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Politics & Security

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on August 30, 2022.

Iraq’s Sadr says 'exclude' armed groups from next government as pressure builds

The cleric's call comes as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi tries to form a government amid political divisions and US demands to curb the influence of Iran-backed actors.

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Latest News

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

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

MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Images

US, UK launch new round of airstrikes against Yemen's Houthis

The Houthis reported the highest death toll yet of the US and UK strike campaign.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan threatens Syrian Kurdish groups as local elections near

The Turkish president said his country would "not hesitate to take action" as Ankara dials up its threats of a fresh military incursion into regions held by Kurdish-led groups in Syria.

A police car is seen outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Swedem, Jan. 31, 2024.

Mossad says Iran behind attacks on Israeli targets in Sweden, Belgium

Two months before the Olympic Games in France, the Mossad warns that criminal organizations are acting on Iran's behalf to target Israelis and Jews across Europe.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (front row, 4th-L), Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (front row, 5th-L) China's President Xi Jinping (front row, 5th-R), United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (front row, 4th-R), Tunisia's President Kais Saied (front row, 3rd-R) and delegations pose for a family photo ahead of the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, May 30, 2024, Beijing, China.

China's largest Arab summit wraps with 'Beijing declaration': What we know

The meeting in Beijing in the presence of Arab leaders comes as the war in Gaza rages on, while China seeks a wider role in the region.

A man looks at artifacts, under restoration after being destroyed by the Islamic State (IS) group, at the Mosul Museum in Iraq's northern city on May 11, 2023.

Iraq recovers over 6,000 stolen historical artifacts, government says

An Iraqi official says the Iraqi government’s efforts to get back historical artifacts smuggled out of the country were focused on Mosul, which was overrun by ISIS in 2014.

Ghadr

What we know on Houthis' latest Ghadr anti-ship Iranian ballistic missile

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that the Yemeni militant group has obtained the technology to manufacture anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Israeli armored personnel carriers move along the border with the Gaza Strip on May 29, 2024 in southern Israel.

Israel in control of Philadelphi Corridor, expects 7 months of war

The Israeli military says its troops are stationed along most of the border and that its firepower covers the whole frontier.

Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni and Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference following their meeting on March 10, 2023 at Palazzo Chigi in Rome. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Once an ally, Italy’s Meloni sours on Israel's Netanyahu, repositions on Gaza

With regional stability at stake and a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Rome has adjusted its position and Netanyahu can no longer assume Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in his political pocket.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani speaks to the media during a press conference in Tehran on March 16, 2015.

Jalili to Larijani: Key names emerge in Iran's presidential elections

Another hard-liner and a Reformist recently declared their candidacies, and others may soon announce theirs in the election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

TOPSHOT - This video grab from AFPTV shows an aerial view of destroyed buildings in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 22, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and them militant group Hamas. Israel pulled its ground forces from Khan Yunis on April 7 after carrying out what it called a "precise and limited operation" at the Nasser Medical Complex, one of the biggest hospitals in the Palestinian territory. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty

For the day after, a 3-phase Gaza plan toward a two-state solution

The stark options before Israelis and Palestinians today are to continue to fight each other or to agree on a plan to achieve the timely fulfillment of a two-state solution.

Iranian conservative presidential candidate and Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf gives an address during a campaign rally in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2017. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does reelection of Ghalibaf as parliament speaker mean for Iran?

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, whose strong connections have spared him prosecution over an array of corruption allegations, is also seen as a potential contender in the upcoming snap presidential election to find a successor to late President Ebrahim Raisi.

ILKER ERAY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Protests against Israel spread in Turkey following Rafah strike

As Israel's Rafah strike sparked protests across the country, Turkey’s National Security Council implicitly criticized Washington for police interventions in pro-Palestinian protests in US colleges.