Saturday, February 21, 2026

Today in
Middle East History

1958 - The United Arab Republic was established. Gamal Abu-I-Nasser was the first president of the union.

1973 - Israeli fighter planes shot down a Libyan Arab Airlines jet over the Sinai Desert. Three of the 113 people onboard survived.

1980 - In Kabul, Afghanistan, stores shut down in protest of the Soviet presence.

1989 - U.S. President H.W. Bush called Ayatollah Khomeini's death warrant against "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie "deeply offensive to the norms of civilized behavior."

2005 - Israel released 500 Palestinian prisoners.

2006 - In southeastern, Iran, 612 people were killed by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Another 1,400 were injured.


Middle East Quote

"Americans admire a people who can scratch a desert and produce a garden. The Israelis have shown qualities that Americans identify with: guts, patriotism, idealism, a passion for freedom. I have seen it. I know. I believe that." - U.S. President Richard Nixon