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Politics & Security

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Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

Ahmed al-Alwani in an undated photo

Ex-Iraqi MP Ahmed Alwani found dead in Lebanon: What to know

Ahmed al-Alwani was a prominent leader of anti-government protests by Iraqi Sunnis in 2013, and was released from prison last year.

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles

Iran unveils new underground 'missile city': What to know

Iran has moved much of its missile stockpile underground as the threat of a new war looms.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

Latest News

GCC to build military command center in Kuwait as region simmers: What to know

ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images

Hegseth strikes defiant tone, calls House impeachment process 'farce'

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Jared Szuba

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

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Slotkin, Van Hollen emerge as potential challengers to Schumer’s Senate leadership

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks at a press conference on China AI export controls at the U.S. Capitol on September 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Slotkin, joined by fellow Senate Democrats, urged Senate Republican's and the Trump administration to enact stronger export controls on AI technology and computer chips to China. The Democrats also call for a vote on bipartisan export control legislation, including the AI OVERWATCH Act, the MATCH Act, and the Chip Security Act. (

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

Schogetten chocolate.

Reports of poppy in chocolates rattle Egypt

Controversy has swept across Egypt after statements made by a former Egyptian official revealed that there are chocolates in the Egyptian market containing a small percentage of a narcotic substance.

GERD

Egypt steps up support to Sudan ahead of Nile dam third filling

Egypt sent aid and logistical and humanitarian support to Sudan as the two countries stress the need to continue consultations and mutual coordination on Ethiopia’s controversial Nile dam.

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, after the menorah lighting ceremony in celebration of Hanukkah in the East Room of the White House, Washington, Dec. 1, 2021.

Analysis

Israel wants to see improved US-Saudi relations in sign of changed Middle East

Israel's ambassador to the United States also addresses Palestinian political process; violence escalates at Jerusalem holy sites; Hamas focuses on West Bank and resistance dramas; Christian population of Jerusalem dwindles further.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

An Israeli Iron Dome defense system battery, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, is pictured in the Hula Valley, northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, July 27, 2020.

Israel tests innovative, high-powered laser defense system

Israel advances with the development of a laser-based missile interceptor system that should significantly change the balance of powers in the region.

Head of the Kurdistan Regional Security Council Masrour Barzani speaks during an electoral rally for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) list, in Arbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on April 26, 2018.

Scoop: Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister to travel to Turkey

People break their fast on May 16, 2018, near Taksim Square in Istanbul.

Ramadan becomes political battleground in Turkey

Lavish Ramadan gatherings by Turkey's ruling party have fueled public outrage amid staggering inflation and skyrocketing prices.

We Will Stop Femicides Turkey

Rights group spotlighting murder of women in Turkey faces legal threat

A lawsuit threatens to silence Turkey's main voice on violence against women, the We Will Stop Femicides Platform.

Herzog

Delisting IRGC as terror group would send 'terribly wrong message,' says Israel's US ambassador

Michael Herzog, Israel's ambassador to the United States, discussed the looming Iranian nuclear accord, chances of a Palestinian political process, the war in Ukraine, Arab-Israeli normalization and more, at a breakfast hosted by Al-Monitor.

Israeli security fence near Ibthan

Israel may offer thousands more Palestinian work permits

Defense Minister Benny Gantz has made it clear that alongside raids to apprehend terrorists, Israel must work harder to better the lives of Palestinians.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Iran Quds Force commander lauds Israel attacks

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' overseas missions expressed admiration for the assailants behind the recent attacks in Israel, which he took as a sign of the Jewish state's vulnerability.

Captagon tablets

Saudi Arabia finds amphetamines hidden in elevator parts

Citizens of Syria, Egypt and two locals were arrested in relation to the incident, according to state media.

dust storm

Islamic State uses dust storm as cover for desert attack on Iraqi soldiers

An Islamic State cell operating in Iraq’s largely desert province of Anbar killed two Iraqi soldiers the day after an armed drone allegedly from Iran-linked armed groups was shot down at a major base hosting coalition forces in the same area.