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Breaking | Last Updated: February 23, 2026, 10:02 am

US pulls non-essential embassy staff from Lebanon as Iran tensions rise

The US State Department has ordered most US government personnel and their family members to leave the embassy in Lebanon.

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, Logistics Specialist 1st Class Ousseinou Kaba (left), from Silver Spring, Md., and Logistics Specialist Seaman Abigail Marshke, from Flint, Mich., attach cargo to an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) May 10, 2019 in the Red Sea.

US partners shy away as Pentagon readies for potential strikes against Iran

Turkey and the United Kingdom are the latest among Washington’s military partners seeking to distance themselves from being tied to any planned strikes against Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Although Israeli advisers warn against appearing to drag the US into war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not hidden his desire to help topple the Islamic Republic.

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

DENMARK-NORWAY-US-FRANCE-NATO-ARMY-DEFENCE-EXERCISE Picture taken on September 24, 2025 from the French Navy frigate Bretagne shows F-18 fighter jets on the deck of the the world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford as both ships are taking part in the NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise in the North Sea. According to NATO, more than 10,000 sailors, soldiers, aviators and marines from 13 allied nations took part in the large-scale multinational enhanced Vigilance Activity, running from September 22 to

US readies warships, jets, tankers for potential weekslong Iran war

Pentagon assembles its largest Middle East strike force since 2003, adding F-35s, F-22s, tankers, electronic-warfare and command planes plus a second carrier.

Latest News

Israel steps up Iran war preparations, keeps plans within small inner circle

Members of the Israeli security forces check the apparent remains of an Iranian ballistic missile lying on the ground in the Golan Heights, Northern Israel, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Michael Giladi / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL GILADI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

After SDF-Damascus truce, is Kurdish haven still safe for Syria's Alawites?

Members of People's Defense Units (YPG) stand guard as Syrian government internal security personnel enter the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Analysis

Israel concerned Iran trying to buy time but sees US strikes as still possible

Robin MILLARD / AFP via Getty Images

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

School Lebanon

In south Lebanon, schools resume classes as displaced shelter inside

Hezbollah steps in as municipalities struggle to respond to the growing number of displaced.

Men armed with rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and assault rifles ride in the back of a pickup vehicle parading before a large banner depicting the Koran, Islam's Holy Book, and Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the slain leader of Yemen's Houthi movement who was killed in 2004, during a pro-Palestinian rally in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Feb. 7, 2024.

US designation of Houthis as terror group comes into effect

The Houthi struck a Panama-flagged tanker ship in the Gulf of Aden with a missile as Washington restored its terror designation on the group in a bid to clamp down on its attacks on commercial shipping.

Norway's Minister of Defense Bjorn Arild Gram sits in the back of an F-16 aircraft at Bodo airport, Norway, on Jan. 3, 2024.

Turkey says talks with US on local production of new F-16 ongoing

Mutual quest for the swift delivery of the new F-16s increases the prospects of the Turkish co-production offer, an analyst believes.

Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels Feb. 15, 2024.

Turkey, Greece formally join German-led defense shield project

Turkey reportedly sought to join the initiative, announced by Berlin in 2022, earlier but didn’t receive an invitation.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern Lebanese village of Shihin near the border on February 11, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP) (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

France's plan seeks Hezbollah pullback, army deployment to Lebanon-Israel border

France is pushing a plan to de-escalate Israel-Hezbollah tensions and avoid a full-fledged war similar to 2006.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Palestinians inspect the damage amid the rubble of a building where two hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forcess in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Israel announced on February 12 the rescue of two hostages in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where the Hamas-run health ministry said "around 100" Palestinians including children were killed in heavy overnight air

Analysis

Hostages' rescue buys Netanyahu time as Israel braces for longer war in Gaza

Prime Minister Netanyahu is patting himself on the back for the rescue operation of two Israeli hostages held in Rafah, and continues planning a military operation there despite US warnings.

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

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani speaks next to US Maj. Gen. Joel "J.B." Vowell as part of the first round of talks on the future of American and other foreign troops in the country, in Baghdad, on Jan. 27, 2024.

As tensions with Iran rise, US resumes talks with Iraq on troop presence

Attacks fall silent as Shia bloc in parliament pushes petition to expel American troops from Iraq.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A file photo taken in November 2001 shows a US Air Force F-16 warplane ready to land at Incirlik Air Base, southern Turkey.

Turkey’s Erdogan welcomes ‘conclusion’ of F-16 sale from US

Experts said the clearing of the sale is a "breakthrough" for US-Turkey relations but warned of delivery bumps that could rise in the next phase.

LAURENS VAN PUTTEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Netherlands court orders halt to transfers of F-35 parts to Israel

A Dutch appeals court ordered the government to block the transfer of jet parts to Israel over concerns the deliveries contribute to violations of international law in Gaza.

People look at portraits of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants, as relatives and supporters rally calling for their release in Tel Aviv on February 3, 2024.

Two hostages rescued during Israeli operation in Gaza's Rafah

After postponing the operation several times, Israeli security forces entered early Monday morning the city of Rafah, rescuing two hostages.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as they are welcomed by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Doha, Qatar on November 20, 2022 [Handout/Press Office of the Presidency of Turkey

From East Med to Ethiopia, can Turkey's Erdogan, Egypt's Sisi form regional axis?

Following a thaw in relations and a drone sales package, Turkish-Egyptian defense cooperation and the Turkish president's upcoming visit to Egypt could generate new momentum in the region.

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel weighs bad options in Rafah as hunt for Sinwar continues

The Israeli military is still focused on fighting in Khan Younis but could shift into an operation in Rafah, and international observers are panicked.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs