Bahraini authorities raided the home of a prominent Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim on Friday. Opposition group al-Wefaq said Qassim was not home at the time of the raid but there were women and children present. A leading human rights activist ...

Results of Iraq's provincial elections, which took place two weeks ago, were released on Saturday. The results indicate that the Shia-dominated coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki received the most votes in seven of twelve districts. However, ...

On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Alliance announced that its ministers and members of parliament would resume participation in Iraq's government. The State Department's Acting Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said that the U.S. urges "all parties to build on this ...

Increasing incidents of violence have swept across Iraq in recent weeks and Reuters reports that "tensions are at their highest in Iraq since U.S. troops pulled out more than a year ago." Bombings on Monday and Wednesday ...

The Iraqi government suspended the broadcasting licenses of ten satellite television channels, including Al Jazeera. Iraq's Communication and Media Commission is imposing a ban on the operations of Al Sharqiyah, Al Sharqiyah News, Babylonian, Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Anwar ...

The annual State Department report on human rights practices in Iraq details a host of human rights concerns in 2012 attributed to a weakened government, increased sectarian and societal divisions and a culture of impunity and widespread corruption that ...

The White House today established that the U.S. Government now believes with "varying degrees of confidence" the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition. However, the Obama Administration stated that, given the ...

A gun battle broke out at a Sunni protest camp north of Baghdad early Tuesday. Officials have reported that at least 20 people died and dozens injured. The clash occurred after government security forces entered the camp to make arrests, but ...

Iraq held its first elections since the withdrawal of U.S. troops Saturday. Voting took place in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces. Elections in the Kurdish region will occur in September, and elections in the largely Sunni ...

Iraq will hold Governorate Council Elections in 12 of its 18 provinces on Saturday despite increased violence and a wave of assassinations. On Monday, approximately 20 separate attacks across the country killed nearly 50 and wounded more than 200. In recent months, ...

Mohamed El Baradei, a leading Egyptian opposition figure, said Monday he was willing to end the opposition's boycott in holding talks with President Mohamed Morsi and would negotiate a settlement to the political crisis if three conditions were met. ...

A United Arab Emirates court sentenced Abdullah al-Hadidi to ten months in prison on Monday for disseminating false information about a public trial in bad faith. Al-Hadidi is the son of one of the 94 defendants that are being tried ...

Tammam Salam has been nominated to become Prime Minister of Lebanon. Salam received 124 out of 128 votes in Parliament, receiving support from across the political spectrum. His first challenge will be forming a ...

On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry made a surprise visit to Baghdad. According to a senior State Department official, the goal of the trip was "to demonstrate the strong U.S. commitment to Iraq." Kerry stressed "concern that ...

Prime Minister Najib Mikati of Lebanon announced the resignation of his government on Friday. The announcement followed a dispute in which the cabinet failed to agree on a supervisory body to oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections. ...

Bahrain appointed Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa to the post of Deputy Prime Minister. Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority stated, "This appointment comes in light of efforts to expedite the reform program and oversee their enforcements to the ...