Middle East

World News

Syrian White Helmets Evacuated As Assad Regime Takes Over

5:32pm July 23, 2018

by Ruth Sherlock

Nearly 100 White Helmets rescue workers fled southern Syria with their families as the Assad regime took over the area. It marks another turn in the war and an uncertain future for members of the group that has rescued thousands and provided gripping videos of the regime's toll on civilians.

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White House Says Iran Must Change Its Behavior Or Face The Consequences

5:32pm July 23, 2018

by Ayesha Rascoe

President Trump used threatening language against Iran in a tweet, even as his administration juggles foreign policy challenges in North Korea and Russia.

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Iranian-American Journalist Says Trump's Words Are Similar To That Of Iranian Hardliners

4:28pm July 23, 2018

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who was based in Iran from 2009 until he was imprisoned and released in 2016. He speaks about the current U.S.-Iranian tensions.

President Trump issued a strongly worded all-caps, late-night tweet after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) said that war with Iran would be "the mother of all wars and peace with Iran is the mother of all peace."

Trump To Iran's President Rouhani: 'NEVER, EVER THREATEN' The U.S. Again

2:38pm July 23, 2018

by Bill Chappell

President Trump threatened Iran in a late-night tweet after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Trump not to "play with the lion's tail" and that "war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

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World News

U.S. Tension With Iran Heats Up After Early Morning Trump Tweet

9:34am July 23, 2018

by Peter Kenyon

Trump tweeted about the dangers to Iran of making threats. Iran's president said American must understand that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.

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A Syrian civil defense volunteer, known as the White Helmets, holds the body of a child after he was pulled from the rubble following a government forces air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Karm Homad in the northern city of Aleppo, on Oct. 4, 2

World News

'Rescuing The Rescuers': Stranded Syrian White Helmets Evacuated By Israel

2:16pm July 22, 2018

In a "Hail Mary" operation, the Israeli military evacuated hundreds of Syrian rescue volunteer workers to Jordan amid the Syrian regime's offensive against rebel-held parts of the country.

World News

The Current State Of ISIS

8:15am July 21, 2018

ISIS appears to reforming in areas of northern Iraq and has launched attacks in Afghanistan. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Jennifer Cafarella of the Institute for the Study of War.

Participants at a global security conference in Moscow in April gather near a big screen showing a Russian warplane unloading its weapons over a target in Syria. Russia became involved in the Syrian civil war in 2015 in support of its ally President Basha

Russia Says Agreements Were Discussed With Trump On Syria. The U.S. Is Silent

10:47pm July 19, 2018

by Tom Bowman

The Trump administration has offered no information about supposed "specific" proposals that Russian officials have mentioned publicly.

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Saudi men and women browse the annual Riyadh International Book Exhibition in 2016.

World News

From California, A Saudi Woman Fights Her Country's Strict Male Guardianship Laws

10:52am July 19, 2018

by Deborah Amos

"I came from a very strict country to a very free country," says Samah Damanhoori. The 29-year-old cut ties with her family after her father canceled his initial approval for her to study in the U.S.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on July 15.

World News

Israel Passes Controversial Law Reserving National Self-Determination For Jews

6:21am July 19, 2018

by Scott Neuman

The "nation-state" law, which has been condemned by Arab lawmakers, also asserts Jerusalem as the capital and Hebrew as the official language.