Middle East

World News

U.S. Counters Iran-Backed Militia Attacks With Strikes In Iraq, Syria

11:44am December 30, 2019

by Tom Bowman

Airstrikes by U.S. forces on Iraq and Syria targeted an Iran-backed militia group. Sunday's strikes followed attacks on U.S. interests and the killing of an American civilian contractor in Iraq.

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News Brief: Hanukkah Attack, Texas Church Shooting, U.S. Airstrikes

6:08am December 30, 2019

Five people are stabbed at a rabbi's home in New York. Two people die after a gunman opens fire at a Texas church. And, U.S. airstrikes on sites in Iraq and Syria target an Iranian-backed militia.

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World News

Correspondent Reflects On Battle For Mosul

4:54pm December 29, 2019

by Jane Arraf

It was a decade of conflict in the Middle East, but the battle to force ISIS from Mosul stood out to one correspondent.

World News

Crisis In Idlib, Syria

8:21am December 29, 2019

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to a Mercy Corps team member about the crisis in Idlib, Syria. The humanitarian aid group is helping over 200,000 civilians fleeing an escalation in violence there.

In this Dec. 25 photo, an Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble, at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The U.S. Special Forces soldier died in Afghanistan this week while seizing a Taliban we

Gold Star Families Sue Defense Contractors, Alleging They Funded The Taliban

5:51pm December 28, 2019

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Eight multinational corporations have been accused of making "protection payments" to terrorists, so that their businesses would be left alone.

World News

Denying Contradiction, Taliban Leaders Say Violence Remains Their Path To Peace

5:17pm December 28, 2019

NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with Susannah George, foreign correspondent for The Washington Post, about her recent meeting with senior Taliban leadership in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province.

World News

What's Happened Since Protests Started In Iran

8:23am December 28, 2019

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Mehrzad Boroujerdi, director of Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs, about the aftermath of Iran's violent protests.

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Samir Kada lived next door to Jimmy Aldaoud in Baghdad. Kada is one of dozens of Iraqis from Michigan deported from the U.S. in 2018.

World News

U.S. Steps Up Deportations To Iraq, Despite Worsening Violence There

8:02am December 28, 2019

by Jane Arraf

Many deportees have arrived in Iraq without money, valid IDs or knowledge of the language and country. They struggle to find work and fear going out. "Everything is shocking to me," one deportee says.

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World News

Netanyahu's Secret To Staying In Power Longer Than Any Other Israeli Prime Minister

4:28pm December 27, 2019

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Gayil Talshir, professor of political science at Hebrew University, about how Benjamin Netanyahu's been able to stay in power longer than any other Israeli prime minister.

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Israeli Prime Minister won a decisive victory to remain the leader of the Likud Party — and he's now promising more concessions from the U.S., as Israel prepares to hold a general election in March.

World News

Netanyahu Wins Likud Party's Primary, Setting Up Another Election Run

10:19am December 27, 2019

by Bill Chappell

One month after being indicted on corruption charges, Israel's longest-serving prime minister wins his party's support to seek reelection in March.