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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

A firefighter truck celebrates with a water jet the first Yemen Airways flight in six years.

US welcomes Sanaa's first commercial flight in six years

The Jordan-bound flight on Monday came as part of a UN-brokered truce struck in April.

A picture taken on October 17, 2017, shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the multiethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Iraqi Kurdistan government denies taking control of oil fields in Kirkuk

An oil company run by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil alleged that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s forces took over some oil fields in the disputed northern province.

Sudan's military leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) gives a press conference upon his return from Moscow, at the airport in Khartoum, Sudan, March 2, 2022.

Wave of atrocities in Darfur tarnishes Sudan’s coup authorities

Military leaders in Khartoum and their allies in armed groups from the western region have been accused of direct and indirect responsibility for the worst episode of atrocities since the generals’ seizure of power in October.

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters while departing the Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2022.

Harris stresses US-Emirati partnership after MBZ meeting

The visit by Vice President Kamala Harris and other US officials come as relations between Washington and Abu Dhabi hit a rough patch.

United Arab Emirates

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference after the NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2021.

Turkey continues to play hard ball over Sweden, Finland NATO membership

Turkey’s Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party government is demanding that both countries end their arms embargoes on Turkey over its military intervention in 2019 against the Kurds in northeast Syria.

Syrian rebel fighters man anti-aircraft guns.

Syrians dodge military conscription

Syrian military-age men are fleeing conscription, forcing them to defer their future or pay back the government.

Muslim devotees pray on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in al-Jarif suburb, Khartoum, Sudan, May 2, 2022.

Skepticism about Sudanese military's calls for dialogue

Analysts believe the recent call by Sudan’s military leaders for a dialogue to overcome the ongoing political crisis will not lead to any results.

Yahya Sinwar, head of the political wing of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, speaks during a meeting in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, April 30, 2022.

Israel targets Hamas leader after call to attack Israelis with 'cleaver, ax or knife'

Israel may be targeting Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following the ax attack in the central city of Elad.

Workers celebrate waving Ethiopias flag during the first power generation ceremony at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022.

Ethiopia to supply South Sudan with electricity, as Nile dam talks continue to falter

Ethiopia plans to export electric power to South Sudan as part of an electrical interconnection project between the two countries, as negotiations with Sudan and Egypt on Ethiopia’s controversial dam on the Nile River are at a dead end.

Palestinian Chief negotiator Ahmed Qorei Abu Ala (l) shakes hands with his Israeli counterpart Uri Savir (r) at the Taba hotel on the Egyptian shore of the Red Sea after signing the historical Taba agreement to extend Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank. Yasser Arafat, chairman of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is in the center. Sept. 24, 1995.

Uri Savir, key negotiator in Oslo Accords, passes away at 69

The death of former Foreign Ministry Director General Uri Savir, one of Israel's more creative and relentless peace-negotiators, leaves a void among those who battle for coexistence.

This general view shows an Ethiopian national flag flying infront of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on Feb. 19, 2022.

Egypt, Ethiopia compete for US support in Nile dam file

Ethiopia’s former water minister presents his credentials as a new ambassador to the United States, in a move that aims to counter Egyptian efforts to win US support to its side in the GERD dispute.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Will Iran look east if nuclear deal talks fail?

The European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief was in Tehran this week, but there are indications that Iran may be preparing backup options.