Border Disputes

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Analysis

Are Israel, Egypt inching closer to deal on Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israel must preserve physical control over the Philadelphi Corridor, but security officials are offering other solutions.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration calling for a hostage deal with Hamas.

Israel’s Netanyahu gambles on Gaza cease-fire with new conditions

New Israeli demands in the cease-fire talks with Hamas risk prolonging the delicate negotiations and the remaining hostages' time in captivity.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Police stay guard in front of the former Azerbaijan Embassy in Tehran on January 27, 2023, following an attack.

Regional View

As Azerbaijan reopens Iran embassy, normalization remains shaky

Though both sides have welcomed the reopening as a key step in mending their strained ties, the two neighbors appear to have a long road ahead in resolving deep-seated geopolitical and ideological differences.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on June 11, 2024. (Source: KSAmofaEN/Twitter/X)

Kuwait doubles down on Saudi ties driven by economics, counter-Islamism

Kuwait's newly appointed crown prince, Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah, is expected to advance the already good ties between his country and Saudi Arabia, as the two seek to further their economic prosperity.

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

By Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In Exmouth, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Latest News

Regional View

Hochstein to visit Israel as Lebanon tensions soar, Gallant slams France's effort

US special envoy Amos Hochstein (C) arrives for a meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on November 7, 2023 amid continuing tenions on the Lebanese-Israeli border, one month after the start of the war between Hamas and Israel. While the war rages in Gaza, there has also been cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Regional View

How Israeli strikes are raising the cost of Iran's presence in Syria

Iranian commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami speaks during the funeral ceremony for victims of twin explosions near the cemetery where the grave of Iran's former top military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani is located on Jan. 05, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

Analysis

Israel mulls 3 options against Lebanon's Hezbollah, including full-scale war

TOPSHOT - A picture shows a Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system launching to intercept rockets being fired from Lebanon, next to the northern Israel city of Kiryat Shmona, near the near the Lebanon border on May 10, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

By Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Regional View

Israeli military 'set and ready' if attack ordered against Lebanon's Hezbollah

Israeli soldiers mount a weapon atop a tank as troops gather at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 7, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Regional View

Israel threatens 'intense operation' near Lebanon as Qatar hosts Gaza talks

This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

fire

Regional View

Israeli war cabinet calls Lebanon meeting as Hezbollah tension spikes

Israel's war cabinet is set to convene to discuss the escalation of violence on the border with Lebanon.

A picture shows the Armenian car park in the Old City of Jerusalem on December 13, 2023. When bulldozers rolled into Jerusalem's Old City to start work on an Israeli settlement that would build a luxury hotel atop a fourth of the historic Armenian quarter, residents rapidly mobilized.

Regional View

Inside the scheme to grab ‘holy’ land in Jerusalem’s Armenian quarter

Local activists are working to stop a megadeal signed by the Armenian patriarch to lease land to a luxury hotel developer.

US special envoy to the region Amos Hochstein (R) meets with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters, Tel Aviv, Jan. 4, 2024.

Regional View

In Israel, US envoy Hochstein talks Lebanon border tensions with Gallant

US special envoy Amos Hochstein met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is set to speak with President Isaac Herzog as the Israel-Lebanon border remains tense.

Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees Pakistan activists protest in Lahore on Jan. 19, 2024, after Iran launched an airstrike in Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province.

Regional View

Iran has a Baluchistan problem on restive Pakistan border

Smoke billows from the area of an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese village of Khiam, near the border with Israel on March 23, 2024.

Analysis

As strikes deepen, Israel warns Hezbollah it can 'transition' from Gaza to Lebanon

With Hamas no longer "an immediate significant threat," the Israeli military has been preparing to focus on the border with Lebanon.

By Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A motorcyclist rides past a high school at Panjgur district in Balochistan province on Jan. 17, 2024. Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran on Jan. 17, and blocked Tehran's envoy from returning to Islamabad after an Iranian air strike killed two children in the west of the country on Jan. 16.

Quick Take

More attacks in Baluchistan regions of Iran, Pakistan following border dustup

Iran and Pakistan reconciled after their border conflict earlier this year, but clashes involving Baluchi separatists and unidentified armed groups remain an issue.

A picture taken on Sept. 17, 2021, shows people queuing to cross into Tunisia through the Libyan Ras Jdeir border crossing.

Quick Take

What’s behind Libya-Tunisia border closure?

Tunisia closed the troubled Ras Jdir crossing following a security incident. Tunisia and Libya are facing a crisis over migrants seeking to reach Europe.

A picture taken from northern Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon on March 4, 2024, shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese village of Markaba. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Lebanon, not Gaza, could trigger regional war as Israel-Hezbollah tension soars

Mediators believe a deal can't be reached on Hezbollah's withdrawal from the Lebanese border until an Israel-Hamas cease-fire.

By Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Supporters hold a poster depicting Malis interim leader and head of Junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta (L) and Guinea Interim leader and head of Junta, Mamady Doumbouya (R), in Bamako, Mali, on September 22, 2022 during Mali's Independence Day military parade. (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI / AFP) (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Mali’s junta pokes at Algeria, what’s at stake for North Africa and Sahel?

Three years after severing its ties with Morocco, Algeria faces challenges in its relations with Mali and other Sahel countries.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) escorts King Mohammed VI of Morocco (C) and Crown Prince of Morocco, Moulay Hassan as they leave the Elysee palace on December 12, 2017 in Paris, following a lunch hosted by the French President as part of the One Planet Summit. The French President hosts 50 world leaders for the "One Planet Summit", hoping to jump-start the transition to a greener economy two years after the historic Paris agreement to limit climate change. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN

Analysis

Can France restore Morocco ties without shifting on Western Sahara?

On a visit to Rabat, French Foreign minister Stephane Sejourne acknowledged for the first time the importance of the Western Sahara issue for Moroccan diplomacy, but did not commit to any movement by Paris on the issue.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Then head of Israeli Military Intelligence Tamir Hyman speaks at the Institute for National Security Studies think tank in Tel Aviv, Jan. 28, 2020.

Regional View

Ex-Israeli military intel chief: Hamas split, Netanyahu govt derail Gaza deal

Former intelligence chief Tamir Hayman believes that a Gaza cease-fire could open opportunities for normalization with Saudi Arabia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Armenia, Azerbaijan inch toward shaky peace deal but key issues unaddressed

There is mounting speculation that talks will result in a deal to establish diplomatic relations, but many outstanding issues will remain.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture