Wash Post Middle East

Security Tightened Around Churches and Christian Towns in Iraq

Nada Bakri — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, July 13 -- Iraqi authorities on Monday tightened security around churches across Baghdad and in two Christian towns in the northern province of Nineveh, amid fears that a series of attacks against them could escalate.

Britain Cuts Some Arms Exports to Israel Over Conduct in Gaza War

Howard Schneider — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

JERUSALEM, July 13 -- Britain has revoked five licenses for arms exports to Israel after reviewing how British-provided equipment was used during Israel's three-week war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, officials from both nations said Monday.

Iran's Rumored Nicaraguan 'Mega-Embassy' Set Off Alarms in U.S.

Anne-Marie O'Connor and Mary Beth Sheridan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- For months, the reports percolated in Washington and other capitals. Iran was constructing a major beachhead in Nicaragua as part of a diplomatic push into Latin America, featuring huge investment deals, new embassies and even TV programming from the Islamic republic.

Car Bomb Kills at Least Four as Worshipers Leave Church in Eastern Baghdad

Christopher Torchia — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, July 12 -- A car bomb exploded near a church as worshipers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring 18 in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered Christian minority.

A Technocrat Steadily Gains Influence in West Bank, but Questions Remain

Howard Schneider — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is not a fighter by trade, but when control of the Gaza Strip fell to the Islamist Hamas movement two years ago, he sensed the need to learn fast.

A Fight for Ordinary Peace

Rajiv Chandrasekaran — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

NAWA, Afghanistan -- Most of the mud-brick stalls that line the street in this sweltering town on the Helmand River closed down a year ago when Taliban fighters began swaggering through the bazaar, levying taxes on merchants and seeding the roads with homemade bombs. Shopkeepers placed their ware...

Attacks in Iraq's North, Capital Kill at Least 50, Raise Fears of Sectarian Strife

Nada Bakri — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, July 9 -- Attacks in northern Iraq and Baghdad on Thursday left at least 50 people dead and many more wounded, raising fears about Iraqi forces' ability to maintain security after most U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas last week.

U.S. Releases 5 Iranian Officials in Iraq

Anthony Shadid — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:33:59 EDT

BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military on Thursday released five Iranian officials who were detained in January 2007 in northern Iraq on suspicion of aiding Iraqi Shiite militants, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Iranian officials said.

Mousavi Promises Protests Over Iran's Election Will Continue

Thomas Erdbrink — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

TEHRAN, July 6 -- Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, appearing in public for the first time in nearly three weeks, vowed Monday that protests against the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "will not end" and predicted that the new government would encounter problems because ...

Obama and Medvedev Reach Agreement to Reduce Nuclear Arsenals

Michael A. Fletcher and Philip P. Pan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

MOSCOW, July 6 -- President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached a preliminary agreement Monday to cut the American and Russian nuclear arsenals by as much as a third while exploring options for cooperation on missile defense.

Obama, Medvedev Aim to Advance Arms Control Talks, 'Reset' Bilateral Ties

Philip P. Pan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

MOSCOW, June 5 -- President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will try to break a deadlock in talks to replace a vital nuclear-arms-control treaty when they meet here Monday, with U.S. missile defense plans and Russian demands for sharper cuts in launchers presenting the key obstacles.

Mousavi Details Alleged Election Fraud in Iran

Thomas Erdbrink — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

TEHRAN, July 4 -- Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leading opposition candidate in last month's disputed election, released documents Saturday detailing a campaign of alleged fraud by supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that assured his reelection, while an adviser to Iran's supreme leader accuse...

Link Between Iraq Violence and Troop Withdrawals Is Considered

Greg Jaffe — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

A recent spike in violence in Iraq is prompting senior defense officials to ask whether the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities over the past several months has provided an opening to extremist groups eager to spark sectarian attacks between Sunnis and Shiites.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Riot Police Clash in Jerusalem Over Opening of Parking Lot

Howard Schneider — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

JERUSALEM, July 4 -- Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews clashed with riot police in central Jerusalem on Saturday night in the latest protest against the city's decision to open a municipal parking lot on the Jewish Sabbath.

France Hopes to Jump-Start Its Arms Sales With New Iraqi Government

Edward Cody — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

PARIS, July 3 -- France, which was an important weapons supplier to Saddam Hussein, has set out to revive its once-flourishing arms sales and training relationship with the new Iraqi government put in place by the United States.

U.S. Could End Engagement in Iraq if Violence Erupts, Biden Warns

Nada Bakri — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, July 3 -- Vice President Biden warned Iraqi officials Friday that the American commitment to Iraq could end if the country again descended into ethnic and sectarian violence.

Saddam Hussein Said WMD Talk Helped Him Look Strong to Iran

Glenn Kessler — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi president also denounc...

U.S. Targets N. Korea's Proliferation Efforts, Announces Actions Against 2 Firms

Glenn Kessler — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The Obama administration yesterday began a campaign to curtail North Korea's ability to finance its trade in missiles and nuclear materials, with the Treasury and State Departments announcing actions against two North Korean companies, including one allegedly connected to the building of a nuclear...

Israel's Barak, U.S. Envoy Mitchell Discuss Expansion of West Bank Settlements

Glenn Kessler — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak huddled for four hours yesterday with former senator George J. Mitchell, the Obama administration's special envoy for Middle East peace, seeking to resolve an impasse between their two governments over the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Price Squabbles, Security Concerns Lead Oil Giants to Pass On Iraq Fields

Ernesto Londoño, K.I. Ibrahim and Steven Mufson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, June 29 -- Iraq's effort to woo foreign energy companies to help resurrect its ailing oil fields fell flat Tuesday, as most companies balked at the financial terms offered by the government despite the lure of the country's vast reserves.

Iraq's 'Milestone' Day Marred by Fatal Blast

Ernesto Londoño and Ann Scott Tyson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, June 30 -- At least 34 people were killed in a car bombing Tuesday in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, marring a national holiday declared to celebrate the departure of U.S. combat troops from the country's cities.

To Israelis, It's a Suburb, Not a Settlement; To Palestinian Villagers, It Means a Barrier on Their Land

Howard Schneider — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT

MODIIN ILLIT, West Bank, June 29 -- Chaim Hanfling knows a lot about this settlement's population boom. Six of his 11 siblings have moved here from Jerusalem in recent years to take advantage of the lower land prices, and at age 29, he has added four children of his own.

Jubilation in Iraq on Eve of U.S. Pullback -- Withdrawal of Combat Troops From Cities Also Stirs Fear

Ernesto Londoño — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT

BAGHDAD, June 29 -- Iraqis danced in the streets and set off fireworks Monday in impromptu celebrations of a pivotal moment in their nation's troubled history: As of Tuesday, this is no longer America's war.