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Politics & Security

Israeli soldiers react after taking cover near the Israel-Lebanon border following a Hezbollah drone attack that hit the northern border on May 19, 2026. The Israeli military on May 19 warned residents of 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah, the latest despite a ceasefire. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

In first, US sanctions Lebanon military, intel officials for aiding Hezbollah

New tranche of sanctions marks a warning shot from Washington as Senate Republicans threaten to freeze funding to the Lebanese Armed Forces if it does not move more aggressively to disarm Hezbollah.

Iranians drive next to a billboard displaying pictures of nuclear scientists, centrifuges and a sentence reading in Farsi " Science is the power," at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on Aug. 29, 2025.

US, Iran trade mixed signals on enriched uranium as Tehran weighs response

Speaking on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he would be willing to wait "a couple of days" for Tehran's response to the latest US proposal to end the war.

TOPSHOT - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City on September 22, 2025. (Photo by Bing Guan / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

With sanctions off, what’s keeping Syria on US terror blacklist?

Despite President Donald Trump’s pledge to lift all sanctions on Syria, the country's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism continues to discourage investment.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Israel targets Turkey charity amid Gaza flotilla tensions

The request, published in Israeli media, marks a further escalation in tensions with Turkey amid disputes over Gaza aid operations.

Latest News

Iran’s Hormuz authority declares control over ports in UAE, Oman: What to know

AFP via Getty Images

Ethiopia accuses Egypt of obstructing Red Sea access bid: What to know

TO GO WITH STORY by Peter Martell: "Eritrea-economy-port": A couple of boats and two tug boats can be seen in Eritrea's Red Sea port of Massawa on November 18, 2007. Once one of East Africa's busiest ports, the town is still recovering after being badly bombed in 1990 during Eritrea's war of liberation from Ethiopia. The government is trying to revitalize the port, but efforts are hampered by a sluggish economy and threat of a renewed conflict with Ethiopia. AFP PHOTO/Peter MARTELL (Photo credit should read

Turkish court ousts CHP leadership amid opposition crackdown

Leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel addresses the audience during a rally in Istanbul on April 9, 2025.

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

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Two Egyptian girls murdered in Syria's notorious Islamic State camp al-Hol

Two Egyptian girls have been found killed in the Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp that holds many Islamic State fighters and their relatives in northeastern Syria.

Police officers cordon off the area surrounding a building as firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out in one of the apartments in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees, northern Gaza strip, Nov. 17, 2022.

Palestinians mourn victims of Gaza fire

A fire in a residential block in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, killed 21 people as Civil Defense crews were unable to control the flames amid their modest capabilities.

Syria fighting

Turkey’s strikes in Syria put US troops in danger, Pentagon says

A Turkish drone strike on a top Kurdish commander’s headquarters came within 130 meters of US troops in Syria on Tuesday.

Syria Kurds

Analysis

The Takeaway: Syria's Kurds turn to US as Turkey threatens ground operation

Plus, a look at Iran's enrichment activities, twin bombings in Jerusalem and the detention of another US citizen in Saudi Arabia.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Smotrich Ben Gvir

Israeli ministers-to-be attack human rights groups

Far-right politician Bezalel Smotrich and ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir, both likely to serve in Israel's next Cabinet, are ramping up their attacks on human rights organizations.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian gives a press conference in Tehran on Nov. 23, 2022.

Iran's FM meets with Iraqi, Kurdish officials over border security

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Iraq is "committed to keeping terrorists away from Iran's borders."

Seyit, an 8-year-old Kurdish garbage collector, carries flattened cardboard boxes in Istanbul on Sept. 12, 2022.

Deepening poverty fuels mass school dropout in Turkey

Children are dropping out of school at unprecedented rates in Turkey, activists warn, as the social toll of the country’s economic turmoil deepens.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Earthquake in Turkey highlights questions over disaster preparedness

Wednesday's earthquake in Duzce has rekindled memories of quakes that struck Turkey in 1999, worrying many about future disasters.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Jerusalem bombs kill Israeli teenager, 2 Americans among wounded

Israel police are searching for the suspected Palestinian assailants who detonated two explosive devices this morning in two locations in Jerusalem, killing one civilian and wounding others.

Turkey election

Missing legal, tech safeguards worry Turks as elections loom

Few legal safeguards exist to prevent the Turkish authorities from restricting internet access on election day, experts say, as the opposition scrambles to devise contingency plans.

West Bank

PA prime minister warns of Israeli action vs. Palestinians

Mohammad Shtayyeh said the next Israeli government is preparing to declare war on the Palestinians; Israeli far-right parties say they will target terrorism at its source.

Iran Kurds

Iran deploys heavy weaponry to crush Kurdish protests

The Iranian government’s escalating violence against protesters in Kurdish cities has led to chains of funerals.