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Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Khaled Hablas

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Hablas was imprisoned for his role in the deadly 2014 clashes with the military and Hezbollah and his release follows Syria lobbying for the return of militants detained in Lebanon.

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

Turkey’s draft maritime bill seeks to formalize Ankara’s claims in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Black seas, raising tensions with Greece and Cyprus over contested maritime boundaries and offshore energy rights.

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

While Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington for the third time, the Israeli military faces a growing threat from Hezbollah’s cheap yet highly lethal drones.

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

Latest News

Kuwait unveils Iran IRGC infiltration plot, arrests 4: What to know

TTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

Rubio hosts Ethiopia’s FM amid push to boost security ties: What to know

Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos Hessebon meets with Marco Rubio in Washington on May 11, 2026.

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

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

SOUTHERN ISRAEL - OCTOBER 21: An IDF soldier jumps off the front of a tank on October 21, 2023 in Southern Israel. Today marks two weeks since the kibbutzim and communities around the Gaza border, as well as the Super Nova party a were attacked by Hamas militants. As Israel prepares to invade the Gaza Strip in its campaign to vanquish Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that launched a deadly attack in southern Israel on October 7th, worries are growing of a wider war with multiple fronts, including at th

Day 15 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 21

US President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Thursday on the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On Israel-Hamas war, Biden puts Iran on notice as it bides its time

The US president linked Russia and Hamas in their desire to "annihilate" neighboring democracies, and their relationship with Iran; Israel rethinks deterrence; Biden foreshadows a post-war future.

A woman draped in a Palestinian flag prepares to hurl stones toward Israeli forces during clashes with them at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the Israeli settlement of Beit El on October 20, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

West Bank on verge of explosion as Israel-Hamas war rages into week 3

The West Bank was tense even before the Hamas-Israel war amid the emergence of armed groups and almost daily Israeli raids in Palestinian cities and towns.

A Jewish man and a child walk through the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in the resort island of Djerba, near the Ghriba synagogue following a shooting spree by a police officer on the southern Tunisian island on May 10, 2023. Tunisian authorities were investigating the shootings that claimed five lives and sparked mass panic during a Jewish pilgrimage at Africa's oldest synagogue today. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s Jews on edge after crowd torches synagogue amid Gaza protests

History of heated rhetoric and reaction to Israel's war against Hamas may spill over to the small local Jewish population.

Protesters, some wearing a Keffiyeh, take part in a demonstration against Israel in Istanbul on October 20, 2023, after Turkey declared a three-day national mourning in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Israelis and Palestinians have traded blame for a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital this week, with the number of deaths given ranging from dozens to nearly 500. World leaders have condemned the strike and protests have erupted in Arab countries and the wider Muslim world amid stark disagreement over th

Turkey's Gaza protests continue as Erdogan warns Israel against ground invasion

The Turkish president warned Israel against expanding Gaza operations as Israeli diplomats left Turkey amid ongoing demonstrations over the conflict in the territory.

Israel Gallant

Israel’s defense chief says Gaza ground incursion is second in 3-phase war plan

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the first phase is ongoing, and the second phase will consist of a ground invasion.

Palestinian Orthodox attend Palm Sunday mass at a church in Gaza City on April 9, 2023.

Jerusalem’s Orthodox Patriarch: Israeli strike on Gaza church a ‘war crime’

The Saint Porphyrius Church, in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, was built in 1150 by crusaders and is considered the oldest active church in the Gaza Strip.

TOPSHOT - Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on October 11, 2023. Israel kept up its bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on October 11, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a political rival announced an emergency government for the duration of the conflict that has killed thousands. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Hezbollah 'recalculating' Israel's deterrence after Hamas attack, US aid

Some military experts believe Hamas' attack and the scope of proposed US military assistance to Israel point to a vulnerability that is making Israel's opponents rethink their positions.

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

Biden brought a message of support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

VIDEO: Webinar with Ben Caspit & Nadia Bilbassy-Charters on Israel-Hamas war

If you missed it, watch the full live Q&A webinar now.

US President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 19, 2023. President Joe Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office speech October 19, 2023 urging Americans to back military aid for Israel and Ukraine at what he calls a perilous moment for democracy around the globe. (Photo by JONATHAN ERNST / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden links Hamas, Putin as he pledges ‘unprecedented’ Israel support

In a rare Oval Office address, President Joe Biden said he would request from Congress emergency funding for war-torn Israel and Ukraine.

Israeli army soldiers patrol an undisclosed area in northern Israel bordering Lebanon on Oct. 15, 2023.

Israel retaliates after 30 rockets fired from Lebanon

Both Hezbollah and the Lebanon Hamas branch took responsibility for missiles and rockets fired against Israeli localities in the north of the country.

In this handout image released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korean Navy's destroyer Yulgok Yi I (C), U.S. Navy's USS Benfold (R) and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's JS Atago (L) sail in formation during a joint naval exercise in international waters on April 17, 2023 at an undisclosed location. South Korea, the United States and Japan held a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters on Monday, Seoul's Navy said, amid stepped-up efforts to sharpen deterrence against N

US destroyer shoots down cruise missiles by Iran-backed Houthis

Iran-backed factions appeared to break several months of detente with US forces in the Middle East this week by launching drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea, Iraq and Syria amid Israel's war in Gaza, throwing the Pentagon's deterrence efforts into question.