Middle East

News Brief: Latest Iran Developments, Australia's Wildfires

5:59am January 06, 2020

There have been swift developments in the Middle East, and around the world, since Friday's U.S. drone strike killed Iran's top general. And, months-old Australian brush fires continue to grow.

Queue Listen Now

In this photo provided by the Iranian Students' News Agency, flag-draped coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone strike are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners in the Iranian city of Ahvaz on Sunday.

In A Day Of Turmoil, Repercussions Of Soleimani Killing Grow More Widespread

12:04am January 06, 2020

Within a matter of hours, Iraq moved to expel U.S. forces; the U.S. said it would pause the fight against ISIS in Iraq; and Iran signaled it will stop abiding by limits of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran announced Sunday that it will no longer limit its enrichment of uranium under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is seen here in Tehran in September 2019.

Iran Abandons Nuclear Deal Limitations In Wake Of Soleimani Killing

7:49pm January 05, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The announcement came in response to the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Tehran says it will continue to cooperate with international atomic monitors.

National

Iraq's Parliament Calls For Expulsion Of U.S. Troops

5:22pm January 05, 2020

by Jane Arraf

The Iraqi Parliament has passed a resolution calling for the expulsion of U.S. troops from Iraq, while the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS has announced a pause in its operations.

Queue Listen Now

Politics & Government

Congressman On Iraq's Decision To Expel U.S. Troops

5:13pm January 05, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Congressman Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., a Marine captain who was deployed twice to Iraq, about that country's vote to expel U.S. troops following U.S. airstrikes in Iran.

Queue Listen Now

World News

The View From Baghdad

11:25am January 05, 2020

by Jane Arraf

We have the latest about the fallout from the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

Queue Listen Now

In this 2016 file photo, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, center, attends a ceremony marking Police Day in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Muhandis was killed in a drone strike early Friday.

World News

Who Was The Iraqi Commander Also Killed In The Baghdad Drone Strike?

10:48pm January 04, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis founded Kataib Hezbollah, an anti-U.S. insurgency movement responsible for numerous American casualties over the years.

Mourners surround a vehicle carrying the coffins of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, during a funeral procession Saturday in Baghdad.

World News

Qassem Soleimani Mourned By Thousands In Baghdad As U.S.-Iran Rancor Mounts

8:06pm January 04, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

As black-clad demonstrators grieved the Iranian general, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this week, Tehran and Washington waged a war of words. Other nations desperately urged restraint.

Soleimani Assassination Marks 'Peak Hatred' In History Of U.S.-Iran Animosity

7:50pm January 04, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about how tensions between the United States and Iran got to where they are.

Queue Listen Now

What Soleimani's Death Will Mean For Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

6:08pm January 04, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Ernest Moniz, former Secretary of Energy, about what the latest escalation with Iran might mean for the country's nuclear ambitions and potential negotiations.

Queue Listen Now