Not All Middle Eastern Countries Are Arab

The Middle East is a geopolitical region, not an ethnic or linguistic monolith. Of the ~18 countries typically included:

Arab Countries (Arabic official language, Arab League members)

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Comoros. (Core Middle East Arab states: ~14)

Non-Arab Middle Eastern Countries

• Iran – Persian (Farsi) speaking; Indo-European language.
• Israel – Hebrew & Arabic official; Jewish majority.
• Turkey – Turkish speaking; Turkic language.
• Cyprus – Greek & Turkish speaking; EU member.

(Afghanistan, Pakistan sometimes included; also non-Arab.)

Key distinction: "Arab" = Arabic-speaking, Arab-identity populations. "Middle East" = geographic/political region. They overlap heavily but are not identical.