The United States made clear on Monday that sanctions on Iran would have to be phased out gradually under a nuclear pact and President Barack Obama poured cold water on an Israeli demand that a deal be predicated on Tehran recognizing Israel. “The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal onIran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won’t sign a deal ...

The fate of 18,000 civilians trapped in the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria – now mostly controlled by the Islamic State – remains in the balance, with the United Nations describing the situation as “catastrophic”. Those left are slowly starving to death as the fighting rages around them, with aid agencies unable to negotiate a safe passage into the ...

Suicide bombings at two mosques in Yemen’s capital killed more than 100 people Friday, the deadliest terror attacks in the country’s history and a sign, just days after an attack in Tunisia, of the spreading jihadist threat across the Middle East. A group that said it was affiliated with Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks on the two mosques ...

Oman’s ailing 74-year-old leader, who has ruled the country for more than four decades, returned Monday after several months of treatment in Germany. Oman’s state TV carried video of Sultan Qaboos bin Said walking down the stairs from his private jet and across a red carpet on the tarmac Monday. A royal court statement said he had returned after eight months ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologised for warning last week that Arab citizens were voting in “droves,” comments denounced by world leaders and many Israelis as anti-democratic, race-baiting and fear-mongering. “I know that my comments last week offended some Israeli citizens and offended members of the Israeli Arab community,” Mr Netanyahu said, according to a translation provided by his party, Likud. ...

An Egyptian court has handed down death sentences to the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and 13 others, state media has reported. Mohammed Badie and the other key members of the group were found guilty of planning attacks against the state. Badie is embroiled in several trials and has been sentenced to death before, although the sentences were later ...

Warning his supporters there was a real danger Tuesday’s election could bring a leftist government to power in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue with his controversial settlement expansion program in a last-ditch appeal to right-wing voters. Speaking at a rally made up mostly of settlers and national religious voters in Tel Aviv, the prime minister promised his government would ...

Australia detailed on Monday how it will ban dumping of all dredge soil in the Great Barrier Reef as it looks to step up protection of the world’s largest reef and avoid having it listed by UNESCO as “in danger”. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is due to decide in June whether to put the reef on its “in danger” list ...

Next month will see a new political group join the ranks of Lebanon’s myriad organizations, with the Gathering for the Republic holding its first meeting at the residence of former President Michel Sleiman. Sleiman, who will launch the group at his Yarze residence on April 13 at 10:30 a.m., has already sent out invitations to numerous officials to attend the ...

Syria’s President Bashar Assad said Monday he was waiting for action from Washington after Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged talks with Damascus were necessary to end the country’s conflict. Kerry’s spokeswoman clarified his remarks, stating that U.S. policy was unchanged and Assad had no role in the country’s future, while several countries that back the opposition vowed they would ...