The Middle East is not strictly defined, but it usually includes the countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates), the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip), and Iraq. Turkey (Türkiye), Iran, and Egypt are also very often included, and the term is occasionally used to include the Arabic-speaking countries of North Africa or the Muslim countries of Central and South Asia.