Israel issued an unusually blunt reaction to the election of Iran's new president on Saturday by saying it was supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who decides on nuclear policy, not the president. "Iran's nuclear program has so far been determined by Khamenei, and not by Iran's president," the foreign ministry said, after Hassan Rouhani
Al-Qaeda’s leader in Iraq has defied orders from the group’s global chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to break up his claimed union with a jihadist group in Syria, according to an audio message released Saturday. The purported remarks by Islamic State of Iraq head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the message posted on jihadist forums indicate tensions between ISI
British fighter aircraft escorted a plane from Cairo bound for New York to an emergency landing in the U.K. after a passenger discovered a letter onboard threatening to blow up the aircraft, officials said Saturday. Flight 985 to John F. Kennedy Airport had around 300 passengers onboard when it was diverted to Glasgow’s Prestwick
Egypt has cut diplomatic ties with Damascus and has ordered the Syria's embassy in Cairo to be closed, the Egyptian president says. President Mohammed Morsi also urged world powers to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria. He also called on Lebanon's Hizbullah to leave Syria, where the Iranian proxy militia has been fighting
Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani won Iran's presidential elections, scoring a landslide victory over his conservative rivals without the need of a second round run-off, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said on state television on Saturday. Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible voters had turned out to vote, and that
Israeli and U.S. military officials are coordinating how to target and destroy Syrian president Bashar Assad’s arsenal of unconventional weapons under assorted scenarios, Israeli military and intelligence officials told TIME Magazine. One scenario would be the sudden removal of Assad from the scene, the magazine said. “That would prompt the allies to launch operations
Hardline Lebanese Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir warned on Friday that “a war is coming to Lebanon” as Syrian rebels and their Lebanese supporters prepare to launch attacks against Hezbollah “everywhere.” Sheikh Assir said in a Friday sermon that a response to Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria could happen in a “few days” and
Although the White House has decided to provide military assistance to the Syrian opposition, it is unclear just how much this aid will change the situation on the ground. The outcome of this influx of weapons will depend on the rebels' ability to use them, according to P.J. Crowley, the former U.S. Assistant Secretary
Facebook revealed Friday it received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests for user data from U.S. authorities in the second half of last year, as it seeks to shield itself from a growing scandal. The requests covered issues from child disappearances to petty crimes and terror threats and targeted between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts, the
Egyptian protesters shouted slogans against President Mohammad Mursi as he tried to leave a mosque in Cairo following the Friday prayers. A video posted on the internet showed a woman blocking President Mursi’s car and trying to give him a complaint. Protesters in the background shouted “Leave, leave.” Security forces from the Republican
