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Politics & Security

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi (L) and US President Donald Trump pose during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025.

Trump threatens to 'blow up' Oman as US-Iran talks stall

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up,” Trump said in surprising comments on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Hungary’s parliament voted to remain in the International Criminal Court, reversing a planned withdrawal and marking a shift in Budapest’s approach to Israel and the EU.

Iraqis walk past portraits of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, including one on a banner calling for a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Sadr City, east of Baghdad on October 29, 2025. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Iraq on 11 November 2025, which will determine the 329 members of Iraq's Council of Representatives, who are responsible for electing the country's president and approving the appointment of the prime minister. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by

Iraq’s Sadr moves to place his militia under state control: What to know

Muqtada al-Sadr is the first militia leader to heed new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s call to place weapons in the hands of the state as US pressure continues.

Latest News

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

White House calls Iranian report on Hormuz, MOU 'complete fabrication'

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula on May 17, 2026.

Jared Szuba

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

Analysis

'Very bad news’: Israel alarmed as Trump pushes ahead toward Iran deal

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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

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

Aerial view of the destruction in the city of Raqqa, Syria, Nov. 7, 2021.

Pentagon could have done more to prevent casualties in key Syria battle, report

A 2017 decision to encircle the Islamic State's capital at Raqqa inhibited the possibility of civilian escape corridors, a Pentagon-sponsored report found.

Israel's incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gives an address before the new Cabinet, accompanied by Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the Knesset, Jerusalem, June 13, 2021.

Tensions increase at highest levels of Israel’s leadership

Tensions between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid keep increasing, destabilizing the already fragile coalition.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) attends a Cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office, Jerusalem, March 27, 2022.

Fingers pointed at Israel’s security agencies for failing to prevent terrorist attacks

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett finds himself destabilized politically, after the Shin Bet failed to thwart three deadly terrorist attacks.

Zandberg

Israel’s environment minister strives for regional coalition on climate change

Participating at the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris on ensuring a resilient and healthy environment for all, Environment Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg says she is also working with neighboring countries to achieve this goal.

Khashoggi

Turkish prosecutor calls for transfer of Khashoggi trial to Riyadh

The call to discontinue the case against 26 defendants in killing of the Saudi journalist comes as Turkey is working to improve relations with rivals across the Arab world

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

Iran slams new US sanctions amid nuclear deal uncertainty

The fresh sanctions targeted a network of Iranian firms over links to the Revolutionary Guards' missile program and came as an impasse in the nuclear deal talks drags on.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) walks with officials, including Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

Ukraine war boosts Erdogan's 'new Atlanticism,' but for how long?

Turkey’s westward focus may complicate, or complement, Ankara’s previous priority of Eurasia.

Palestinian devotees pray on Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Destiny) outside the Dome of the Rock at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, East Jerusalem, May 8, 2021.

Israel lifts restrictions on Gazans ahead of Ramadan

Israel fears an escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem during Ramadan that will extend to the Gaza Strip.

Litzman

Ultra-Orthodox parties may offer Israeli government political safety net

Journalist Amit Segal claims that Yitzhak Shapira, the most-likely replacement for senior ultra-Orthodox legislator Yaakov Litzman, has been secretly negotiating with the government for a deal that would halt anti-ultra-Orthodox legislation.

Members of the Free Syrian Army wave the flag of the Syrian opposition as they travel in a truck through the town of Hazano, in Idlib's northern countryside, as reinforcements are deployed from Aleppo's northern countryside to Idlib's countryside to counter an ongoing pro-regime offensive, Syria, Feb. 5, 2020.

HTS explores rapprochement with Turkey-backed factions in north Syria

Regular meetings between the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders in northwestern Syria will open a new page in relations between the two parties and might pave the way for military integration in the future.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak (C) speaks to the press.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Turkey thrust into spotlight amid Ukraine-Russia talks

Turkey acts as mediator in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Israel is on high alert after a wave of terrorist attacks, how drones are revolutionizing the battlefield, and more.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R).

Iran FM: US needs to be ‘realistic’ in nuclear talks

Iran’s foreign minister continues to lobby for the United States to come to an agreement for the revival of the nuclear talks.