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Politics & Security

Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya,one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 13: Lebanese people wave flags and hold portraits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (not pictured) as he arrives in southern suberb of Beirut on October 13, 2010 in Lebanon. The controversial visit is seen as a boost for key ally Hezbollah. According to reports Mr Ahmadinejad may visit the border with Israel - the site of recent deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know

The former president, who was a virulent critic of Israel while in office, was reportedly part of a Mossad plan to replace the current Iranian leadership.

Latest News

Israel's Netanyahu plans US visit for Trump meeting, Graham memorial

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cornerstone laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center at an abandon airport in East Jerusalem near the separation wall with the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 5, 2026.

Lebanon army enters Palestinian camp ahead of Aoun’s US visit

FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

How UK's IRGC designation raises stakes for Iran and Europe

A general view of the Iranian Embassy on July 13, 2026, in London, England.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

An Israeli soldier walks next to an armed APC (Armed Personnel Carrier) in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 30, 2023, as a truce between Israel and Hamas enters its seventh day. A truce between Israel and Hamas was extended on November 30 just before it was due to expire, the two sides announced, with mediator Qatar reporting it would continue for one day under the same conditions that saw hostages released in exchange for prisoners. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by

How the Israel-Hamas war is impacting Middle East economies, from energy to arm sales

Smoke billows following Israeli artillery bombing on the outskirts of the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab, from an Israeli military position overlooking the area, Oct. 9, 2023.

What is behind return of Israel-Lebanon border tension after brief pause?

Exchanges of fire come one day after the Lebanese government approves financial compensation for residents affected by the hostilities.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Yossi Beilin (L) after meeting in Gaza City 06 September 1999.

Yossi Beilin, Israel’s Oslo architect: Gaza war shattered Netanyahu’s hopes for Arab normalization

Former politician and architect of the Oslo Accords Yossi Beilin says that the only feasible solution for future governance of Gaza would be an international consortium led by the United Nations or the Arab League.

COP27 and COP28 presidents

COP28 opens in UAE amid intense scrutiny over fossil fuel links

A breakthrough was made on the first day of the UN climate summit as world leaders established a loss and damage fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

United Arab Emirates

Newly release Israeli hostages sit among soldiers as they arrive inside a vehicle at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early on Nov. 30, 2023, after being freed from the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

American among hostages freed on 6th day of Gaza truce

Hamas released 16 hostages, including dual Israeli-American citizen Liat Beinin Atzili, as talks continued over extending the truce.

Senate Democrats

Democrats split on conditioning Israel aid ahead of war’s next phase

Some Senate Democrats have floated conditions on Israel's future military assistance after President Joe Biden said attaching strings was a "worthwhile thought."

Amberin and Fabrice webinar

The Israel-Hamas war: A view from Iraq and Syria

Join a live Q&A webinar with Amberin Zaman and Fabrice Balanche on Friday, Dec. 1 at 11 am ET (Pro members only).

USS Eisenhower

US Navy shoots down Iran-made drone fired from Yemen

The shooting follows a separate incident in the Persian Gulf in which an Iranian drone came within 1,500 yards of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier.

A child mourns over the body of one of five people killed in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin during an overnight Israeli incursion, at the morgue of a hospital on November 26, 2023. Five people were killed by Israeli army fire in Jenin, the Palestinian health ministry said, during an incursion by a large number of armoured vehicles into the city, which was recently the scene of the deadliest Israeli raid in the West Bank in almost 20 years. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Get

Two Palestinian children killed in Israeli raid in Jenin as West Bank tensions soar

The truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has not calmed the situation in the West Bank with at least 240 Palestinians killed since Oct. 7.

Israel Inon

Meet Israeli activist Maoz Inon, who lost his parents in Hamas attack, now calls for peace

Having lost both his parents at the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Maoz Inon calls on the government to take responsibility for the divide within the Israeli society, which had weakened the country, and for what happened that terrible day.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Calling him 'butcher of Gaza,' Turkey's Erdogan unloads on Netanyahu

Erdogan also said hopes for a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have been dampened.

TOPSHOT - A young young boy raises a Palestinian flag as he stands with another amid the debris of a house damaged in an Israeli raid followed by clashes with Palestinians, in the occupied West Bank Jenin refugee camp on November 10, 2023. Israeli forces on November 9 killed 18 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, the territory's health ministry said, most of them shot dead during an army raid on Jenin. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Teetering West Bank economy fuels instability, fear of PA security collapse

An economic downturn in the West Bank as a result of increased security measures and Israel withholding funds to the Palestinian Authority is fueling instability.