Middle East

A United Nations expert has called on dozens of multinational companies to stop doing business with Israel, warning them they risk being complicit in war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Francesca Albanese, presenting her report to the UN human rights council, described what she called “an economy …

Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end US sanctions against Syria, which the White House said was a move to support the country’s “path to stability and peace”. The sanctions, which blocked any foreign financing, were imposed on the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown by rebels …

More than 130 charities and other NGOs are calling for the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to be shut down. Over 500 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since the GHF started operating in late May, following Israel’s three-month blockade of Gaza, the organisations said. Almost …

Lina Sinjab BBC Middle East correspondent Reporting fromDamascus, Syria Getty Images The attack on a church in the suburbs of Damascus left at least 25 people dead Warning: This article contains distressing details “Your brother is a hero.” This is what Emad was told after finding out his brother had …

The Israeli military has said it is examining reports of civilians being “harmed” while approaching aid distribution centres in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Since GHF operations began in late May, following a three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza, there have been almost daily reports from …

Israel has carried out a wave of air strikes across the Gaza Strip, triggering the mass displacement of hundreds of Palestinian families, witnesses say. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of five people, while dozens of injured civilians were evacuated to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, according to local reports. The …

The US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran’s deputy foreign minister has told the BBC. Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the Trump administration has told Iran through mediators it wants to return to negotiations, but had “not made their position clear” on …

BBC “I don’t think God intended for people in their late 20s to live with their parents,” Hanya Aljamal says. She’s hanging out on the balcony of the tiny apartment where she lives with her mother, father and five grown-up siblings – because it’s the only place she can get …

Reuters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a site in Israel hit by Iranian missiles Back in March, as he turned his back on a ceasefire process that was delivering results, the Israeli prime minister took a decision described by some commentators as akin to “political suicide”. The Gaza ceasefire deal, …

The BBC’s Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet reports from Tehran, where a mass state funeral took place on Saturday. Crowds gathered to mourn the deaths of about 60 people, including military commanders and nuclear scientists, killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel. The conflict ended with a ceasefire earlier this …

Merlyn Thomas, Kevin Nguyen & Kayleen Devlin BBC Verify BBC A month after the start of a controversial US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution system in Gaza, BBC Verify analysis of dozens of videos shows repeated incidents of gunfire near people travelling to collect aid, as well as other moments of …

Iran’s foreign minister has admitted that “excessive and serious” damage was done to the country’s nuclear sites in the recent US and Israeli bombings. Abbas Araghchi told a state broadcaster on Thursday evening, an assessment of the damage is being carried out by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran. But, …

Iranian authorities have carried out a wave of arrests and multiple executions of people suspected of links to Israeli intelligence agencies, in the wake of the recent war between the two countries. It comes after what officials describe as an unprecedented infiltration of Iranian security services by Israeli agents. Authorities …

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth took the lectern at the Pentagon briefing room on Thursday morning with two goals. He wanted to present evidence of the success of the American attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, pushing back against a preliminary defence intelligence assessment that suggested the strikes were less effective. And …

Shayan Sardarizadeh & Thomas Spencer BBC Verify BBC Satellite images have revealed new signs of damage to access routes and tunnels at Iran’s underground Fordo enrichment facility which was targeted by Israel on 23 June, a day after the US dropped bunker-buster bombs on the site. Previously unseen damage is …

US President Donald Trump has called for Israel to “pardon” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, or drop the case altogether. In a social media post, Trump also claimed the US had saved Israel – alluding to its intervention in Israel’s war with Iran – …

Kasra Naji Special Correspondent, BBC Persian BBC After spending nearly two weeks in a secret bunker somewhere in Iran during his country’s war with Israel, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, might want to use the opportunity of the ceasefire to venture out. He is believed to be holed …

Leaked damage assessment of US strike on Iran was ‘inconclusive’ – Trump Donald Trump and his top officials have pushed back on a leaked intelligence report that said US strikes on Iran only set its nuclear programme back by a few months. Speaking at a Nato summit in The Hague …

The BBC’s Lyse Doucet reports from Iran’s capital city, Tehran during what appears to be an enduring ceasefire with Israel. The pause follows a volatile 24 hours in the Middle East, during which the White House mediated between the two countries. Lyse Doucet is being allowed to report in Iran …

BBC BBC Persian received a photo said to show damaged buildings in Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh A senior nuclear scientist was among nine people killed in an overnight Israeli strike in northern Iran, Iranian officials and state TV have said, hours before a ceasefire ending 11 days of conflict took effect. State …