Debate has polarized Iranians at a time when the government's authority is stretched thin due to an ongoing economic crisis. Meanwhile, female advocates of mandatory head coverings claim that "the voluntary hijab is a plot by the enemy."
Lebanese TV reports that in meetings in Riyadh, Saudi king "stressed the necessity of preserving Lebanon." Historically, Saudi Arabia backed Lebanon until the Shiite Hezbollah movement began to gain power.
Remains dug up from grave in city of Raqqa include women and children, some of whom were murdered by Islamic State operatives.
Over 250 people were killed and 10 times as many wounded in coup attacks on government buildings. Turkey blames US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for the uprising.
Egyptian Hebrew professor Dr. Fouad AbdelWahed revives blood libel saying Jews use human blood for ritualistic reasons, but says today this is the work of "only extreme ultra-Orthodox Jews."
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif demands Britain release tanker seized last week off the coast of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria. UK Foreign Secretary Hunt says Tehran must supply guarantees tanker will not sail to Syria.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says Brussels fully backs Iraq’s efforts to de-escalate growing tensions between the US and Iran.
Delivery includes advanced S-400 air defense system. The US has warned that Turkey would be excluded from the F-35 fighter jet sales program if it took delivery of the S-400s, but Ankara maintains S-400 is a "strategic defense requirement."
Miss Iraq 2017, Sarah Idan, who now lives in California, could be stripped of her Iraqi citizenship after speaking out against her country's human rights abuses and in support of Israel at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last month.
The Capital International Airport to operate with an hourly capacity of 300 passengers during the trial phase. New airport situated some 37 miles east of Cairo and is intended to relieve pressure on its international airport.
