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Politics & Security

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks during a press conference

Explainer

Who will lead Congress? Democrats weigh Schumer alternatives, Jeffries bid

A number of contenders have emerged as challengers to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, including strong critics of the Iran war and US support to Israel.

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

Manon Roca / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon files charges against 2 Hezbollah members as UNIFIL prepares to withdraw

The move comes amid growing security concerns in the south less than two months before the UNIFIL mandate expires.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

Explainer

Arab parties' backing gives Eisenkot edge over Netanyahu for PM: What to know

Tomer Neuberg / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Massie renews Hegseth impeachment push as GOP blames Iran war for midterm losses

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, on July 21, 2026, in Washington.

Jared Szuba

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

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

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 picture obtained by AFP from Iranian News Agency ISNA on June 13, 2019, reportedly shows fire and smoke billowing from Norwegian-owned Front Altair tanker said to have been attacked in the waters of the Gulf of Oman

Houthi missile hits Norwegian-flagged tanker in latest Red Sea attack

Iran-backed rebels hit a Norwegian-owned chemical tanker with a cruise missile, but the ship had no clear connection to Israel, signaling the Houthis may be widening the aperture of their attacks.

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 16: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 16, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. Netanyahu's one-day visit to Berlin is being accompanied by protests, including both by people angry over Israel’s policies towards Palestinians as well as those critical of possible new legislation in Israel supported by Netanyahu that would undermine the independence and the power of Israel's Suprem

Analysis

Germany's double approach to Israel: Expand Gaza aid, mum on cease-fire

Germany has seen significant spike in antisemitic attacks since the the war. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called this week on the Netanyahu government to do whatever it can to limit the number of casualties in Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid convoys.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Virginia, Arlington, aerial photograph of the eastern entrance of the Pentagon.

Key Pentagon policy officials to step down amid widening Middle East crisis

Mara Karlin, who oversaw the drafting of the Biden administration's national defense strategy and has filled in as the Pentagon’s no.-3 top official, and Dana Stroul, the department’s Middle East policy director, are both stepping down as Congressional dysfunction threatens to hold up their replacement.

Washington Connection

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during his visit to an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) centre, at the Palmachim Airbase near the city of Rishon LeZion on July 5, 2023.

Report: Netanyahu sets up secret team to discuss ‘day after’ in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set up a team to discuss possibilities for the day after the war in Gaza, according to a recent Channel 13 report.

A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on Dec. 11, 2023.

Day 66 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 11

A truck carries Iranian drones during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.

Iran unveils new Karrar drones upgraded with air-to-air missiles

Iran’s drone fleet has raised concerns among the United States and its allies.

CNN's Becky Anderson interviews Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian over a videocall during the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital on December 11, 2023. (Photo by SALIM MATRAMKOT / AFP) (Photo by SALIM MATRAMKOT/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s FM confirms US messages on Iraq, dodges questions on protests

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Washington has been dispatching weekly messages to Iran to rein in militants in Iraq and Syria attacking its forces.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, British Secretary for Foreign Affairs James Cleverly, the Deputy Chairperson for the African Union Commission Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Kenya's Foreign

France, Germany, Italy push for EU sanctions against Hamas leaders

In a letter to the European Union Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell, the foreign ministers of the three countries stress they would like to see more Hamas leaders sanctioned.

An aid convoy bearing the Jordanian flag enters the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas, Nov. 20, 2023.

Middle East countries join global call for strike in solidarity with Palestinians

Several countries in the region observed a strike in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to demand an end of the Israeli war.

Gen. Joseph Aoun (R), Lebanese Army chief of staff, arrives at the Hamat airbase, north of Beirut, June 12, 2018.

What fate awaits Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun as another Beirut void looms?

Another leadership position might soon be vacant in Lebanon amid bickering over the legality of extending the term of the soon-to-retire commander of the military.

A ball of fire rises above a building during an Israeli strike in Rafah

Day 65 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 10

This photo taken on October 29, 2023 in Istanbul shows a Bayraktar TB-2 drone and helicopters on the Turkish navy's L-400 Anadolu warship, during a naval military parade on the Bosphorus to mark the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s military-industrial complex is booming, but long road ahead

The pitfalls and advantages of Turkish defense firms that were listed among the top 100 arms producers that increased their revenue last year as combined revenues of their Western counterparts shrank.