In Iraq, NPR attends trials of French ISIS suspects after transfer from Syrian camps.

Iraq's main Iranian-backed militias say they will stop attacks after the U.S. military's withdrawal from the country.

NPR visits the first of what are meant to be a series of pilot zones in south Lebanon, where the Lebanese army has taken charge after an Israeli pullout.

The U.S. military has been in Iraq for much of the past 35 years. A low-key ceremony Wednesday marked the formal departure of U.S. forces at a time when Iraq is still facing an uncertain future.

23 years after the United States military invaded Iraq, sparking an insurgency and a civil war, the U.S. has withdrawn its forces, as the country still tries to combat Iranian influence.

(Image credit: Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

NPR gains rare access to the Israel-occupied zone of southern Lebanon.

U.S. threats erupt into attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran retaliates against U.S. targets in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in the first exchange of fire since July 29.

(Image credit: Amirhosein Khorgooi)

Treasure Secretary Scott Bessent said oil pipelines will make Strait of Hormuz irrelevant in two years. Energy experts say that is unlikely to happen.

(Image credit: Leo Correa)

Syria's Kurds, once backed by the U.S. to fight ISIS, have relinquished autonomy and dissolved their army to rejoin Syria.

Pilgrims came to Iraq from all over the world in August. Many Iraqi and Iranian pilgrims walked hundreds of miles in extreme heat to mark the event. Outside the shrines, the atmosphere is almost festive.

Iraq's new prime minister faces a huge dilemma in promising President Trump he will disarm Iran-backed militias by Sept. 30

Iraq's new leader wants to disarm Iran-backed militias, but the move risks opening a new front in the Mideast.

Despite wars ranging across the Middle East, more than 20 million Shia pilgrims gather in Iraq shrine city for Arbaeen festival

(Image credit: Mohammed Sawaf for NPR)

More than 20 million Shia pilgrims flocked to a shrine city in Iraq this week, including millions of Iranians, despite the wars tearing across the Middle East.

Iranians are driven in greater numbers by the U.S. killing of their spiritual leader