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Politics & Security

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on August 30, 2022.

Iraq’s Sadr says 'exclude' armed groups from next government as pressure builds

The cleric's call comes as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi tries to form a government amid political divisions and US demands to curb the influence of Iran-backed actors.

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Latest News

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

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

A display of photos of protesters killed during a candlelight vigil on the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in Iranian custody, Washington, DC, Sept. 16, 2023

Iran continues crackdown on women as executions approach 100 for the year

Iran handed prison sentences to 11 activists defending women’s rights and has executed 98 people this year.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (R) receives German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Nasser Nasser / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NASSER NASSER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

US welcomes new Palestinian cabinet, pushes for reforms

The Palestinian Authority has been under US pressure to undertake various reforms amid proposals that it take the reins in the Gaza Strip after the war ends.

Palestinians check the rubble of buildings that were destroyed following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

White House: No Rafah invasion until Israeli delegation talks alternatives

"We don’t support a major ground operation," White House NSC coordinator John Kirby emphasized on Thursday, as an Israeli delegation is expected to discuss alternatives with top officials in Washington next week.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Biden-Netanyahu spat more play to electorates than showdown over Gaza

The dispute won't shake 'ironclad' US support for Israel.

A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing after Israeli bombardment on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 21, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

State Department staffer resigns over Biden's handling of Gaza

Annelle Sheline is the second State Department official to publicly resign since Oct. 7, citing the erosion of US credibility on human rights in the Middle East as a result of the war.

Washington Pulse

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 16, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

In latest about-face, Netanyahu agrees to resend canceled US delegation to discuss Rafah

The White House said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed for his top aides to travel to Washington to discuss the situation in Rafah after the Israeli leader canceled the delegation Monday.

RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images

Fresh Hezbollah-Israel escalation kills 8, raising fears of Lebanon open front

Wednesday’s escalation renewed fears that Lebanon could be dragged into a wider war with Israel as Gaza negotiations collapse.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) receives Hamas' Doha-based political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Iran reassures Hamas of continued support as Haniyeh visits Tehran

The meetings in Tehran were held as Iranian officials celebrated a moment of triumph for Hamas after the United States allowed the UN Security Council to pass a Gaza cease-fire resolution.

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.

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.

People pass by a building covered with photos of hostages who have been released or are still being held in the Gaza Strip, on March 26, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

US rebuts Netanyahu’s ‘inaccurate’ claim UN abstention scuttled hostage talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the US of a shift in policy, saying its failure to veto a UN Security Council resolution on a Gaza cease-fire encouraged Hamas to reject a proposed hostage-release deal.

A person sits on a donkey-drawn cart while watching from a far as people search the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Asra residential compound.

Israel confirms Hamas’ Marwan Issa killed in airstrike earlier this month

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that Hamas' No. 3 in Gaza, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 10.

Turkish police are seen raiding an apartment suspected of housing ISIS operatives, in an undated video.

Turkey expands crackdown on ISIS after Russia attack

Tuesday’s detentions brought the number of people detained in the country to more than 180 since the ISIS branch's attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow.