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Politics & Security

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

Israel has continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon but had not targeted Beirut since the ceasefire took effect.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Ankara comes amid rapidly expanding Turkish-Saudi coordination as the fallout from the Iran war reshapes Gulf security dynamics.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Iran, China discuss Hormuz reopening amid potential US-Iran talks

China’s foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that “persisting in negotiations is particularly important.”

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Lebanon, Israel eye third round of talks, but no Netanyahu-Aoun meeting in sight

The US appears to be pushing for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the Lebanese government says it won't happen while Israel continues to launch attacks on Lebanon.

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Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

Parker Song / Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Iranians lift up a flag and the mock up of a missile during a celebration following Iran's missiles and drones attack on Israel, on April 15 2024, at Palestine square in central Tehran.

Iran’s threat to Israel adds uncertainty over Gaza cease-fire

The looming attack from Iran and its allies, coupled with Hamas’ elevation of Yahya Sinwar, casts fresh doubt on a cease-fire deal.

People take part in a march called by Palestinian and Lebanese youth organizations in the southern Lebanese city of Saida on August 5, 2024, to protest against the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh (portrait) and a Hezbollah military commander.

Iran defiant as world powers work to avert retaliation against Israel

Unlike in April when Tehran telegraphed its attack in advance, Iran has this time kept details of its expected attack against Israel close to its chest.

Erdogan and Thani

Qatar's emir visits Turkey amid push for de-escalation, Gaza talks

The Qatari emir's visit to Turkey comes as regional countries are ramping up efforts to prevent a broader conflict in the region after the Hamas political chief’s killing.

Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) gather near a US Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Clashes between Arab tribes, SDF forces in Syria pose challenge to US

The clashes between Iranian-backed Arab tribes and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the United States, come at a time of heightened tensions in the region ahead of an imminent Iranian response to the killing of Hamas’ leader.

TOPSHOT - (L-R) Mahmoud al-Aloul, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of Palestinian organisation and political party Fatah, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Mussa Abu Marzuk, senior member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, attend an event at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 23, 2024. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 23 hailed an agreement by 14 Palestinian factions to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern Gaza after the war. (Photo by Pe

Analysis

Hamas reshuffle constrains China as Yahya Sinwar consolidates power

Ismail Haniyeh was no ally of Beijing, but he and Hamas' political wing emerged in recent years as a bridge to expand China's diplomatic influence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Joyce Karam

Egyptian army vehicles are deployed along the border with the Gaza Strip on July 4, 2024 in el-Arish, in the north Sinai Peninsula, amid continuing battles between Hamas and Israel in Palestinian besieged territory. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu says arms smuggling from Egypt's Sinai, not Qatar, fueled Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Time magazine that his approval of Qatari financial assistance to Hamas over the years was not the reason the group became powerful enough to attack Israel.

Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani addresses the United Nations Security Council during an emergency meeting on April 14, 2024 at U.N. Headquarters in New York City. The U.N. Security Council convened for the meeting at the request of Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan after Iran's attack on Israel. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Iran says cease-fire in Gaza 'priority' as US sees deal 'closer than ever'

Iran's statement on a cease-fire comes as Washington intensifies its efforts to reach a deal that could avert Iranian retaliation against Israel and a potential regional war.

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R), and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro (L) attend a joint press conference after their meeting in Ankara on June 8, 2022.

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Venezuela's Maduro after contested elections, urges dialogue

The Turkish president stopped short of extending congratulations to Nicolas Maduro but expressed his well-wishes for the South American nation after the contested election results, according to a Turkish readout.

Ballistic missile Zelzal is launched during the second day of military exercises, codenamed Great Prophet-6, for Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards at an undisclosed location on June 28, 2011.

As Egypt tells airlines to avoid Iran, region braces for attack on Israel

Iran is expected to strike Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, prompting flight suspensions and safety notices for Iranian airspace.

Judge and president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nawaf Salam (2nd R) delivers a nonbinding ruling on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on July 19, 2024.

Turkey applies to join ICJ genocide case against Israel with a caveat

Turkey’s submission didn’t include a written commitment to accept the judgment as binding, which experts link to Ankara’s efforts to prevent the recognition of the mass killing and deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide.

Israeli tanks move toward Rafah during the wider military operation in the Gaza Strip, May 29, 2024.

US says cease-fire talks in 'final stage' as Hamas taps Sinwar to be new leader

The nomination of Gaza Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as head of the organization's political bureau does not mean that the door of cease-fire and hostage release negotiations is closed.

This picture taken on April 25, 2023, shows a shrapnel-pocked walled in the village of Hiror near the Turkish border in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Turkey says PKK attack kills Turkish soldier in northern Iraq

The attack comes at a time when Turkey has intensified its offensive against the militant group in an effort to clear the PKK from the Iraq-Turkey border areas and establish up to a 40-kilometer-deep (24 miles) security zone in northern Iraq.