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Politics & Security

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Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

The visit comes ahead of President Donald Trump's long-awaited trip to Beijing next week.

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

Ankara is pursuing normalization with Armenia ahead of June parliamentary elections in a thaw also positioned to advance its broader Middle Corridor ambitions.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

The charred remains of a tank from clashes between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) lie on a road near Gereb Agew, Southern Tigray, on March 3, 2026.

Ethiopia rejects Sudan's strike claims, accuses Khartoum of backing Tigray rebels

Sudanese officials had earlier accused Ethiopia of involvement in drone strikes on its territory, including one on the country’s largest airport.

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Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Pentagon says Iran ceasefire continues despite UAE attack

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2026.

UAE purchases 10 military aircraft from Brazil as BRICS ties grow

Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, shake hands before a bilateral meeting ahead of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

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

picture taken at the entrance of the Kweyris military airfield in the eastern part of Aleppo province, on Dec. 3, 2024, shows a portrait of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian rebels take control of Hama in major blow to Assad

Government and rebel forces had been fighting over the strategic city for days after the latter seized Aleppo.

Palestinian men carry a body retrieved from under the rubble following their return to Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, after Israeli shelling of the camp stopped, Nov. 29, 2024.

Amnesty International accuses Israel of committing 'genocide' in Gaza

Israel has rejected the claim as “baseless.”

Senior Iranian and Chinese officials held talks in Tehran on expanding bilateral ties in various areas, particularly in the economic field.

Senior China delegation in Iran to discuss 'strategic partnership,' economic ties

Iran hosted a Chinese delegation on Tuesday and Wednesday in a step to solidify a 2021 strategic partnership agreement, but can the two countries’ partnership weather the upcoming Donald Trump presidency?

Displaced Syrian Kurds drive a vehicle loaded with belongings on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway.

Clashes in strategic city of Hama intensify as Syrian military battles rebels

Rebel forces moved toward the central city of Hama after taking Aleppo, while the government sent reinforcements to the area.

[2/7]Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates March 19, 2023. Abdulla Al Neyadi/UAE Presidential Court/WAM

Analysis

Syrian rebel offensive worries Gulf states as they rally around Assad

Most Arab Gulf states have quickly expressed solidarity with Damascus, but the ongoing rebel offensive has caught many by surprise and adds a layer of uncertainty over Arab normalization with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Giorgio Cafiero

By Giorgio Cafiero

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

US airstrikes hit pro-Assad forces in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor: What to know

The US military is taking advantage of the Syrian government's hasty retreat from Aleppo to muscle up its own defenses on the other side of the country near key oil reserves in the Euphrates River valley near the Iraq border.

Smoke billows the the Syrian town of Suran, between Aleppo and Hama, on Dec. 3, 2024.

Who are Iran Quds Force officers deployed to Syria amid rebel offensive?

The team is led by a former Quds Force Syria branch commander, who Iranian media said had played a leading role in the 2016 anti-militant operations in Aleppo.

A militant poses for a picture after anti-government fighters seized Syrian army military equipment and vehicles that were abandoned on the highway to Damascus, as they reach the town of Suran north of Syria's Hama city on Dec. 3, 2024.

Turkey’s Erdogan urges Assad to engage rebels as Fidan readies for talks with Iran, Russia

Turkey's president held calls on Syria with his Russian counterpart and Iraq's prime minister, while the top Turkish diplomat is expected to meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts for three-party talks.

NOEMIE DE BELLAIGUE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Germany arrests suspected Hezbollah member: What we know

Germany has arrested a man suspected of membership in Hezbollah accused of running two affiliated associations in Germany.

An anti-government fighter tears down a portrait of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, after jihadis and their allies entered the northern Syrian city, on Nov. 30, 2024.

Analysis

With eye on Iran, Israel wary of Syria rebels offensive, prefers Assad

Israel is now debating whether the recent upsurge of rebels in Syria could increase regional threats and its strategic interests.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

An Israeli tank is transported to a position in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Sept. 29, 2024.

Analysis

Could Israel preserve Lebanon ceasefire while retaliating against Hezbollah?

While retaliating against what it considers violations by Hezbollah, Israel insists the ceasefire accord with Lebanon is still on.

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

TOPSHOT - A elderly woman sits in front of a destroyed building to take a rest as she collects tree branches to light a fire in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip after Israeli shelling of the camp stopped on November 29, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP) (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian rivals Hamas, Fatah agree on committee to run post-war Gaza

The agreement came during talks between the two rival Palestinian groups in Cairo.