Iran has worked to turn sweeping anti-government protests in Iraq from a threat to its hard-earned influence over its neighbor into an opportunity for political gains, analysts say.

In Lebanon too, where similar rallies against corruption and government inefficiency have broken out, Iran's main ally Hizbullah has managed to maintain its influence.

Forty years ago, Islamist students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days in a crisis that came to symbolise the long and bitter standoff between the two countries.

The Islamic State supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed was killed during a U.S. military operation in Syria, had been announced dead several times since 2014. Here is a recap:

Russia was never a colonial power in Africa, but it has a long history of ties with the continent.

The withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria was a win for President Vladimir Putin, strengthening Russia's role as the key foreign player in the war-torn country.

Turkey's military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria has sparked alarm and anger in the European Union, but diplomats say concrete measures in the form of sanctions are unlikely.

Eight years after its revolution unseated a longtime dictator and sparked a regional wave of uprisings, Tunisia is hailed as the sole democratic success story of the Arab Spring.

The Turkish military operation launched on Wednesday against Kurdish militia fighters in Syria is Ankara's third offensive in the war-torn country.

Donald Trump won the presidency with vows to take a new approach on the world stage and end America's "endless wars."

Here is a chronology of events in the Ukraine scandal, which has prompted the opening of an impeachment inquiry by the Democratic-led US House of Representatives into President Donald Trump:

- July 25 -