Middle East

U.S. soldiers stand beside a Patriot missile system at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, last October. In a joint statement, Washington and Ankara said the missiles would be withdrawn for updating and modernization.

World News

U.S. Says It Will Remove Patriot Missile Defense From Turkey In October

2:59pm August 16, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The missile defense system deployed to Turkey in 2013 will be withdrawn so the batteries can be updated and modernized, according to a joint U.S.-Turkey statement.

People inspect a site hit by what activists said were air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on a marketplace in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, on Sunday.

World News

Scores Killed In Syrian Airstrikes On Rebel Neighborhood In Damascus

2:54pm August 16, 2015

by Scott Neuman

More than 80 people were killed and at least 200 wounded in four airstrikes on a crowded marketplace, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

World News

British Ambassador Tom Fletcher Says Goodbye To Lebanon

5:50pm August 15, 2015

Britain's ambassador to Lebanon signed off on his tenure with a blog post about the country that went viral. David Greene talks to Tom Fletcher about the contradictions and fascinations in Lebanon.

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World News

A Paris 'Beach Party' Turns Into A Middle East Protest

10:36am August 15, 2015

by Jake Cigainero

Parisians create an urban beach on the banks of the Seine every summer to conjure seashores around the world. This year's fantasy beach, Tel Aviv, sparked protests and a rival "Gaza" beach.

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Iowa State Fair Goers Grill Jeb Bush On Brother's Role In Iraq

7:17pm August 14, 2015

by Sarah McCammon

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush campaigned at the Iowa State Fair on Friday and took questions at the Des Moines Register's Soapbox. He was asked about the Iraq War.

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World News

'Running Away Is The Best Policy': Syrian Refugee Recalls Journey To Greece

7:11pm August 14, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with Soufian Almobark, who fled Aleppo, Syria, about his difficult journey to the Greek island of Lesbos, and the squalid conditions in the camp.

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U.S. Investigates Reports ISIS Used Chemical Weapons In Attack On Kurds

6:21pm August 14, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The United States is investigating reports that self-declared Islamic State fighters used a chemical agent, possibly mustard gas, in an attack on Kurdish forces in Iraq earlier this week.

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'New York Times': Islamic State Uses Quran To Justify Rape Of Yazidi Women

11:12pm August 13, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with New York Times foreign correspondent Rukmini Callimachi about an entrenched system in which ISIS glorifies sexual slavery. She interviewed 21 escaped victims.

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Customers try out cellphones and tablets in a store in Tehran, in 2012. Financial sanctions make it difficult for U.S. firms to do business in Iran, analysts say.

World News

Politics Overshadows U.S. Tech Firms' Hopes For Entering Iran

3:50pm August 13, 2015

by Laura Sydell

With a young, well-educated population, Iran has the potential to be a boom market for tech. But sanctions and negative political implications for doing business there seem to limit prospects.

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Diplomatic Activity Offers Glimmer Of Hope On Resolving Syrian Conflict

3:44pm August 13, 2015

by Alice Fordham

A local ceasefire in one area of Syria and increased meetings between Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others offer signs of diplomatic activity surrounding the 4-year-old war.

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