blamed "global arrogance," which is code for the United States and Israel, for the killing of a senior Revolutionary Guard member, as mourners took to the streets in Tehran on Tuesday chanting “death to Israel.”

Taliban fighters sit in a pickup truck at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. Some 200 foreigners, including Americans, flew out of Afghanistan on an international commercial flight from Kabul airport on Thursday, the first such large-scale departure since U.S and foreign forces concluded their frantic withdrawal at the end of last month. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Taliban say deal signed with UAE firm to manage airports

The Taliban announced a deal Tuesday allowing an Emirati company to manage three airports in Afghanistan after the fall of the country's U.S.-backed government. However, the United Arab Emirates did not immediately acknowledge the deal.