Category: 2. Middle East

LONDON: He preferred to be called “Father” rather than “Your Holiness,” and in his simple white cassock, Pope Francis carried a message of humility far beyond Vatican walls. He washed the feet of migrants, embraced the poor and forsaken, and reminded the world that true power lies in service — not ceremony.

From the barrios of…

The Trump administration has named former Senate staffer Merav Ceren to the National Security Council, the White House confirmed to Al-Monitor on Monday, denying a report that Ceren was previously employed by Israel’s Ministry of Defense.

Who is Ceren? Ceren previously served as deputy policy director for the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation from May 2023 until February of this year. Other past roles include senior staff member for the House Committee on Oversight…

Two days after a second round of talks between the United States and Iran on a potential new nuclear deal, President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The call focused on the Iranian nuclear threat and ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, including the release of hostages. It was their first conversation since Netanyahu’s visit to the White House two weeks ago, when Trump announced direct talks with Iran.

Israeli Strategic…

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the highest levels, as well as by media, thought and business leaders and academia.

Church bells tolled in Mosul and nearby towns Monday to mark the death of Pope Francis, the first pope to visit Iraq which suffered greatly at the hands of jihadists.

In the historic Al-Tahera church in the nearby town of Qaraqosh, where the Pope prayed in 2021, dozens of worshippers gathered for an Easter mass which also became an occasion to pay tribute to their beloved Francis.

Near the altar stood an empty wooden chair on which the pope had sat when he declared in a mass that he had…

Lawyers and relatives on Monday denounced the hefty sentences handed down to Tunisian opposition figures in last week’s mass trial as “fabricated” and “unfounded”, and said they will appeal.

A court in Tunis in the early hours of Saturday handed down jail terms of up to 66 years to around 40 defendants, including vocal critics of President Kais Saied.

They were accused of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group” among other charges, according to their…

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shiite Islam’s highest authority in Iraq, offered his condolences on Monday for the death of Pope Francis, praising his work promoting “peace and tolerance”.

Sistani, 94, who met the late pontiff in 2021 in the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, said in a statement issued by his office that it was an “important milestone” in supporting interfaith dialogue and “rejecting violence and hatred”.

Francis had a “special role in serving the causes of peace and tolerance, and…