Foreign Policy

Syrian troops are in full control of a key rebel-held town in the country’s northwest after days of intense fighting and airstrikes that displaced tens of thousands of people, the Syrian army said Wednesday, The […]

Palestinians Reject Trump’s Middle East Peace Plan

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan shortly after it was unveiled on Tuesday, saying a Palestinian state without Jerusalem was impossible, The Wall Street Journal reported. “We say […]

Trump’s Middle East Peace Plan Calls for Two States

President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan calls for a state of Palestine with a capital in east Jerusalem, he said during an event Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CNBC reported. The […]

U.S. Military Recovers Remains From Afghanistan Plane Crash

U.S. troops and Afghan security forces reportedly clashed on Tuesday with Taliban fighters in the country’s Ghazni province as authorities attempt to reach a crashed U.S. military aircraft. Reuters reported that the attack, which was apparently repelled […]

January 28, 2020 Focus Washington

Taliban Repel Afghan Forces’ Bid to Reach U.S. Plane Crash Site

Afghan forces and Taliban fighters clashed in a central region where a U.S. military aircraft crashed, officials said on Tuesday, as the government tried to reach the wreckage site in a Taliban stronghold, Reuters informed. […]

January 28, 2020 Focus Washington

Daesh Attempts to Stage Comeback Amid Rising U.S.-Iran Tensions

Daesh’s self-styled “caliphate” across parts of Iraq and Syria seemed largely defeated last year, with the loss of its territory, the killing of its founder in a U.S. raid and an unprecedented crackdown on its […]

January 28, 2020 Focus Washington

Trump Impeachment Lawyers Skirt New Disclosures

President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate came under renewed pressure on Monday to allow witnesses in his impeachment trial, while his defense team largely ignored disclosures from a former White House adviser, […]

Three Rockets Hit U.S. Embassy Compound in Baghdad

Three rockets struck the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Sunday, leaving one person injured, a U.S. official told CNN initial reports indicate. The official said the injury was minor and the individual had since […]

Trump to Unveil Middle East Peace Plan to Israeli Leaders During This Week

President Donald Trump is expected to disclose details of his long-delayed Middle East peace proposal to Israeli leaders on Monday, as he attempts to generate some momentum toward resolving one of the world’s most intractable […]

Rouhani Calls on Iranians for Unity, Accuses Trump of Exploiting Rift

Iranians should not allow President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach to harm national unity ahead of parliamentary elections, President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech, lashing out at hardliners over mass disqualification of candidates, Reuters […]

North Korea Urges Citizens to ‘Break Through Barriers’ as Nuclear Standoff Continues

While a North Korean deadline for the United States to soften its stand on denuclearization talks passed uneventfully over the New Year, state media and propaganda efforts have been focusing on the prospect of a […]

January 26, 2020 Focus Washington

Delta Ordered to Pay $50,000 Fine Over Allegations it Discriminated Against Muslim Passengers

The US Department of Transportation ordered Delta Air Lines on Friday to pay a $50,000 fine to settle allegations it violated federal law by discriminating against Muslim passengers, CNN reports. The department released a consent […]

January 24, 2020 Focus Washington

Many in U.S. Support Trump Decision to Kill Iran General, Poll Shows

A new poll shows Americans are more likely than not to support President Donald Trump’s decision to order a drone strike that killed an Iranian general, even amid widespread skepticism about his foreign policy overall, […]

January 24, 2020 Focus Washington

Trump to Release Middle East Peace Plan Before Israeli Leaders Visit

President Donald Trump said Thursday he likely would make public his administration’s long-delayed plan for peace in the Middle East, under development since 2017, before a visit to Washington next week by Israeli Prime Minister […]

January 21, 2020 Focus Washington

Central American Migrants Clash With Mexican Forces

Mexican security forces fired tear gas at rock-hurling Central American migrants who waded across a river into Mexico earlier on Monday, in a chaotic scramble that saw mothers separated from their young children, Reuters reported. […]

January 20, 2020 Focus Washington

EU Must Consider Ways to Support Libya Truce, Top Diplomat Says

The European Union will discuss all ways to uphold a formal ceasefire in Libya but any peace settlement will need real EU support to make it hold, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on […]

January 20, 2020 Focus Washington

China Calls on Canada to Release Huawei CFO Meng

China repeated its call on Monday for Canada to release detained Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou as soon as possible, ahead of the executive’s first extradition hearing later in the day, Reuters reported. […]

January 20, 2020 Focus Washington

Tehran Has Not Ruled out Talks to End Nuclear Dispute

Tehran said on Monday that it had not closed the “door to negotiations” in efforts to resolve a dispute over Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers that has escalated steadily since the United States withdrew from the […]

January 19, 2020 Focus Washington

Iran Could Review Cooperation with IAEA if EU Pressure Continues

Iran will review its cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog over any “unjust” measures, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said after EU powers last week triggered a dispute mechanism under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal, […]

January 18, 2020 Focus Washington

UK Plans Brexit Celebrations

The British government has announced plans for special events on the night of January 31 when the country officially leaves the European Union but the country’s treasury chief has admitted that some U.K. business sectors […]

January 18, 2020 Focus Washington

Erdogan Wants Europe to Support Turkey’s Moves in Libya

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called on Europe to support its work in Libya, where it is providing military support to the internationally-recognized government, if it wants to end the conflict there, Reuters informed. Erdogan […]

January 17, 2020 Focus Washington

11 Americans Were Hurt in Iranian Strike, Military Says

Eleven American troops were treated for concussions after Iranian missiles struck two Iraqi bases where the servicemembers were stationed, the military said on Thursday, contradicting earlier statements by President Donald Trump that no Americans had […]

January 17, 2020 Focus Washington

Taliban Open to 10-Day Ceasefire With U.S.

The Taliban will implement a 10-day ceasefire with U.S. troops, a reduction in violence with Afghan forces and discussions with Afghan government officials if it reaches a deal with U.S. negotiators in talks in Doha, […]

January 17, 2020 Focus Washington

Khamenei Says Trump Is a ‘Clown’ Who Will Betray Iranians

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said President Donald Trump is a “clown” who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will “push a poisonous dagger” into their backs, as he struck a defiant […]

January 16, 2020 Focus Washington

Tehran Accuses Europe of Yielding to Bullish Trump

Iran said on Thursday three European states had succumbed to “high school bully” Donald Trump when they triggered a dispute mechanism in a nuclear pact the U.S. president opposes, a step that could eventually lead […]

January 16, 2020 Focus Washington

China, U.S. Sign Initial Trade Deal

China will boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years in exchange for the rolling back of some tariffs under an initial trade deal signed by the world’s two largest […]

January 16, 2020 Focus Washington

Russian PM Medvedev Submits Resignation to Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a constitutional overhaul Wednesday to boost the powers of parliament and the Cabinet, a move signaling Putin’s intention to carve out a new position for himself after his current term […]

January 15, 2020 Focus Washington

Iran Social Media Posts Call for Additional Protests

Iranian social media posts urged citizens to take to the streets for a fifth day on Wednesday, after public anger erupted following the belated admission by the authorities that they had shot down a passenger […]

January 15, 2020 Focus Washington

Rouhani Rejects Idea of a New ‘Trump Deal’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Wednesday a proposal for a new “Trump deal” aimed at resolving a nuclear row, saying it was a “strange” offer and criticizing President Donald Trump for always breaking promises, […]

January 15, 2020 Focus Washington

Beijing Blasts Human Rights Report

China has blasted a report from Human Rights Watch that accused it of constructing a surveillance state at home while seeking to silence critics abroad, The Associated Press reported. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang […]