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Politics & Security

A woman stands next to Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles displayed at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 24, 2026.

Iran’s new calculus: Strike first, talk later

An increasingly emboldened Tehran has put President Donald Trump in a bind.

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023.

Turkey, Pakistan among 14 countries backing Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi Red Sea alliance

Riyadh won political backing from 14 countries for its proposed maritime defense coalition, but members have yet to commit to joining as Washington weighs its position.

Erdogan and Aoun

Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun

Aoun paid a one-day visit to Ankara amid Lebanon's push to secure an Israeli withdrawal and end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024 in Ismailia, Egypt.

Houthis deny responsibility for drone attack hitting Egypt's Damietta Port

The attack is the first on Egyptian territory since the Iran war erupted in February, raising the risk of further widening the Middle East conflict.

Latest News

US carries out strikes in southern Iran after IRGC attack on Jordan airbase

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia to announce Red Sea coalition to counter Houthi threats

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade marking the ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21, 2023.

Amberin Zaman

Jared Szuba

By Amberin Zaman , Jared Szuba

Meet Khalida Boufedech, the first woman to lead Algeria’s parliament

Speaker of the National People's Assembly, Dr. Khalida Boufedech, is pictured in this undated image.

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

Israel Gur

Dispute tearing apart Israel’s Gur Hasidic sect turns violent

The split within the Gur Hasidic court, which has already divided families, turned last weekend into physical clashes and assaults.

Palestinian students supporting the Islamic Hamas movement.

Landslide victory for Hamas student bloc in West Bank reflects shift in popular support

Hamas won a large majority in the student elections at Birzeit University in the West Bank, pointing to the movement’s growing popularity at the expense of the divided Fatah movement.

Remains of the building collapse in Abadan.

Iran high-rise collapse reignites debates on corruption

In the wake of the tragedy, Iranian authorities made multiple arrests, but offered conflicting accounts on the fate of the building owner known for his connections with corridors of power.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki (R) and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a press conference after meeting in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 24, 2022.

Turkey's top diplomat visits Palestine

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his counterpart Riad al-Maliki in Ramallah and reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state before his next meeting with Israeli leaders.

Mitsotakis

Erdogan writes off Greece’s Mitsotakis, maintains stance on NATO expansion

Enraged by the Greek premier’s remarks to US Congress against arms sales to Turkey, Erdogan denounces Greece, along with Sweden and Finland, for supporting terrorism.

al-Qassam Brigades

US sanctions international network laundering funds for Hamas

In a move aimed at cutting off the militant group’s sources of revenue, the Treasury Department designated a Hamas official, three financial facilitators and six companies.

Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (R), an Arab-Israeli lawmaker and member of the Meretz party, attends a session in the Knesset, Jerusalem, Nov. 3, 2021.

Israel’s coalition paralyzed even as legislator backtracks from resignation

Coalition leaders managed to persuade Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi to go back on her resignation, and succeeded in passing the bill on tuition for IDF veterans, but the government is still very fragile and deep in crisis.

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's NATO obstinance threatens more than Nordic membership

From the vantage point of the West, giving in to Ankara’s demands from Finland and Sweden amounts to letting an autocrat design the security architecture of Europe.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs the weekly Cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Feb. 20, 2022.

IRGC colonel's assassination highlights Israel's shift in tactics against Iran

After the killing of IRGC colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, reports claim that Israel has multiplied its efforts against Iranian entrenchment in Syria and Lebanon, against Hezbollah's precision missile project and against terrorism by Iranian agents.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey inches closer to Egypt

The Turkish finance minister is planning a visit to Egypt next month in the latest step toward rapprochement between the two countries.

The portrait of Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is seen on a street vendors cart in Egypt's landmark Tahrir Square on July 4, 2013.

Egypt's National Dialogue unlikely to include Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a political dialogue with his opponents, but many wonder if the Muslim Brotherhood will be invited to attend.

Fans wave US and Iranian flags during the World Cup 2006.

Will the FIFA World Cup help bridge Iran-US gaps?

The US men's national soccer team is in the most politically charged group along with Iran and possibly Ukraine, among other teams.