middle-east

FILE - A demonstrator holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2025. The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party has announced a new roadmap to peace following Ocalan's call for his group to disarm.

March 06, 2025

DEM Party speaks of roadmap to peace

FILE - A view of the entrance sign at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, Oct. 17, 2022.

March 06, 2025

Two Iranian political prisoners face added hardships

March 05, 2025

Egypt presents plan for Gaza's future as Israel cautions against role of Hamas

Arab states have adopted an Egyptian plan for the future of Gaza and called on the international community to support it. Israel says Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. VOA camera: Ricki Rosen.

March 05, 2025

34 Years after Kurdistan's uprising, people divided on its outcome

FILE - Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi, seen in an undated photo from his Instagram account, received his sentence of 74 lashes at the Tehran Morality Security Prosecutor's Office, his attorney said on March 5, 2025.

March 05, 2025

Authorities in Iran lash singer arrested for protest song

FILE - A photograph of jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, Abdullah Ocalan, is displayed in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2025.

March 05, 2025

Uncertainty looms over PKK disarmament amid Turkey peace deal

A convoy of military vehicles moves inside Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side, at the the border between Israel and Gaza, March 5, 2025.

March 05, 2025

Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas to release all hostages in Gaza

US president has signaled he has no intention of pushing Israel's prime minister away from return to combat if Hamas doesn't agree to terms of new ceasefire proposal

FILE - A man shows a crater where a surface-to-surface missile loaded with sarin struck, during a 2013 chemical weapons attack that was blamed on then President Bashar al-Assad's forces, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 25, 2024.

March 05, 2025

Syria vows to rid itself of Assad's chemical weapons legacy

Three investigations concluded that Syrian government forces under Assad used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine barrel bombs in attacks during the civil war that killed or injured thousands

FILE - Houthi supporters raise weapons as they shout slogans during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Feb. 14, 2025.

March 05, 2025

US issues new Houthi-related sanctions

The sanctioned people smuggled weapon systems into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the Treasury Department says

In this photo provided Jan. 12, 2025, by the Iranian Army, a missile is launched during a drill in Iran.

March 05, 2025

Iran wraps up 'unprecedented' military exercises highlighting strengths, weaknesses, researchers say

Iran held military drills from late December to late February, seeking to deter US, Israeli attacks after those nations warned of consequences for Iranian progress toward nuclear weapons