Ethnic/Religious Minorities

Pope Francis is welcomed at Presidential Palace on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Middle East churches, Al-Azhar, leaders mourn Pope Francis

Pope Francis was praised by several regional leaders and churches, including Lebanon's Maronite Church and Iraqi officials, who noted his historic visit to Iraq in 2021.

A worshiper waves the flag of Argentina as Pope Francis arrives for the weekly general audience on June 5, 2019 at St. Peter's square in the Vatican. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)

Pope Francis, voice for Middle East peace and first to visit Gulf, dies at 88

Pope Francis died on Monday after serving as pontiff for 11 years, advocating for human rights and inclusion in the Middle East and beyond.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Attendees fly a French national flag and an Algerian national flag during a gathering for the election night following the second round results of France's legislative election at Republique Square in Paris on July 7, 2024. A broad left-wing coalition was leading a tight French legislative election, ahead of both President's centrists and the far right with no group winning an absolute majority, projections showed. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Algeria-France crisis peaks as Algiers expels 12 diplomats: What we know

A rift between Algeria and France has heated up on Monday as Algiers ordered a dozen French diplomats out of the country.

Yusuf Hamra

Feature

Syrian Jews urge US sanctions relief to revive ancient community

For Syria's Jewish diaspora, the country's economic crisis stands in the way of restoring their ancient heritage.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Feature

Fearing for safety, Syria's Alawites who fled to Lebanon have no plans to return

Members of a family riding a motorcycle drive past a charred car in the town of Jableh in Syria's coastal province of Latakia on March 12, 2025. At least 1,383 civilians, the vast majority of them Alawites, were killed in a recent wave of violence that gripped Syria's Mediterranean coast, a war monitor said on March 12. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian

By Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian

Feature

‘Afraid of what’s next’: Alawites in Syria’s Homs on edge after revenge attacks

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

After SDF agreement, Syria's Sharaa meets Druze leaders seeking deal

Walid Jumblatt (L), the Druze former leader of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), attends a meeting with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoan (3-R) greets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2-L) next to Bolivia's President Luis Arce (L) and Argentina's President Javier Milei (R) before the group photo at the end of the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Iran’s role recedes, Israel alarmed by Turkey-Syria-Egypt alignment

Could a new triple axis replace the yearslong threat against Israel of Iran and its proxies?

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Ultraorthodox Jewish men speak to soldiers standing on an armored personnel carrier in the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, Feb. 27, 2025.

Analysis

As it courts Syria's Druze, will Israel counter Turkey or get cold shoulder?

Concerned over the growing influence of Turkey in Syria, Israel seeks ways to increase its own influence there, including renewing its partnership with the Druze.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

church

Feature

Christians in Syria hopeful but wary of Sharaa’s intentions

Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has sought to reassure minorities their rights will be protected under the new government. But not all Christians are convinced by his message of inclusivity.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

TOPSHOT - Israeli Air Force F-15 and F-35 fighter aircraft fly over Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025 during the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black vowed support for Hezbollah at the Beirut funeral of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, after the group was dealt major blows in its last round of hostilities with Israel. The September killing of the charismatic leader, who led He

Analysis

Israel flexes muscles in Syria, Lebanon in warning to Sharaa, Hezbollah

The flyover during Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral and the warnings this week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflect Israel’s concerns over its borders with both Lebanon and Syria.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aims a machine gun while lying prone during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Turkey escalates push to replace Kurds as top anti-ISIS force in Syria

Turkey is attempting to form a new coalition to combat ISIS remnants and replace the Pentagon-backed Kurdish forces in Syria.

Shaibani

At Dubai summit, Syrian FM expresses interest in Baghdad visit

On his second trip to the United Arab Emirates since assuming his role, new Syria Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani stressed the need for good neighborly relations, lifting of sanctions and guaranteed rights for minorities in the country.

People carry a banner during a march demanding truth and justice for Kurdish activists, Paris, Jan. 11, 2025.

27 Kurdish civilians, activists arrested in Iran following protests

After protests over the death sentences of Kurdish political prisoners, Iranian authorities arrested at least 27 people across the Kurdistan region.

The destroyed grain silos and a sculpture made from salvaged steel following the explosion stand in the port of Beirut as the sun sets on Lebanon, Jan. 11, 2024.

Analysis

Eyeing reconstruction, port investment, UAE resets Lebanon ties

A weakened Hezbollah and a new government in Beirut give room for the Emirates to play a big role, politically and economically, in Lebanon.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

A fighter affiliated with Syria's new administration gestures with his rifle in Syria's western coastal city of Latakia on December 26, 2024. Syria's new authorities launched an operation in a stronghold of ousted president Bashar al-Assad on December 26, with a war monitor saying three gunmen affiliated with the former government were killed, a day after angry protests erupted in several areas around Syria over a video showing an attack on an Alawite shrine that circulated online. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / A

Feature

As sectarian tensions rise, what future awaits Syria's Alawite community?

In post-Assad Syria, the Alawite community, long associated with the fallen regime, faces deepening insecurity and sectarian anxiety.

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Fighters affiliated with Syria's new administration are deployed after closing a road leading to the Alawite-majority Mazzeh 86 neighbourhood in western Damascus, on Dec. 26, 2024.

Amid Alawite tensions, Syria's new rulers launch security operation: What we know

Syrian authorities conducted a search and made arrests in Tartous on Thursday following an ambush the day prior and amid rising violence throughout the country.

Zebulon Simantov reads his old, tattered Hebrew prayer book as he celebrates the Jewish New Year feast of Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 18, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Three years after fleeing, Afghanistan's last Jew arrives in Israel

Having fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021, heading to Istanbul via Pakistan, Afghanistan's last Jew has now arrived in Israel.

A view of Zahedan from ShirAbad neighbourhood in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran, on Dec. 3, 2018.

As IRGC begins offensive, Iran links Sunni militant attacks to 'Israeli plot'

The Revolutionary Guards said it was successfully advancing on a Sunni insurgency in the country's restive southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, claiming the militants had launched their most recent attack as part of an Israeli conspiracy to destabilize Iran.