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Middle East

The latest news, updates and features on the Middle East, a region that is geographically located between Europe, Asia and Africa. Countries associated as being part of the Middle East include Turkey, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Qatar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE.

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In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

What is happening in Iran - and why could Trump getting involved backfire?

Channel: World World 5 days ago By Sarah Hooper
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier (L) transits the Strait of Hormuz on November 19, 2019. (Photo by Zachary PEARSON / US NAVY / AFP via Getty Images)

What happens if US strikes Iran? All the scenarios explained

Channel: World World 5 days ago By Sarah Hooper
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran's Supreme leader moved to underground bunker as US ships loom

Channel: World World January 25, 2026 By Sarah Hooper
An aerial view of the coast in Protaras, Cyprus, during sunset.

UK Foreign Office issues fresh alert for 18 countries including European holiday hotspots

Channel: Travel Travel January 15, 2026 By Alice Giddings
FILE PHOTO: President Donald J. Trump delivers an address to U.S. and Qatari military personnel during a visit to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, May 15, 2025. The United States has ordered some military personnel at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to depart by Wednesday (Jan 13) evening, as tensions escalate with Iran. According to a Reuters report, this precautionary measure follows warnings from Tehran that it would target US bases in the region if President Donald Trump intervenes militarily to protect Iranian protesters. Al Udeid, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, houses around 10,000 troops and serves as headquarters for US Central Command. Photo released 14/01/2026

British embassy in Tehran evacuated after Iran and US exchange threats

Channel: World World January 14, 2026 By Sarah Hooper
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo)

Trump tells Iranians 'help is on its way' and to 'keep protesting'

Channel: World World January 13, 2026 By Sarah Hooper
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

What is happening in Iran - and why could Trump getting involved backfire?

Channel: World World 5 days ago By Sarah Hooper
An eco lodge in the Dana Biosphere Reserve in Jordan, on a sunny day with a tree overhanging in the foreground.

'It's a beautiful way to live': Why the best time to visit Jordan is now

Channel: Travel Travel November 14, 2025 By Karen Edwards
CHINA-VIETNAM-APEC-SUMMIT

Trump has proved beyond doubt he doesn't care about Middle East peace

Channel: World World October 15, 2025 By Pablo O'Hana
Royal Marines took out a drugs boat speeding across the Gulf of Oman as frigate HMS Lancaster dealt a ?35m blow to the illegal narcotics trade. Commando snipers brought the skiff ? zipping over the waves at speeds in excess of 40 knots while its crew tried to ditch their illegal cargo ? to an immediate halt with a bullseye shot to knock out the boat?s engine. The snipers took aim from a Wildcat helicopter launched from the warship to intercept three suspect craft in one of the most dramatic counter-drugs intercepts the Royal Navy has been involved with in the Middle East. This is the first time snipers have been called upon to use non-lethal force to disable a suspicious boat in the Gulf region ? where typically slow-moving dhows are used to hide the illicit cargoes ? unlike the Caribbean, where the tactic has proved effective on several occasions. The operation began when HMS Lancaster launched her Wildcat from 815 Naval Air Squadron on a dawn patrol over the Gulf of Oman. Her crew soon picked up three suspicious skiffs travelling at speed ? and secretly shadowed them while relaying critical information back to the warship. That allowed Lancaster to launch her Peregrine mini-helicopter drone to continue monitoring the skiffs ? again undetected ? providing a live video feed to the ship?s operations room. Meanwhile, the Wildcat returned to refuel and embark a Maritime Sniper Team from 42 Commando ? the Royal Marines? specialists in boarding operations ? to close in for the interception.

Royal Marine sniper's incredible 'bullseye' shot from helicopter as it flew backwards

Channel: World World October 13, 2025 By Barney Davis
A store in the village of Taybeh where the Palestinian beer is being sold

I run Palestine's first brewery in the West Bank - this is what it's like

Channel: World World September 27, 2025 By Gergana Krasteva
Play Video Female news anchor jumps on live television as missile strike happens behind her.

TV newsreader jumps from seat after missile strike hits building behind her

Channel: World World July 17, 2025 By Sarah Hooper
Play Video epa12225452 A screen grab taken from a handout video released by the Houthis military media center on 08 July 2025 shows Houthi fighters aboard the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, the Magic Seas, in the Red Sea off the port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, 06 July 2025. Yemen's Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack on the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, the Magic Seas with rockets and explosive-laden remote-controlled boats in the Red Sea on 06 July 2025, causing the ship to sink. EPA/HOUTHIS MILITARY MEDIA CENTER / HANDOUT BEST QUALITY AVAILABLEHANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Houthi rebels celebrate sinking ship laden with explosive materials in Red Sea

Channel: World World July 8, 2025 By Barney Davis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) hands over a letter to US President Donald Trump as they meet at the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 7, 2025.

Netanyahu surprises Trump with letter nominating him for Nobel Peace Prize

Channel: US US July 8, 2025 By Jessica Kwong
Naval military ship is moving to patrol and defense international cargo ships in the Red Sea

Second ship attacked by boats firing RPGs as Red Sea crisis heats up

Channel: World World July 8, 2025 By Barney Davis

Melania Trump joins Donald in welcoming Gaza hostage who was 'very important' to her

Channel: US US July 4, 2025 By Jessica Kwong
US President Donald Trump speaks with the press on board Air Force One as he travels from Ochopee, Florida to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on July 1, 2025. President Trump visited a migrant detention center in a reptile-infested Florida swamp dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." Trump will attend the opening of the 5,000-bed facility -- located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands -- part of his expansion of deportations of undocumented migrants, his spokeswoman said. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump says Israel agreed to 60-day Gaza ceasefire and threatens Hamas to accept

Channel: US US July 2, 2025 By Jessica Kwong
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on June 25, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) meets with US President Donald Trump on the sideline of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in The Hague. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by HANDOUT/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky suits up for Trump meeting and congratulates him on 'successful' Iran operation

Channel: News News June 25, 2025 By Jessica Kwong
(L) Athos Salomé wears a sporty shirt and smiles. (R) President Donald Trump wears a blue shit and tie and while walking outside.

'Living Nostradamus' issues chilling warning on Trump's Israel-Iran ceasefire

Channel: News News June 25, 2025 By Jessica Kwong
Donald Trump, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Benjamin Netanyahu against a missile backdrop.

Experts reveal real risk of WW3 — and what's at stake for anywhere that gets dragged in

Channel: World World June 25, 2025 By Sarah Hooper

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