Middle East

Afghanistan’s Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum left the country last year after being accused of sexual abuse and torture. However, he government spokesman Haroon Chakansuri stated Saturday that the cases against the Vice President would be handled solely by the courts.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman promised on Sunday to normalize the work of the only cargo crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip starting from Tuesday, provided that the Palestinians respect the truce agreement.

Three powerful earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.7 and 5.9 were registered in southern and western Iran on Sunday, local media reported, citing the Seismological Center of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University.

Washington has promised to undermine Iran's economic stability with sanctions in order to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear armaments program, which the US believes the country is still pursuing, despite having signed the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

President Donald Trump has persuaded Saudi Arabia's king to increase oil production to make up for a shortfall from Iran, Venezuela and Libya.

On Saturday the Russian Defense Ministry's Reconciliation Center already reported that a drone launched from a militant-controlled area had been detected and destroyed near the Hmeymim airbase in Syria.

The statement came just a day after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei supported President Hassan Rouhani's suggestion that his country may block Gulf oil exports in the event Iranian exports are stopped.

LATAKIA (Syria) (Sputnik) - Syria's northwestern region of Latakia has already accepted around one million refugees from other Syrian provinces and foreign countries, Latakia's Governor Ibrahim Khodr Salem said.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israel has evacuated members of the White Helmets and their families from Syria at the request of the United States, Canada and European countries, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Sunday.

US-led coalition warplanes have carried out an airstrike targeting a group of civilians fleeing the town of al-Sousa southeast of Deir ez-Zor, SANA reported, citing its sources.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei revealed on Saturday that holding talks with the US to mend their issues is a "blatant mistake" because Washington fails to stick to its agreements.

In June, Turkey and the United States struck a deal regarding Manbij, agreeing that the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) would withdraw from the city and yield control over Manbij to the Turkish and US troops.

According to the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation, militants are continuing to deploy drones near the Hmeymim airbase in Syria.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Gaza's ruling Hamas movement asked Israel to cease fire through Egyptian mediation and promised to stop border clashes as part of the deal, an Israeli high-ranking political source told Sputnik.

Israel has on multiple occasions accused Iran of deploying troops in the Golan Heights, which have allegedly fired missiles at Israeli territory. Tel Aviv has conducted airstrikes on Syrian territory, claiming that they targeted militant groups controlled by Tehran. The Islamic Republic has denied the accusations.

The terrorist group Daesh, earlier in the morning, detonated a car bomb in the town of Hayt, The Jerusalem Post said on Saturday.

The incident follows a ceasefire agreement between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas on Friday after a series of clashes on the Gaza Strip border.

The number of violent outbursts along the tense Gaza-Israeli border has been steadily increasing since May’s official opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, in a move cheered by Israelis but met by mass protests from Palestinians.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) - Electricity in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta in Syria will be restored in three months, an engineer told reporters on Saturday.

A report by the Arabic website Al-Jarida says Israel is willing to expand the conflict with Tehran from Syria to Baghdad.