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September 7, 2026

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A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amir Yaryab

Who is Amir Yaryab, IRGC’s cyber commander in US crosshairs?

The US State Department has offered up to $10 million for information on Amir Yaryab, who oversees a key part of Iran’s cyber operations.

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ahead of the eighth round of talks in Rome, the Israeli military reported clearing Hezbollah's underground stronghold at Ali al-Taher after besieging the ridge for months.

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

Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Israel to release 5 Lebanese prisoners ahead of next talks: What to know

Israel said the detainees are "civilians who are not members of a terrorist organization" and "were not involved in terrorism," concluding, "There is no reason to continue holding them in Israel."

Latest News

US airstrikes target Iran's Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island

ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel favors status quo as tensions in Iran's leadership fuel escalation risk

missile

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

Pentagon inks 7-year missile-production deal amid Iran war shortage

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel’s Lebanon dilemma: Confront Hezbollah without angering Trump, triggering Iran

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Israel, US coordinated on settlement construction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be able to walk between the raindrops by approving hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank without upsetting the Americans.

Can Netanyahu say 'no' to Trump?

Israeli right-wing ministers forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject a Palestinian reconciliation, even though the Trump administration is determined to support it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a signing ceremony following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - LR1ED3S15XREP

Are Russia, Iran outflanking the US in Iraq?

Russia deftly manages potentially choppy ties with Iran, while the United States claims Iran "subverting Iraq."

To counter Iranian sway, US promotes Iraqi-Saudi ties

Top Trump administration officials say they see countering Iranian influence in Iraq as important to strengthening Baghdad and preventing destabilizing fissures that helped make way for the Islamic State.

Egypt key to Palestinian reconciliation

The future of Palestinian reconciliation depends more on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi than it does on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas or Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

A car drives through a damaged street on the outskirts of Deir Ezzor on September 24, 2017, as Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across the province. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Following Islamic State ouster, tribes key to stability in eastern Syria

After the ouster of the Islamic State from the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, several issues are expected to complicate efforts to stabilize the region.

The Polisario Front soldiers drive a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon during sunset in Bir Lahlou, Western Sahara, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra SEARCH ìPOLISARIOî FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - S1BEUKRIISAA

Senate challenges House on Western Sahara dispute

Senate appropriators want to tighten restrictions on US aid to Morocco-occupied Western Sahara one year after the House first made assistance available.

‘Arabian Gulf’ ruckus rallies Iranians around the flag

While President Trump’s reference to the ‘Arabian Gulf’ rallies Iranians around the flag, Tehran is closely paying attention to how Europe is moving on other points of contention — including its ballistic missile program.

Netanyahu's strategy to avoid negotiations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploits the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation in order to set impossible conditions for resuming talks with the Palestinians.

TEHRAN, IRAN - FEBRUARY 26: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei casts the first ballot in key elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts in Tehran, Iran, on February 26, 2016. Mr. Khamenei called on Iranians to vote en masse to "ruin the hopes of the enemies." The vote is essentially a referendum on the agenda of centrist President Hassan Rouhani, whose allies are trying to ease the grip of hardliners over many levers of government. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

Khamenei: Iran won’t be first to abandon nuclear deal

Despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to kill the nuclear deal, Iran’s supreme leader said that Tehran won’t abandon the deal before the other side does so.

Trump’s new Iran policy seeks perennial conflict

The Trump administration’s new Iran strategy not only shuts the door to diplomacy with Iran but also alienates ordinary Iranians.

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces ride atop of an armoured vehicle after Raqqa was liberated from the Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, Syria October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - RC16D09535E0

Raqqa win pulls US deeper into Syria conflict

The fall of the Islamic State capital could put the US military on a collision course with Assad.