Al-Monitor Staff (Iran) - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Al-Monitor Staff (Iran)

Al-Monitor Staff

The medic checks the temperature of a driver on a highway near Istanbul after the government decided to shut down the borders of 31 cities for all vehicles excluding transit passage for essential supplies, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, at the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2RXF9YIECQ

Erdogan says life in Turkey could return to normal by late May

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A farmer is seen in a green of cannabis plants in a field overlooking a lake in Yammouneh in West of Baalbek, Lebanon August 13, 2018. Picture taken August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC1701D184F0

Lebanon becomes first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC299G9ERBV3

Intel: Iran launched its first satellite into space. Then Trump threatened to destroy Iranian vessels.

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Workers disinfect the Wavel camp (also known as the Jalil Camp) for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 22, 2020, after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus there. - The patient, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, has been taken to the Lebanese state-run Rafiq Hariri hospital in Beirut, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said in a statement on April 21. More than 2,000 people live in Wavel, according to statistics released by Lebanons' government a

First confirmed coronavirus case in Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Iran's IRGC launches first military satellite as tensions with US flare

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Saudi King approves tarawih prayers without public attendance at holiest mosques

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - HP1EF9P16VEFV

Iran’s Rouhani calls for coronavirus cooperation in calls with Gulf leaders

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Tourists wearing face masks sit and stand on Galata bridge in Istanbul, on March 13, 2020, amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the new coronavirus. - Turkey said on March 12 it would shut all schools for two weeks and bar spectators from football matches through April after recording its first case of the new coronavirus. The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has risen to 5,043, according to an AFP tally based on official sources at 1100 GMT on March 13. Since COVID-19 was first detected in December 2019,

Intel: Turkey's tourism sector sets hopes on June kick start

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Lebanese members of Parliament attend a legislative session in a theatre hall to allow social distancing amid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in UNESCO Palace building in Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC2Y8G9Q09EO

Lebanese parliament reconvenes with anti-virus measures in place

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A Qatar Airways aircraft takes off at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC177F8675F0

Qatar Airways defers some employees' pay to save costs and keep flying

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A healthcare worker dons personal protective equipment (PPE) at a One Medical testing facility built to help with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RC289G9Z2EGA

Intel: Erdogan reportedly agrees to ship ventilator parts, PPE to United States

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

People shop after the lockdown measures, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), were partially eased, to prepare for the holy month of Ramadan, in Baghdad, Iraq, April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RC2Y8G9E0PGC

Iraq relaxes coronavirus restrictions ahead of Ramadan

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff