Al-Monitor Staff (Iran) - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Al-Monitor Staff (Iran)

Al-Monitor Staff

The house of local farmer Hamad al-Ibrahim is seen destroyed in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz on March 13, 2020, a year after the fall of the Islamic State's (IS) caliphate. - A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, traces of the jihadist group are still all around this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, where Kurdish fighters and the US-led coalition declared the IS proto-state defeated in March 2019 after a blistering m

Report: Iran-backed militia members enter Syria via Iraq

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Residents hang their laundry off the railing on their balconies at their apartment building, to disinfect them under sunlight, in the city of Dubai on May 17, 2020, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf countries increase virus-related restrictions after new cases

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Cars drive past the Kingdom Centre Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC1B1C180720

Saudi courts ordered to stop flogging for ‘tazir’ crimes

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

ATHENS, GREECE - 2019/09/14: An Etihad Airways Airbus 320 leaving Athens airport. (Photo by Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

First commercial flight between UAE and Israel lands in Tel Aviv

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Vehicles of forces loyal to Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) are seen outside a checkpoint at Al-Watiya airbase also known as Okba Ibn Nafa airbase, which they seized control of, southwest of the capital Tripoli, on May 18, 2020. - Libya's UN-recognised government scored another battlefield victory Monday against strongman Khalifa Haftar, capturing the key rear base used by his fighters in a conflict now in its second year. Haftar, who controls swathes of eastern Libya, launched an

Hifter’s forces in Libya withdraw from parts of Tripoli in major setback

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A man is seen through a thermal camera at Dubai International Airport, as Emirates airline resumed limited outbound passenger flights amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dubai, UAE April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RC2WCG97HRKE

Dubai police test using surveillance cameras to detect coronavirus

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A woman watches the Facebook video of Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf on her mobile in Syria's capital Damascus, on May 11, 2020. - Syria's top tycoon publicly airing his grievances has revealed a power struggle within the ruling family as it tries to cement its power after nine years of war, analysts say. After years of staying out of the limelight, business magnate Rami Makhlouf this month in two videos on Facebook laid bare his struggles with the regime headed by his first cousin President Bashar al-Ass

Syrian government freezes assets of Assad cousin

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo poses with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 20, 2019. Francisco Seco/Pool via REUTERS - RC22FD9VMKIP

Intel: Pompeo, Cavusoglu discuss US-Turkey coronavirus cooperation

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a swearing in ceremony of his new unity government with election rival Benny Gantz, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem May 17, 2020. Adina Valman/Knesset Spokesperson's Office/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT - RC2DQG9LVAEP

Netanyahu asks to be excused from showing up at corruption trial

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

An Airbus A350-1000 aircraft of Qatar Airways is pictured after a delivery ceremony at the French headquarters of aircraft company Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1B38E43750

Qatar Airways mandates full-body protective gear for flight attendants

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Lebanon begins to reopen after four-day lockdown

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A muezzin of the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani prays alone since all places of worship remain closed as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq May 13, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC2ONG91TTPX

Parts of Iraqi capital go under full lockdown after jump in virus cases

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff