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Politics & Security

People wave flags of Kurdistan during a march in Erbil, Iraq, on April 21, 2026, expressing support for the unity of Iranian Kurdish parties and condemning Iranian missile strikes and military actions against Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Analysis

Why Iran's Kurdish front is becoming a growing wartime concern

A Friday Iranian strike on a Kurdish dissident base underscores Tehran's concern that its oldest internal security challenge has now become a wartime vulnerability.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Israeli police officers clash with ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against their conscription, Bnei Brak, Israel, July 16, 2024.

Analysis

How Netanyahu's bet on ultra-Orthodox exposes his vulnerability in Israel's upcoming election

The prime minister needs the support of the ultra-Orthodox, who reject mandatory conscription, if he is to have a chance at winning reelection and forming the next government.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

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?

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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 undated image of Tsurkov.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, Israeli-Russian researcher, kidnapped in Iraq

In the first public confirmation of the March abduction, the Israeli prime minister said today that the researcher is alive.

Jordanian Foreign Minsiter Ayman Safadi (L) meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on July 4, 2023.

In Turkey visit, Jordan's FM says Ankara, Amman on same page on Syrians

The foreign minister of Jordan, whose country hosted a series of mediation meetings between Damascus and other Arab capitals, traveled to Ankara after meeting with Assad in Syria.

Women take part in a rally in support of Iranian women in Pristina on Oct. 12, 2022.

Iran's Raisi blames 'enemies' for hijab violations, urges action against women defying

The Iranian president's order for action came in response to fast-growing defiance from a new generation of women challenging the strict dress code, which has been a fundamental pillar of the ruling theocracy.

Israeli military armored vehicles advance on a road during an operation in Jenin city in the occupied West Bank, on July 3, 2023.

Analysis

Can Israel’s operation in Jenin restore IDF deterrence in West Bank?

Israel’s security system knows that even a large military operation cannot completely erase militant activity from the West Bank city of Jenin, but it does hope to shift the balance of power in its favor.

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech at the International Ombudsman Conference at the presidential complex in Ankara, Turkey, on January 11, 2023. - Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets (Ombudsman) and High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation Tatiana Moskalkova asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to act as a mediator to establish a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and wounded in Ukrainian territories engaged in c

Turkey, Egypt fully restore diplomatic ties after decade-long freeze

After years of diplomatic isolation, Ankara and Cairo have announced full normalization.

A Palestinian man throws a stone at an armored vehicle during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, on July 3, 2023.

US does not condemn Israel’s raid in Jenin, urges cooperation with Palestinians

The United States has not condemned Israel over its Jenin operation, but the UN and Arab countries are warning against a dangerous escalation.

This picture taken on Jan. 26, 2019, shows journalists filming outside the departure lounge and control tower of Sulaimaniyah International Airport.

Turkey extends flight ban on Iraqi Kurds' Sulaimaniyah airport over alleged PKK support

Turkey said its latest ban is in response to "the intensification of activities by the PKK terrorist organization in Sulaimaniyah."

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan says Turkey won't 'back down' on demands for Sweden’s NATO bid

In an apparent jab at Sweden and the United States, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country wouldn’t cave to “veiled threats.”

Anti-government protesters march at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Lod on July 3, 2023.

Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport floods with protesters, 15 detained

Anti-judicial overhaul demonstrators who managed to penetrate the main terminal of Ben Gurion International Airport clashed with police who were trying to push them out of the building.

Members of the Lebanese Army deploy as families await news of their relatives at the entrance of the port in the northern city of Tripoli, on the morning of January 1, 2023, following a rescue operation by the navy of a sinking migrant boat in Mediterranean waters, off the Lebanon's northern coast. - Two migrants died and another 200 were rescued when their boat sank off Lebanon's northern coast, from where increasing numbers make the risky journey to flee a collapsed economy. An AFP correspondent in the im

In Lebanon's north, armed clashes renew fears of sectarian strife

The incidents come as the country reels under a devastating economic crisis.

A kiosk in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Oct. 30, 2022.

Iran: 3 women journalists go on trial as rulers continue with crackdown

Repression of journalists has worsened since widespread protests began in Iran last year, and the government is also restricting use of VPNs.

Men chat as they sit on a bench in front of the New Mosque, bearing Turkish flags, in the Eminonu district in Istanbul, on January 10, 2023. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey says it busted Israeli Mossad spy ring targeting Hezbollah, others

Turkey has detained seven people for spying on behalf of Israel on a major multinational espionage operation.