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Politics & Security

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with the head of the Hikmah Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, in Baghdad on May 19, 2026.

Iraqi PM Zaidi holds talks as cabinet deadlock leaves nine posts unfilled

Political disputes caused parliament to fail to agree on a number of ministerial nominees, including those of defense and the interior.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Senate advances resolution to limit Trump's Iran war powers

The measure marks a symbolic win for Democrats and a growing number of Republicans who have questioned the Trump administration's war with Iran.

A rafale fighter jet prepares for take off on the deck of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during the NATO military exercise Neptune Strike 26-2, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, on April 27, 2026.

UAE, France renew defense pact after Rafale jets controversy

Last month, French newspaper La Tribune reported that the UAE had withdrawn from a proposal to jointly fund development of the Rafale F5 fighter jet.

United Arab Emirates

Baluch Iranian youths cross a street in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 18, 2025.

Analysis

Iran tightens wartime crackdown across Kurdish, Baluch ethnic regions

Arrests in Baluchistan and Kurdistan highlight widening wartime security operations that are deepening mistrust between the state and disadvantaged minorities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Vance says transfer of Iran's enriched uranium to Russia 'not currently our plan'

US Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 19, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Jared Szuba

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

Three victims identified in San Diego mosque attack: What to know

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl speaks at a press conference following a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Southern California, on May 18, 2026.

Car bomb in Syrian capital leaves 1 dead, 23 injured: What to know

AFP via Getty Images

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

Iraqi women's rights activists lift placards during a rally near the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad on Feb. 5.

Honor killings in Iraq rekindle efforts to criminalize domestic violence

There is once again outrage and calls for legal reforms in Iraq to protect women from being murdered at the hands of family members.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R) chats with United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) in Sde Boker, Israel on March 28, 2022.

Analysis

UAE diplomacy guides response to Syrian, Palestinian crises

UAE steps up on Syria in wake of earthquake; Netanyahu settlement threat is déjà vu for Abu Dhabi.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) disembarks his plane at Paris-Le Bourget Aiport, north of Paris as he arrives for his visit to Paris, on March 8, 2022. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken heads to earthquake-hit Turkey in first visit

The US secretary of state will view earthquake relief efforts at Incirlik Air Base and meet with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara.

Iraq elections

Iraqi parliament's attempt to amend electoral law met with anger

The controversial amendment, which will benefit Iraq's larger political parties at the expense of independent ones, is causing political division in the country between the ruling coalition and Sadrists, among others.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian navy warship during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran. (Photo by -/Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images))

US Military: Iranian drone hit Israeli-owned tanker in Arabian Sea

The drone attack on the Campo Square tanker is at least the fourth suspected Iranian attack targeting a commercial vessel linked to Israeli businessmen in just two years.

DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images

Four US troops, working dog wounded in Syria raid against Islamic State

A senior IS official was killed in a raid in northeast Syria that injured US troops and a working dog, who were transported to Iraq for medical treatment.

Syria In Crisis

A road sign points the way to the West Bank settlement of Homesh, northern Samaria, West Bank, April 19, 2005.

Biden ices Netanyahu as differences grow over settlements, judicial overhaul

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that at some point there would be a heavy diplomatic price to pay vis-a-vis the Biden administration over his government’s push for settlement expansion.

A Lebanese security official holds a handful of confiscated captagon pills in his palm at the judicial police headquarters in the city of Zahle in Lebanon's central Bekaa valley on July 21, 2022. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Three Lebanese soldiers killed in Bekaa drug raid

Lebanon plays a big role in the Captagon trade, though authorities are trying to crack down on drugs.

Smoke rises from a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, on March 26, 2022, following a reported Yemeni rebels attack.

Security Briefing: Pentagon officials discuss GCC missile defense in Riyadh

In this week's Security Briefing newsletter, our Pentagon Correspondent Jared Szuba recaps the latest on US-GCC meetings in Riyadh on security ties and Iran policy.

Jared Szuba

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

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Tunisian President Kais Saied (R).

West looks away as Tunisia’s Saeid 'dismantles' democracy

Along with expanding his presidential powers, President Kais Saied has nearly picked apart Tunisia's once-fledgling democracy; Western countries have barely responded.

Cohen, Zelenskyy meet in Kyiv

Israeli foreign minister meets Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Kyiv

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is the first high-level Israeli to visit Kyiv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Syrians gather near a poster of President Bashar al-Assad hanging outside the emergency section of a hospital in Hama, on February 6, 2023, following a deadly earthquake. - The Syrian government urged the international community to come to its aid after more than 850 people died in the country following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in neighbouring Turkey.(Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

In a shift, Gulf media outlets broadcast Syria's Assad speech on earthquake

Saudi, Emirati and other TV stations in the region typically do not broadcast the Syrian president’s speeches, but relations have slightly improved and Gulf states have sent aid to Syria following the earthquake.

Syria In Crisis