Passengers at the check-in desks in the departures hall at Ben Gurion International airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 30, 2021. Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Middle East Middle East news, arts, culture, and politics. Updates on Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Iran, OPEC, and the Persian Gulf states NPR streaming audio. Subscribe to the Middle East RSS feed.
Middle East
People gather at the site of a fatal fire, in the district of Hamdaniya, Nineveh province, Iraq, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. Farid Abdulwahed/AP hide caption
Jamileh Alamolhoda is the wife of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption
Why Iran won't budge on mandatory hijab laws — according to the president's wife
A photo taken on Oct. 27, 2019 shows the inside of the burned-out van that Barakat Ahmad Barakat and two other men were in when it was targeted by U.S. forces the night of the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound. OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The Sunday Story: NPR challenges U.S. denial of civilian harm in raid on ISIS leader
Palestinians inspect a damaged building following an Israeli army raid in Nour Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. Palestinians said at least two people were killed in the raid, which the army said was carried out to destroy a militant command center and bomb-storage facility in the building. Majdi Mohammed/AP hide caption
Souad Ait Hmad el Haych (left), 25, grieves as the body of her cousin is buried in Imi N'Tala, Morocco, on Sept. 13. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption
Morocco's earthquake crumbled much of this adobe village nestled in the mountain
Family members embrace freed Americans Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi, as well as two returnees whose names have not been released by the U.S. government, who were released in a prisoner swap deal between U.S and Iran, as they arrive at Davison Army Airfield on Tuesday at Fort Belvoir, Va. Jonathan Ernst/AP hide caption
US citizens Siamak Namazi (C-back), Emad Sharqi (bottom-L) and Morad Tahbaz (bottom-R) disembark from a Qatari jet upon their arrival at the Doha International Airport in Doha on September 18, 2023. Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
U.S.-Iran Exchange Prisoners – A Year Since the Death of Masha Amini Sparked Protests
Siamak Namazi (second left) and Morad Tahbaz (right) are welcomed after disembarking from a Qatari jet on their arrival at the Doha International Airport on Monday. Karim Jaafar / AFP/via Getty Images hide caption
Search and rescue operations are underway in the region affected by floods due to Storm Daniel in Derna, Libya, Sept. 14. Hamza Al Ahmar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
Newspapers with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by Iran's morality police, are seen in Tehran, Sept. 18, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters hide caption
In Iran, women's resistance defies state clampdown a year after Mahsa Amini's death
Laila Aseel, 24, holds her 1-year-old daughter, Aram. Aseel came to the hospital from an internally displaced persons camp, where she was living with her husband and four children after fleeing fighting in the north. She says she is unable to feed her kids more than one meal a day; when she arrived at the hospital, her daughter was near death from malnutrition. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
Bahrain human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja flashes the V-sign for "Victory" after she was released from detention on September 18, 2014, in the city of Muharraq, north of capital Manama. Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The family of a jailed Bahrain activist says he has resumed a hunger strike
A combination image of satellite photos shows an area before and after a powerful storm and floods hit the country, in Derna, Libya, on Sept. 2 (top) and Sept. 12. EyePress News/EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect hide caption
People check an area damaged by flash floods in Derna, eastern Libya, on Monday. AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A group of men board a motor boat in the waters of Dubai's historic creek. Despite long and humid summers in the United Arab Emirates, migrant laborers who work rights through the hottest months carve out ways to enjoy Dubai's simpler public spaces. Aya Batrawy/NPR hide caption
Migrant workers find simple outdoor pleasures, even in Dubai's extreme heat
Mission Specialist Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates, member of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission, gestures during the crew walkout from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A ahead of their liftoff at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 1. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
An Arab astronaut made history in space. Now his country has its sights on Mars
Jack Lew (left) with former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at a White House event on Sept. 7, 2022. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
In this photo illustration, the new logo for the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now X, is seen displayed on a smartphone. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
Saudi man sentenced to death for tweets in harshest verdict yet for online critics
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., pictured on Jan. 5 on Capitol Hill, was among three members of Congress who made a brief visit to opposition-held northwest Syria on Sunday, the first known trip to the war-torn country by American lawmakers in six years. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
Mina Bakhshi (left) has been living in Raleigh, N.C., since 2021. She was evacuated from Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of her country. Bakhshi, an avid climber, is shown here with her mentor and fellow climber, Anne McLaughlin. Kate Medley for NPR hide caption
Climbing got her out of Afghanistan. She needs lawmakers to let her stay in the U.S.
This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. AP hide caption