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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Turkey is seeking to turn the diplomatic momentum from the Ankara NATO summit into a broad defense realignment spanning US sanctions relief and fighter technology, European air defenses and deeper military cooperation with the UK.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Despite Israel's military readiness to resume strikes on Iran, officials say looming elections make Netanyahu more likely to stay out unless Tehran forces his hand.

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

US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs Bismarck Municipal Airport on July 01, 2026 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Israel warns US of new Iran plot to assassinate Trump: What to know

US officials are reportedly still assessing the Israeli intelligence.

Latest News

Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Lebanon's Aoun to meet Trump in first presidential summit in US since 2009

Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

Russian servicemen drive S-400 missile air defence systems during the Victory Day parade, marking the 73rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, at Red Square in Moscow, Russia May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RC1D3531D5F0

Intel: How Russia is pushing weapons sale that has roiled US-Turkey relations

A member of Manbij Military Council gestures at a car in Manbij city, Syria December 29, 2018. Picture taken December 29, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1EFBFDDC70

Russian forces will defend Manbij 'the minute Americans leave'

The Manbij Military Council and Russian commanders have made a verbal agreement over who will defend Manbij when the United States leaves, and Turkey is not part of the equation.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1801320710

Parliament bill may not prevent US troops from staying in Iraq

Iraq is smack in the middle of a tug of war between the United States and Iran for influence in the Mideast and faces some tough decisions.

White House adviser Jared Kushner attends a plenary session at the Middle East summit in Warsaw, Poland, February 14, 2019. Agencja Gazeta/Slawomir Kaminski via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. POLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN POLAND. - RC1F9B11F600

Kushner's clues to peace deal raise more questions than answers

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner recently talked about the administration's long-awaited Mideast peace plan, saying Gaza and the West Bank must be united under one leadership, which raised speculation and doubt in Palestinian circles.

Men suspected of being Islamic State (IS) group fighters walk together towards a screening point for new arrivals run by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, where suspected jihadists -- many of them wounded -- were being interrogated outside Baghouz in the eastern Syrian Deir Ezzor province on March 6, 2019. - Veiled women carrying babies and wounded men on crutches hobbled out of the last jihadist village in eastern Syria on March 6 after US-backed forces pummelled the besieged enclave. The Syrian Democrat

Russia's plan for IS returnees no better than that of others

Moscow criticizes the Europeans for refusing to assume their share of responsibility for their nationals who ended up with the Islamic State, but Russia's own practice is flawed, too.

Salih: Iraq can be a 'bridge to the economies of the region'

Iraqi president charts new direction for Iraqi foreign policy based on "interrelated interests" at Sulaimani Forum; Iraq-Jordan trade deal should help address Jordan’s unemployment crisis; Rouhani arrives in Iraq to boost trade; US shifted arms from Iraq to Syria in second half of 2018.

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, touches down at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, April 9, 2016. The U.S. Air Force deployed B-52 bombers to Qatar on Saturday to join the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the first time they have been based in the Middle East since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Corey Hook/Handout via Reuters THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTE

Plan to charge allies for US troop presence carries risks for Americans in North Africa

US President Donald Trump’s reported plan to charge allies for US military bases could make it harder to protect diplomats and embassies throughout Africa.

Palestinian Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh welcomes Hamas members who went missing in Egypt a few years ago, after their arrival in Gaza City February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC18F17FF320

What was Hamas’ Haniyeh doing in Egypt for 25 days?

Although Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s long visit to Egypt achieved positive results, including the release of four Hamas members abducted in 2015, many pending issues remain unresolved.

TOPSHOT - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 24, 2018. - The summit, nicknamed "Davos in the desert", has been overshadowed by growing global outrage over the murder of a Saudi journalist inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi investment fund hires US PR firm to create distance from crown prince

New York-based Karv Communications will be paid $120,000 a month to “create a clear distinction” between the $200 billion fund and its embattled chairman.

Russian S-400 air defence mobile missile launching systems take part in a military parade during celebrations marking Independence Day in Minsk July 3, 2014. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS MILITARY) - GM1EA740JRH01

Turkey dismisses US threat about buying Russian S-400 air defense system

Turkey does not appear to be budging from its purchase of S-400 air-defense missiles from Russia despite US threats to cancel delivery of F-35 jets Turkey has ordered.

A picture taken on February 21, 2019 shows a US soldier atop an armoured vehicle on a road in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province. - US-backed Syrian forces tried today to negotiate the release of civilians still trapped in the Islamic State group's last redoubt, as the international coalition warned the jihadists faced "inevitable defeat". (Photo by Bulent KILIC / AFP) (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

US struggles to get European troops for Syria

European allies are wary of committing troops for a Syria mission when the Donald Trump administration has given conflicting signals about its engagement in Syria.

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, delivers his speech as he attends the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), meeting in Villepinte, near Paris, France, June 30, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1B635374A0

US government no longer excludes MEK as leadership option for Iran

The group, once on a State Department list of terrorist organizations, has influential supporters in the Donald Trump administration.