Peter Kenyon

The Byzantine-era architectural marvel has been used as a museum since 1934 and is widely regarded as a symbol of peaceful religious coexistence. A court ruling Friday revoked its museum status.

A long-running dispute over the exploration of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean Sea is heating up again. Turkey's new claims for drilling rights have led to hostile talk with Greece.

Turkey's next presidential elections are three years away. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party might call them next year to catch the opposition parties flat-footed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing forward with the project of digging the waterway parallel to the Bosporus, despite warnings that it is not viable and could do ecological damage.

In Turkey, the government is touting its donations of medical supplies abroad even though coronavirus is taking a steep toll in Turkey and the economy is on the brink.

Iranian officials say new coronavirus case numbers and deaths are lower than before, but they urge for an end to sanctions under these hard circumstances.

Turkey is one of the hardest-hit countries in the Middle East, often reporting 4,000 or more new COVID-19 cases per day. The government hopes short-term stay-home measures will curb the outbreak.

Iran is among the countries hard hit hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As Iranians head back to work after their New Year's holiday, fears are growing that the rate of infection could surge.

Sales of Turkish-made cologne are skyrocketing. Some colognes, made with 80% alcohol, are being embraced for disinfectant properties. Cologne is traditionally offered to house guests to rub on hands.

The country has been reeling from pressure reimposed by the Trump administration. Now it is scrambling to cope with the virus that has killed dozens of Iranians, including a senior official.

Turkey says more than a dozen of its troops were killed in a Syrian airstrike. Turkey faults Syria, and avoided blaming Russia, amid a month of fighting around Idlib province.

On the street in Tehran, people are wondering if their country has the capacity to deal with the coronavirus outbreak — and whether news of it was suppressed.

The Coronavirus is spreading, and worries are intensifying in three more hot spots: Italy, Iran and South Korea. The World Health Organization says the window to contain it is narrowing.

Iran holds parliamentary elections today, but two things seem to be holding down turnout — a sense that the choices are limited to hardliners and a fear of a spread of the novel coronavirus.

In Iran — after months that have seen conflict with the U.S., protests on the streets and ongoing economic pressure, it looks like hardliners have the upper hand in parliamentary elections.

The Iran nuclear deal, promising Iran sanctions relief for limited nuclear activity, still exists. European partners want to save the deal but face pressure from both Iran and the U.S.

Recent protests in Iran have rekindled calls by hardliners to cut the country's Internet off from the world. But government dysfunction has made it difficult.

A week ago Iranians crowded the streets of Tehran mourning the loss of a military leader targeted in a U.S. drone strike. Over the weekend, crowds were lashing out against their government.

Iran has now admitted that its own military shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet Wednesday, killing all 176 people onboard.

Few countries have more at stake heading into 2020 than Iran, which is trying to break free from intense U.S. sanctions and to crush dissent at home.