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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

AUDI-ARAB-OIC-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT Arab Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (L), Saudi Foreign Minister and session chair Prince Faisal bin Farhan (C), and assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Hossam Zaki (R) attend a preparatory meeting with the Arab foreign ministers ahead of the extra-ordinary Arab League summit in Riyadh on November 9, 2023.

Day 36 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 11

BERLIN, GERMANY - OCTOBER 17: Jordanian King Abdullah II and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on October 17, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The two leaders are meeting shortly before Scholz's departure for Israel and Egypt. Israel is seemingly on the verge of invading Gaza following the harrowing attacks by Hamas fighters in Israel that left over 1,300 people dead. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-Jordan ties, peace treaty tested by Gaza war, deepening divide

Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel, but for the moment it is not considering severing diplomatic ties, say Israeli experts.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Palestinian citizens displaced from Gaza City to the southern Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din Street in the Al-Mughraqa area on Nov. 10, 2023 in Gaza.

Gaza's Salah al-Din highway 'road of death in every sense of the word'

Palestinians recount their harrowing journey along Salah al-Din Road, the route Israel designated for safe passage from northern Gaza.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Israel's Gaza war opens room for Turkey-Iran rapprochement

Turkey’s Gaza diplomacy has failed to bear fruit thus far, but it has clearly led to a rapprochement between Ankara and Tehran.

Palestinians families fleeing Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza towards the southern areas, walk along a highway on Nov. 9, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Analysis

Not your parents’ Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A new generation has found connection and solidarity in opposition to the Israel-Hamas war.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Iran Raisi

Iran's Raisi intensifies Gaza diplomacy ahead of Riyadh visit

At a regional economic summit in Uzbekistan, the Iranian president attempted to galvanize diplomatic pressure on Israel, as he prepared for a separate meeting of Muslim nations in Riyadh, his first visit to the kingdom following the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation.

A plume of smoke rises over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during an Israeli strike on Nov. 9, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Israel's Netanyahu rejects international troops for post-war Gaza

Absent an Israeli endgame for governance in Gaza, Washington eyes regional buy-in for a transitional force to enable Israel's military to extract itself from the Palestinian enclave once Hamas is defeated.

Turkey's President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, on October 25, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s judicial crisis deepens as Erdogan weighs in

Erdogan’s stepping into a crisis between Turkey’s two high courts is widely seen as yet another sign of erosion of rule of law and judicial independence in Turkey.

AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria as conflict with Israel rages

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah are continuing, though the Iran-backed group has signaled that it is being deterred from engaging in a full-blown war with Israel.

An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) flies by at Creech Air Force Base, Indian Springs, Nevada, Nov. 17, 2015.

Internet collapses in Yemen amid uptick in Houthi attacks on Israel

The internet outage coincides with increasing attacks by Iranian proxies against Israel and US positions in the region amid the Hamas-Israel war.

A dead horse lies on the ground as people gather around an ambulance damaged in a reported Israeli strike in front of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Nov. 3, 2023, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continue.

'Far too many' Palestinians killed in Gaza war, Blinken says

As the death toll mounts in Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Israel's daily pauses in operations but said more was needed to protect civilians.

A convoy of Israeli military vehicles drives down a road at an undisclosed location on the border with the Gaza Strip on October 15, 2023.

Analysis

Israel prepares for long Gaza battle, but diplomatic clock ticks

The IDF is advancing more rapidly than expected in Gaza City, but international pressure for humanitarian pauses and possible cease-fire continue to increase.

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