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News
 News

Middle East



Iranian gunboat off southern coast of country in Dec 2025

Iran's supreme leader warns of regional war if US attacks

Trump earlier said Iran - which is due to begin a live-fire naval exercise in a key shipping route - was in "serious discussions".
 7 hrs ago
Middle East
A Palestinian man walks on crutches to an MSF clinic, in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City on 31 December 2025.

Israel to ban MSF from working in Gaza over refusal to provide staff list

Medical charity Medicine Sans Frontières said it would not share the list as it had not been able to ensure staff would remain safe.
 11 hrs ago
Middle East

Israel split over plans to bring back death penalty for deadly attacks

In a highly controversial move, some Israeli MPs are trying to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian attackers.
 2 days ago
Middle East

Iran wants to make deal rather than face military action, Trump says

Tehran has said it will never negotiate on its missile and defence systems, but that it is open to talks.
 2 days ago
World
Smoke rises after an airstrike hit a building in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, Gaza despite the ceasefire, on January 31, 2026

Israeli air strikes kill at least 32 Palestinians in Gaza, rescue officials say

Israel's military confirmed the strikes, which come during a ceasefire that Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaking.
 23 hrs ago
Middle East
A woman is seen carrying a shopping bag and a man is seen getting into a yellow taxi cab in the foreground of the photo, while in the background there is a huge anti-US billboard which reads 'If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind'

Israel eyes regime change in Iran - and is counting on Trump to make it happen

Analysts believe PM Netanyahu is urging the US towards maximalist strikes.
 1 day ago
World
Ghanem al-Masarir in a park. 45 years old with black greying hair.

I mocked the Saudi leader on YouTube - then my phone was hacked and I was beaten up in London

Satirist Ghanem al-Masarir has been awarded £3m in damages, but it's unclear if Saudi Arabia will pay.
 2 days ago
Middle East


A queue of men on the right against the wall of a building, and a queue of men on the left on the edge of a pavement. A man holding a gun pointed to the ground is standing on the pavement. it is outdoors.

Syrian government reaches deal with Kurdish-led forces

The deal will see the gradual integration of Kurdish forces and administration into the Syrian state.
A man is seen holding up an Israeli flag as another person is seen holding South African and Palestinian flags in the background

South Africa and Israel expel each other's envoys in diplomatic row

South Africa accuses the Israeli envoy of insulting President Ramaphosa. Israel says the expulsion is "baseless".
A composite photo of eight of the 16 crew members who were on board the oil tanker seized by Iran last month.

Worried families in India urge return of crew on ship seized by Iran

Iran seized the oil tanker with 18 crew members, including 16 Indians, in December alleging it had illegal diesel.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers march in formation in September 2024. The group of men wear matching green and red uniforms and hold rifles

EU adds Iran's Revolutionary Guards to terrorist list

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says the move is a response to Tehran's deadly crackdown on protesters.
Masked Palestinian gunmen stand either side of Israeli hostage Sasha Troufanov during his release

'I can breathe again' says Israeli hostage held for nearly 500 days in Gaza

In his first international interview, Sasha Troufanov tells the BBC how he thought he would die in captivity after he was taken hostage on 7 October 2023. 

Features


iranian missile launcher during exercise, 2024

Why Iran's response to a US attack could be different this time

Tehran has threatened to treat an attack by the US as part of last summer's war, and its response could be more dramatic.
A person in Iran holding a smartphone. They are wearing a big red jacket, a black hat, a black face mask and glasses.

Iran's internet is returning - but not for everyone

The country cut off internet access on 8 January following a government crackdown on protesters.
Iranians protest on a street in Tehran, Iran (8 January 2026)

'We all know someone who was killed' - Iran protesters tell BBC of brutal crackdown

Young Iranians able tell the BBC how they saw friends and other people die as security forces crushed protests earlier this month.
Protesters in Isfahan, Iran

'Don't take us to a hospital': Iran protesters treated in secret to avoid arrest

Wounded demonstrators tell the BBC they are relying on medics willing to risk their own safety by treating them at their homes.
One white shipping container and two grey ones are seen on a gravel area with sandy hills behind them. A small white building with a water tank on it is next to one of them.

