Iran has set a high price for President Trump to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, while Israel's PM has rejected his Gaza plan.

A Syrian court sentenced Assad along with his brother to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria's 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead.

(Image credit: Remy de la Mauviniere)

Israel's war against Hezbollah in South Lebanon has poisoned land and destroyed valuable ecosystems for generations to come. NPR takes soil samples of the land.

President Trump throws out a new negotiating point with Iran even as he says he's "low-keying" the ongoing talks.

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with author Max Boot about President Trump's recent foreign policy setbacks. Boot writes that Trump's "zigzagging" approach to Iran is "guaranteed to fail."

The shift comes as U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have dwindled and as stop-start talks seem again to have stalled. But Trump insists the pressure can lead to a breakthrough.

(Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Syria has a rich archaeological heritage full of ancient Roman and Byzantine sites and treasures. Damaged and stolen during a civil war, they now face an increased danger of looting.

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Wendy Sherman, a former U.S. diplomat who has been part of teams negotiating with Iran, about the status of latest negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

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)

As Iran works toward a final agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, leaders there have a political incentive to drag out negotiations: their desire to put pressure on President Trump.

NPR's A Martinez speaks to Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute, about how the Iranian regime's understanding of U.S. politics informs its war strategy.

NPR's A Martinez asks longtime U.S. diplomat Richard Haass about peace plans for Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected an agreement with Hamas proposed by President Trump.

Netanyahu's comments come just over a week after President Trump said his Board of Peace had reached a "historic" agreement with Hamas to give up its weapons.

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Meanwhile, Iran has made new demands about the restart of negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Pentagon is pressing the U.S. defense industry to accelerate production of weapons.

(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)

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.

An agreement over the Strait of Hormuz is still far away. Tim Wilkins, who works for a tanker industry group, says the ships stuck around the waterway are in limbo, and transiting is still dangerous.

President Trump is looking for a breakthrough on the Strait of Hormuz and is feeling the pressure of the ongoing war.

Israeli efforts to establish new Jewish settlements and seize Palestinian land have reached a frenzied pitch in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian residents say they have been encircled and besieged by violent settlers.

Iran reveals details of an agreement on reopening Strait of Hormuz, but questions remain.

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Marc Sievers, former U.S. ambassador to Oman, about the negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.