The U.S. on Thursday launched airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed militia groups in Eastern Syria. Pool/Getty Images hide caption
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This June 2019 image released by U.S. Central Command, shows damage and a suspected mine on the MV Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman near the coast of Iran. The U.S. said Iranian forces were responsible. AP hide caption
People hold posters of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, near Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in the fall, marking the two-year anniversary of his death. Emrah Gurel/AP hide caption
U.S. Intelligence: Saudi Crown Prince Approved Operation To Kill Jamal Khashoggi
Presiding judge Anne Kerber (left) stands before handing the verdict to Syrian defendant Eyad al-Gharib (right, face hidden under a folder) Wednesday in Koblenz. Gharib, 44, a former Syrian intelligence service agent, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in jail for complicity in crimes against humanity in the first court case over state-sponsored torture by the Syrian government. Thomas Lohnes/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia's then-oil minister on Dec. 1, 1973, in London during talks on the oil crisis. Roger Jackson/Central Press/Getty Images hide caption
Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Key To Making Saudi Arabia A World Oil Power, Dies At 90
Visitors with the Bil Weekend tourism company take photographs inside the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, in the area around the Ishtar gate. The animal on the walls ins a dragon-like creature associated with the Babylonian god Marduk. Alice Fordham for NPR hide caption
'It Was Like Magic': Iraqis Visit Babylon And Other Heritage Sites For 1st Time
Red Line: The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World, by Joby Warrick Doubleday hide caption
'Red Line' Examines Syria's Use Of Chemical Weapons, And The World's Discovery Of It
An Iraqi policeman walks by a mural depicting Pope Francis on the outer walls of Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad on Monday. Pope Francis' visit from March 5 to 8 will include trips to Baghdad, the city of Mosul and a meeting with the country's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi meets over the weekend with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
State Dept. Spokesman Ned Price, seen on Monday, says the Biden administration is willing to talk with Iranian and European officials about the nuclear deal. Kevin Lamarque/AP hide caption
Friends and family members of slain prominent Lebanese activist and intellectual Lokman Slim (shown in the raised image), attend a memorial ceremony in the garden of the family residence in the capital Beirut's southern suburbs, a week after he was found dead in his car, on Feb. 11. Slim, 58, was an outspoken critic of Hezbollah. Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The setting sun illuminates the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece, after a rare heavy snowfall in the city on Tuesday. Louisa Goulimaki/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House last month. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
Yemenis wave their national flag during a rally commemorating the anniversary of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled the then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, on Feb. 11, 2016, in the southern city of Taez. This year the Middle Eastern country marks the 10th anniversary of the uprising. Ahmad al-Basha/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. A small study in South Africa has raised concerns about its effectiveness, but the World Health Organization has now stated: "Even if there is a possibility that this vaccine has a reduction in efficacy, we see no reason not to use it, even in countries with variants." Nikolay Doychinov/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul is best known for leading the campaign to legalize driving for women in Saudi Arabia. She was detained in May of 2018 just weeks before the Saudi government lifted the ban. Marieke Wijntjes via Reuters hide caption
Workers search through debris at a warehouse, after it was reportedly hit in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition, in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on July 2, 2020. More than 233,000 people have died as a result of the war. Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Critic Of U.S. Role In Yemen Responds To Biden's Plans To Pull Back
Supporters of the Houthi rebels attend a celebration of Mawlid al-Nabi — the birth of Islam's prophet, Muhammad — in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, last year. Hani Mohammed/AP hide caption
Workers salvage oil canisters from the wreckage of a vehicle oil store hit by Saudi-led airstrikes last July in Sanaa, Yemen. The U.S. said Thursday it will no longer back the Saudi-led military offensive. Hani Mohammed/AP hide caption
People wear face masks on a shopping street in Gaza City in January. Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
In Gaza, Pandemic Forces Tough Choices And Health Care System Hangs By A Thread
Goodwin in Yemen in January 2019 with his Omani fixer, Azam Almhry. Ania Budzinski hide caption
'I Was Absolutely Terrified': American Sam Goodwin Describes Syrian Prison Time
"Now, because of the rise of the dollar and the pensions people aren't receiving, there are two classes of people," says Saad Salman, the owner of a Baghdad sweet shop. "A poor class and a rich class." Alice Fordham/NPR hide caption
In Iraq's 'Dire' Economy, Poverty Is Rising — And So Are Fears Of Instability
Israelis receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from medical professionals at a vaccination center set up on a mall parking lot in Givataim, Israel, during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, on Jan. 20. Oded Balilty/AP hide caption
Vaccines For Data: Israel's Pfizer Deal Drives Quick Rollout — And Privacy Worries
Then-Vice President Biden, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah, Israeli-occupied West Bank, in 2016. Debbie Hill/AP hide caption