When the Arab revolts that were sweeping the region and toppling autocrats like dominoes reached Syria, Bashar al-Assad's days at the helm looked numbered.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday appointed Faisal Mekdad as Syria's new foreign minister, replacing Walid Muallem who died last week, the presidency announced in a statement.

Mekdad will be replaced as deputy foreign minister by Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, the statement said.

The bells of St. Joseph's Chaldean Cathedral echo across Baghdad, signaling the start of Mass for the dwindling congregation that has stayed in the scarred Iraqi capital against all odds.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended his tour of Gulf Arab states and the Trump administration's continued efforts to squeeze Iran, even as a new U.S. administration led by Joe Biden prepares to enter the White House in January.

Although Pompeo has not taken questions from U.S.-based reporters traveling with him over the past 10 days, he sat down with the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al-Arabiya in Dubai for brief televised remarks Sunday.

Iraq's Salahaddin province declared three days of mourning from Sunday over a deadly attack blamed on the Islamic State group, as some criticized authorities for failing to fight back jihadists.

The U.S. has sent a long-range bomber on a short notice into the Middle East in a show of force that aims to “reassure U.S. partners and allies.”

“U.S. Air Force B-52H ‘Stratofortress’ aircrews assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, N.D. (North Dakota), conducted a short-notice, long-range mission into the Middle East on Nov. 21 to deter aggression and reassure U.S. partners and allies,” a U.S. Central Command statement said.

At least 14 pro-Iran militia fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan were killed in air strikes in war-torn eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday.

The strikes on Saturday night in Deir Ezzor province, on the border with Iraq, were likely carried out by Israeli war planes, the Observatory said. 

Israel said Sunday its military struck Hamas targets in Gaza in response to a rocket attack launched from the Palestinian enclave.

Saudi Arabia expects no major change in its relationship with the U.S. under Joe Biden, a senior official told CNN, despite the president-elect pledging to turn the kingdom into a "pariah."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed ways of enhancing ties with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, in a rare phone call since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, his office said.