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Politics & Security

Members of Iran's Basij paramilitary force march

Analysis

As Iran regime marks 200 days of war, is it also preparing for dissent?

Seven months into the war with the US, Iranian authorities staged a pro-government mobilization in Tehran, combining patriotic spectacle with a carefully calibrated demonstration aimed for domestic internal security capacity.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visits Latakia airport on Sept. 18, 2026.

Syria’s Shibani visits Latakia airport to review Russia deal progress: What to know

Syria is seeking to ensure that the August deal to turn Russian facilities in the country into joint training centers is implemented.

Hibatullah Barakat / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists

A Lebanese military court has charged the five, including an Assad-era Syrian officer and Hezbollah members, with running a cross-border security network planning attacks in Syria’s coastal region.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

Latest News

Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Interview

Yemen separatists urge US not to let Saudi Arabia ‘call the shots’

Yemenis gather during a rally to show their support for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the coastal port city of Aden, on December 14, 2025. (Saleh Al-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump administration approves $24B sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

A US Air Force F-35 fifth-generation jet fighter takes off during the NATO's Ramsteign Flag 2025 exercise at Leeuwarden Air Base on April 8, 2025.

US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz payments

A pedestrian passes by the Treasury Building in Washington, DC on Jan. 18, 2023.

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

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Turkey’s opposition claims millions funneled to US through foundations close to president

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu claims President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to leave Turkey in event of election defeat.

Robert Malley, Biden administration special envoy for Iran, testifies about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill May 25, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Iran nuclear deal’s future a ‘huge question mark,’ US negotiator says

US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley told lawmakers that prospects for a renewed agreement with Tehran were "at best, tenuous."

Masked Palestinian men hold automatic weapons.

Israeli forces find tough resistance in Jenin camp

Tension continues to prevail in the Jenin refugee camp where rounds of violence take place daily amid an Israeli threat of a large-scale military operation using helicopters.

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.