Ethnic/Religious Minorities

US President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 8, 2025.

Feature

Backed by Trump and Turkey, Armenia's Pashinyan eyes third term in pivotal poll

As Russia and the West vie for influence, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appears on track to secure a new mandate for his peace agenda with Azerbaijan and rapprochement with Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Arab-Israeli Knesset member Ahmed Tibi takes part in a demonstration against rising crime rates against Arab-Israelis in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 31, 2026.

Interview

Ahmad Tibi says Arab parties in Israel can block Netanyahu without joining next government

Ahmad Tibi, head of the Arab Israeli Ta’al party, accused US President Trump of enabling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to continue the war in Gaza and escalate settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Ahmad Tibi

Ahmad Tibi

Israeli Arab lawmaker

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl speaks at a press conference following a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Southern California, on May 18, 2026.

Three victims identified in San Diego mosque attack: What to know

One of the victims, Amin Abdullah, was a security guard at the center who "played a pivotal role in preventing this from being much worse," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.

Ali al-Zaidi

Iraq's Shiite alliance nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM candidate: What to know

Ali al-Zaidi, who leads a bank accused of money laundering, received support from previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki and incumbent Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, though it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will approve of him.

Latest News

Iran arrests Ahwazi separatist leader amid war crackdown: What to know

Iranians carry the coffin of one of the people killed in a shooting attack, during their funeral in the city of Izeh in Iran's Khuzestan province, on November 18, 2022. In some of the worst violence since the protests erupted, assailants on motorbikes shot dead seven people, including a woman and two children aged nine and 13, at a central market of Izeh on the evening of November 16, 2022, state media said. (Photo by ALIREZA MOHAMMADI / isna / AFP) (Photo by ALIREZA MOHAMMADI/isna/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Displacement and dissent: Hezbollah’s war with Israel splits Lebanon’s Shiites

A Hezbollah flag is seen in a destroyed car after an Israeli airstrike in Nabi Chit (Al-Nabi Shayth), Lebanon, on March 26, 2026. In the first week of March, the Israeli army carried out an unsuccessful nighttime commando operation there to recover the remains of Ron Arad, a pilot missing since 1986, triggering airstrikes and destruction in the area that forced residents to flee their homes. (Photo by Fabio Bucciarelli / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Karim Safieddine

By Karim Safieddine

In Beirut, reporting on politics

Lebanon scrambles to contain tensions over displacement as Israel ups threats

Displaced families set up tents along Beirut's waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 10, 2026, after fleeing recent Israel-Hezbollah hostilities.

This picture shows the Mughrabi ramp, leading from the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound that includes the Dome of the Rock Mosque (background) in Jerusalem's Old City, on Sept. 10, 2021.

Jewish Israelis flock to Temple Mount in greater numbers

Despite warnings from some rabbis that visits are forbidden, more Jewish Israelis are ascending the Temple Mount than ever.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during the Baghdad conference in the Iraqi capital on Aug. 28, 2021.

Sisi statements spark debate about status for Egyptian atheists

The Egyptian president's remarks on human rights have drawn attention to freedom of belief for the nonreligious.

Iraqi Assyrian Christians attend a ceremony with the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East to elect a new Catholicos-patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, at Saint Youhanna church in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on Sept. 18, 2015.

LISTEN: Assyrian Church of the East elects new patriarch

The new leader of the historic church must now navigate the unique political and spiritual challenges facing his shrinking community in Iraq and its worldwide diaspora.

US Vice President Joe Biden (L) and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I light candles during Biden's visit to the Church of St. George on Nov. 23, 2014 in Istanbul.

Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew I set to meet Biden at White House

The patriarch will also meet Ankara's US ambassador while in Washington.

A religious Jewish yeshiva (seminary) student stands outside the local army draft office May 11, 2006 at Tel Hashomer near Tel Aviv in central Israel.

Bennett’s government advances ultra-Orthodox public school system

The new Israeli government focuses efforts on pushing forward and expanding an ultra-Orthodox public school system.

Israeli Arab politician, leader of the United Arab list, Mansour Abbas attends consultations with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (unseen) on who might form the next coalition government, at the President's residence in Jerusalem, on April 5, 2021.

Israeli budget approved in victory for Arab coalition party

The big winner of the approval of Israel’s 2021 state budget is the leader of the Arab coalition party Ra’am, Mansour Abbas.

Ahmed Tibi (C), Israeli member of Knesset for the Joint List, speaks during a demonstration by Israeli Arabs.

War of words rages between Israeli-Arab coalition, opposition legislators

The Joint List, which is part of the opposition, is apparently unhappy with the Ra’am Party, which is part of the coalition, getting so much media attention.

Iranian boys ride their bicycles in Adimi village in Hamoon wetland near the Zabol town in southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan, Feb. 2, 2015.

Top Sunni cleric laments Iran's discrimination against minorities

In his scathing criticism, Mawlawi Abdul-Hamid also recognized the ongoing protests in Khuzestan province, which in his view, should not be reduced to the water crisis.

This picture shows a view of ongoing work at a construction site in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel, July 12, 2021.

Affordable housing for Jaffa’s Arab residents: too little, too late

With the prices of houses skyrocketing in the center of Israel, even projects designed for the low-income Arab population of Jaffa have become too expensive for them.

Rabi Aaron Leibowitz (C), the founder of Hashgach Pratit — Hebrew for private supervision — which checks if restaurants abide by kosher practices, signs a certificate for the new bar Eitan Steinberg in the center of Jerusalem, June 8, 2016.

Israeli government advances ground-breaking reform for private kosher certification

New Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana is not afraid of the ultra-Orthodox parties; he advances an unprecedented reform on kosher certification.

Ibtisam Mara'ana

Controversial Arab-Israeli woman appointed to Knesset security panel

Labor party legislator Ibtisam Mara’ana, lambasted over allegedly supporting Palestinian assailants, was appointed this week as member of the Knesset’s prestigious foreign and security affairs committee.

Ethiopian Christian pilgrims hold candles during an Ethiopian Orthodox ceremony of the "Holy Fire" at Deir Al-Sultan Church held on the roof of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem, April 30, 2016.

Egyptian, Ethiopian churches clash over Deir al-Sultan in Jerusalem

A crisis between the Egyptian and Ethiopian churches erupted over the ownership of Deir al-Sultan in Jerusalem.