Violent clashes between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters are showing no signs of abating, and Middle East expert Daniel Newman, a professor at Durham University in Britain, says for at least the next few months, that’s what the world can expect. He spoke with VOA’s Meredith Buel about the Syrian conflict, and said More »

A document purported to be a leaked Israeli government memo suggests Israel is prepared to attack Iran to cripple the Persian nation’s nuclear capabilities. The document, recently published by American journalist Richard Silverstein, who writes a blog focused on Israeli-Palestinian peace, has sparked widespread debate about the ramifications of Israel going to war with Iran. Silverstein says the memo More »

While the U.S. economy remains front and center in the 2012 U.S. presidential contest, presumptive Republican nominee former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate are trying to keep the situation in the Middle East in the spotlight. Romney said Monday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be indicted under the U.N.’s 1948 Genocide More »

This week in Bahrain, human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in prison in what observers call a ‘shocking’ decision. In Iran, earthquakes killed hundreds and injured over 4,500. Relief workers tried desperately to free trapped citizens from the rubble and Tehran, after initially rejecting help, called for international aid. In Syria, fierce More »

-VOA’s correspondent in Syria was an eyewitness to the bombing of the rebel-controlled town of Azaz. He tells us what he saw. -Human Rights Watch says Syrian government fighter planes fired rockets at the main emergency hospital in an opposition-controlled area of Aleppo. We speak with an HRW researcher who visited the hospital an hour More »

-As the violence rages in Syria, we speak with Abdul Omar, a British-based Syrian activist who has contact with opposition forces in Syria. -The United Nations Refugee Agency says the number of people fleeing fighting in Syria is escalating. -The Obama administration says it is not surprised by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s move to change his More »

- Our correspondent travels to the Turkey-Syria border, the main conduit for foreign aid to rebel fighters, and finds signs that despite foreign insistence, the aid trail may also include covert arms smuggling. - We hear the reaction to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s groundbreaking decision to force the retirement of his defense minister, military chief More »

- The American Jewish Committee is asking U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to reconsider his planned visit to Iran later this month for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit.  We asked A.J.C. Executive Director David Harris why. - The mandate for the U.N. observer mission in Syria expires August 19th, and the U.S. representative to the U.N. More »

The American Jewish Committee (A.J.C.) is asking U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to reconsider his planned visit to Iran later this month for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit.  The occasion marks the beginning of Iran’s chairmanship of the organization. A.J.C. Executive Director David Harris tells VOA’s Susan Yackee Iran’s record within the international community is why Annan should More »

This week in Syria, government forces pushed back Free Syrian Army rebels in Aleppo, a bomb exploded in the state news agency, and President Bashar al-Assad’s newly appointed prime minister, Riad Hijab, defected, raising the question, is the Syrian regime coming apart? In Lebanon, security forces detained for questioning former information minister Michel Samaha, an ally of Syrian More »

- A look at why Iran is bolstering Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled government. - VOA asks Marius Deeb, a professor with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, if Iran’s reaffirmation of support widens the Syrian conflict. - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it is “urgent” to plan for what happens More »

Iran’s National Security Council Secretary, Saeed Jalili, has pledged Tehran’s continued support to Syria and praised Damascus for being part of what he called an “Axis of Resistance” against foreign opponents. Will this renewed support help bolster the Assad government as it battles the rebels for control of the country? VOA’s Susan Yackee asked Marius More »

U.S. lawmakers are moving forward with harsher sanctions against Iran, aiming to further reduce the nation’s oil revenues and undercut its nuclear program. The bill would target Iran’s energy and shipping sectors. It would penalize anyone who works in Iran’s petroleum, petro-chemical or natural gas sector, or provides goods, services or infrastructure to the More »

Former Governor of the state of Massachusetts and U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney recently captured three big wins in local primary elections — i.e. votes to determine which Republican candidate will end up running against President Barack Obama in the general election on November 6. After his victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District More »

The International Olympic Committee has sent Iran a letter warning about government interference in sports bodies. The Olympic body says it is urging the Iranian Olympic Committee to comply with the IOC Charter and act independent of the government. More »

The finery of tapestry and carpets, the grandeur of soaring arches in mosques and palaces, and the beauty of calligraphy are just some of the art forms highlighted in a new film by Unity Productions Foundation, Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World.  The 90-minute documentary explores Islam’s contribution to world art and culture More »

- The conflict in Syria is having a spill-over effect on many of its neighbors and placing some allies of the Syrian government in a delicate position. - Egypt’s political transition has hit many snags, but the horse and camel ride providers at the pyramids still hold hope that change will come. - One performer is More »

Before there was an Arab awakening, there was an Iranian one. It started three years ago, on June 13, 2009. Some have since called it a revolution; others have been more guarded, referring to it instead as a movement, connoting a sense of continuity. On June 13, 2009, then incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed an More »

With fighting raging in Syria, and a United Nations peacekeeping official expressing the view that the country is already in a state of civil war, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had more to say at an event in Washington. Clinton appeared at the Brookings Institution Saban Center for Middle East Policy, along with Israeli President More »