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Politics & Security

Mecca

In first, Saudi Arabia activates Mecca warning system amid Houthi threat

Saudi Arabia activated emergency alerts in the holy city for the first time since Yemen's Houthi group intensified its drone and missile attacks on the kingdom.

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Iran says it is stepping up its crackdown on armed groups in the impoverished province as Sunni clerics have been reported killed there and in the predominantly Kurdish northwest.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

CENTCOM chief meets Saudi Arabia's MBS amid Houthi gains in Yemen

The low-profile meeting between the Pentagon's commander in the Middle East and Saudi crown prince comes as Yemen's Houthis seized the high ground overlooking a vital economic waterway.

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Latest News

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Erik Marmor

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Analysis

What does Houthi advance mean for Yemen’s southern separatists?

Yemeni separatists

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Analysis

Houthi gains in Yemen are testing Saudi Arabia’s security strategy

boats and a container ship near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Iran, misreading Trump’s resolve, escalates conflict in Yemen ahead of US midterms

Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement, arrive with their weapons to rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon, in Sanaa on April 8, 2026, following the announcement of a ceasefire in the Middle East war.

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

HENRIK MONTGOMERY/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Top Turkish, Swedish, Finnish diplomats to talk NATO enlargement

Turkey, Sweden and Finland will hold a new round of talks for the Nordic accession to NATO, but Ankara appears to be waiting for more from the Nordic states.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Qatar on Nov. 20, 2022.

Erdogan-Sisi handshake sparks backlash from Turkey's Islamists

President Erdogan’s about-face on Egypt sparked backlash from some Turkish Islamists ahead of critical June elections.

Israeli Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir delivers a speech next to his wife Ayala (bottom L) at the Knesset, before a swearing-in ceremony for new members of parliament, Jerusalem, Nov. 15, 2022.

Netanyahu offers national security post to ultranationalist Ben-Gvir

Under the newly created position, Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir will manage both the Public Security Ministry and the Border Police forces operating in the West Bank.

West Bank fence

Israel plans 60-mile concrete wall in northern West Bank

Palestinians believe that Israel’s decision to build a concrete separation wall in the northern West Bank aims to entrench its control over their lands and draw new borders.

Iranian women wave Palestinian and national flags during a march to condemn the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, Palestine Square, Tehran, Iran, May 19, 2021.

Gaza factions worry about fallout from Iranian protests

Hamas and Islamic Jihad are worried that the protests might impact Iran’s military and financial support.

GERD

Egypt bets on US to restart talks on Nile dam dispute

Egypt hopes that the momentum from the COP27 summit will help to resume the stalled negotiations on the controversial dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile.

Israeli security forces gather at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Nov. 23, 2022.

Jerusalem bomb attack which killed Israeli sign of escalation in West Bank

The Jerusalem operation came at a time when the Palestinian territories are witnessing a field escalation in the wake of the right-wing victory in the Israeli elections, which may keep the door widely open for escalation in the coming period.

Syria protest

US again tries to thwart Turkish invasion of northern Syria

Erdogan says military operations are "just beginning" against Syrian Kurdish groups, while teasing possibility of talks with Assad.

A barricade set up by Palestinians blocks a street in case of an Israeli army raid, Jenin, West Bank, Nov. 23, 2022.

Cooperation with Palestinian Authority behind return of abducted Israeli body

Israel's leadership, the Palestinian Authority, the Americans, the UN and even Islamic Jihad contributed to the return to Israel of a body abducted in a West Bank hospital.

AFP via Getty Images

Land mines continue to haunt women, children in Yemen

Yemeni women and children continue to die from land mines planted by Houthi rebels across the country.

Syrian demonstrators gather to protest Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Turkey, Aleppo province, Syria, Oct. 21, 2022.

Syrian National Army police clashes with peaceful protesters in al-Bab

The police of the Syrian National Army assaulted protesters near the city of al-Bab following civil protests calling for controlling the security situation in the city and holding the killers of a prominent activist accountable.

Erdogan

Erdogan says meeting with Syria's Assad is 'possible'

The Turkish president adds that "there is no resentment or bitterness in politics."