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Politics & Security

Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement brandish their weapons as they rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon in Sanaa on April 10, 2026.

Yemen's Houthis raise Red Sea stakes for Trump

With President Donald Trump ratcheting up his threats, will Iran play its Houthi card?

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

Analysis

Trump's ‘180-degree reversal’ on Lebanon, Syria leaves Netanyahu with few options before elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes an Israeli withdrawal from two pilot zones in southern Lebanon will help ease tensions with President Donald Trump.

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

The sun sets behind overhead power lines in Kuwait City, June 19, 2024.

Iran strike damages Kuwait power, desalination plant: What to know

Kuwait, the world’s most water-stressed country, urged residents to reduce electricity and water use following the attack.

Latest News

Vance says Israeli intelligence had ties to Epstein: What to know

US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Trump taps Russia-born investor to oversee $200M+ fund backing Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) sits in between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan (L) and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during a signing ceremony for the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. The US-backed “Board of Peace” is intended to administer the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the war between Israel and Hamas. The final makeup of the board has not been confirmed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/G

Israeli PM Netanyahu 'will not travel' to US next week, his office says

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.

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

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri heads the 12th parliamentary session to elect a new president in the capital Beirut's downtown district on June 14, 2023 amid bitter divisions between the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents. Lawmakers in crisis-hit Lebanon failed for a 12th time to elect a new president, with bitter divisions between the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents marring the vote. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon: Republicans in Congress call for sanctions against political class

The letters come amid Lebanon’s continued political paralysis, economic crisis and rising tensions with Israel. Some members of Congress are calling for sanctions on parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.

Gokcen Firat is pictured in an undated image.

Turkey appoints first female admiral as part of military overhaul

The overhaul in the Turkish army's top brass seems to be in line with Erdogan's long-term foreign policy and security agenda, a prominent analyst says.

This photograph shows paintings by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality's artists bearing Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Hero or villain? Disney ignites fury with ill-fated series on Turkey’s revered Ataturk

Disney is thought to have caved to pressure from the US-based Armenian lobby to cancel the biopic on the founder of the Turkish Republic.

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan arrives at the Elysee Palace for a working lunch with France's President, in Paris, on July 18, 2022. - Emmanuel Macron welcomes the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, nicknamed MBZ, at the Elysee Palace on July 18, 2022, whose state visit "will confirm the strong ties" between France and the rich Gulf oil country, the Elysee Palace announced on July 14, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MA

Iran president Raisi invites UAE's MBZ to visit Tehran

The invite was extended on the same day that Iran conducted a naval drill on Abu Musa Island, which is disputed with the UAE.

United Arab Emirates

Grain is loaded aboard a cargo ship at the Azov Sea Port, Rostov region, on July 22, 2023. On July 21, 2023, Russia said that it understood the concerns African nations may have after Moscow left the Ukrainian grain deal, promising to ensure deliveries to countries in need. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken to Russia: Stop using food as 'weapon of war' in Ukraine, Syria

Wheat prices in the Middle East have risen since Russia's abandonment of the grain deal last month.

Iranian women walk in the street on a rainy day in the capital Tehran, on December 4, 2022. - Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code, local media said Sunday.women (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

11 Baluchi men executed in Iran as morality police returns to streets

The executions are seen as a way to intimidate the public, while the morality police resumed its work to enforce Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

Syria aid

How Syria's Assad is using aid access to hasten normalization

Experts say Syria's proposal to coordinate UN aid delivery is an attempt to cast itself as a constructive partner at a time when the region is bringing Bashar al-Assad in from the cold.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (R) shake hands during his state visit to Uganda at the State House in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA / AFP) (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

In turnaround, Iran eyes economic opportunity in African ties

Tehran is diversifying its international ties and learning to secure small benefits from relationships instead of looking for big benefits from world powers.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

The TQ Samsun bulk carrier transits the Bosporus during the early morning hours on July 18, 2023, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey's Erdogan makes no headway in getting Russia back to Ukraine grain deal 

Turkey’s Erdogan says he will continue diplomacy to bring Putin back to the grain deal and announces Putin will come to Turkey, but gives no timeframe.

pumpjacks in Syria

Canadian energy firm to develop major oil field in Turkey’s Kurdish southeast

A Canadian firm will help Turkey develop its new oil field in Sirnak province.

Israeli policemen detain a Palestinian man at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following clashes that erupted during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jerusalem on April 5, 2023.

Israel holds over 1,200 mostly Palestinian detainees without charge, highest in 3 decades

A report published on Wednesday by a nongovernmental group says the number of people in Israeli administrative detention is the highest in the last three decades.

MEHDI MARIZAD/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's IRGC holds military drills at disputed UAE islands

Iran held war games as a top oil official said the Islamic Republic will not give up “one iota” of its rights to the disputed Durra gas field in a potential sign of tension with Arab Gulf states.