Any sharp drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq grants Iran a golden opportunity to expand its influence there and threatens to inflame sectarian tensions.

The August explosions in Beirut were the latest in a series of man-made disasters that have led some experts to say Lebanon is becoming a failed state.

Iraq’s new prime minister has formed a government in the hope of uniting the country’s factions, but challenges in combating corruption, powerful militias, and foreign influence loom.

An unprecedented financial and political crisis has sparked mass protests in Lebanon, but a nonresponsive government and the coronavirus pandemic could stand in the way of demonstrators’ demands.

The killing in Baghdad of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani escalates an already tense contest in Iraq between U.S. and Iran-backed forces, makes the battle against the Islamic State more …