'I didn't hear from my son for seven months': Inside Yemen's UAE-run secret prisons

The BBC sees sites on former United Arab Emirates bases in Yemen where detainees say they were abused.

Watch/Listen


The BBC's Orla Guerin speaks to two women who have their back turned towards the camera.

Inside Syrian camp holding wives and children of suspected IS fighters

Kurdish-run prisons hold about 8,000 suspected IS fighters and around 34,000 of their family members in camps.
Israeli bulldozers demolish parts of the headquarter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, 20 January 2026.

BBC visits UN compound Israel is demolishing in East Jerusalem

John Sudworth says the sounds of heavy machinery can be heard echoing around the neighbourhood. 
BBC's Hugo Bachega reports from the Iranian border

'Anger and frustration': BBC reports from Iranian-Armenian border

BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega reports from the Iranian-Armenian border as internet shutdown continues following deadly protests.
Jeremy Bowen in front of a pink background

Where do these protests leave the Iranian regime?

More than 2,000 people have been killed during the violent crackdown by security forces on protests in Iran, a human rights group has said.
Caroline Hawley in a white jacket, facing the camera

'Now there's the threat of executions' in Iran

An Iranian security official says 2,000 people have been killed so far after a crackdown on weeks of anti-government protests.

Latest updates


8 mins ago
 Close-up of Hind Kabawat, smiling. She has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a smart, light brown coat.

Syria's only female minister pushes for change: 'I'm not here for window dressing'

The BBC's Lyse Doucet follows Hind Kabawat as she confronts the challenges of fragmented, post-Assad Syria.
 8 mins ago
6 hrs ago
 An undated image of Erfan Soltani. He looks at the camera with a slight smile as rain or snow appears to fall.

Iranian protester Erfan Soltani released on bail, reports say

Reports in January had said he was due to be executed after his arrest in connection with anti-government protests.
 6 hrs ago
7 hrs ago
 Iranian gunboat off southern coast of country in Dec 2025

Iran's supreme leader warns of regional war if US attacks

Trump earlier said Iran - which is due to begin a live-fire naval exercise in a key shipping route - was in "serious discussions".
 7 hrs ago
11 hrs ago
 A Palestinian man walks on crutches to an MSF clinic, in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City on 31 December 2025.

Israel to ban MSF from working in Gaza over refusal to provide staff list

Medical charity Medicine Sans Frontières said it would not share the list as it had not been able to ensure staff would remain safe.
 11 hrs ago
19 hrs ago
 Two cars, a dark coloured Peugeot and a white hatchback both sit on the road in front of the building where the blast happened, covered in rubble

Five killed in gas explosions in Iran, officials say

Fourteen people are reportedly injured after separate blasts were reported on Saturday.
 19 hrs ago
23 hrs ago
 Smoke rises after an airstrike hit a building in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, Gaza despite the ceasefire, on January 31, 2026

Israeli air strikes kill at least 32 Palestinians in Gaza, rescue officials say

Israel's military confirmed the strikes, which come during a ceasefire that Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaking.
 23 hrs ago
2 days ago
 Dr Valentina Gusak holds a picture of her daughter in the Knesset. Her daughter was killed by Hamas on 7 October 2023

Israel split over plans to bring back death penalty for deadly attacks

In a highly controversial move, some Israeli MPs are trying to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian attackers.
 2 days ago
2 days ago
 Ghanem al-Masarir in a park. 45 years old with black greying hair.

I mocked the Saudi leader on YouTube - then my phone was hacked and I was beaten up in London

Satirist Ghanem al-Masarir has been awarded £3m in damages, but it's unclear if Saudi Arabia will pay.
 2 days ago
2 days ago
 File image of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the sea

Trump tells Iran to drop nuclear aims and stop killing protesters to avoid military action

Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi says armed forces had "fingers on the trigger" to respond to any US strike.
 2 days ago
 ...

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