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Politics & Security

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

A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping.

FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images

'Obliterated entire families': Amnesty calls for investigating Israeli strikes in Lebanon as war crimes

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing war crimes in Lebanon by wiping out entire families and killing children.

Iranian NOPO special police officers stand guard in front of a large portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Valiasr square on July 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

As Trump declares deal 'over,' IRGC takes lead in shaping Iran's response

While President Donald Trump has declared the US-Iran memorandum over, Tehran's response suggests it is recalibrating — not abandoning — its strategy as military pressure increasingly eclipses diplomacy.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Trump 'undecided' on Turkey's F-35s as Congress seeks answers on S-400

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Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images

Trump declares MoU with Iran 'over' as Hegseth cancels trip to Israel

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not shown) for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 08, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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

A female protester holds up photographs of Mahsa Amini before cutting her hair with scissors as an act of solidarity with women in Iran during a demonstration against the death Amini on Sep. 23, 2022, in Berlin, Germany.

Iran’s case against the BBC over killed teenage girl: What we know

Nika Shakarami disappeared after attending an anti-government protest in Iran in 2022 and became a symbol of the demonstrations.

Protesters scuffle with riot police as they attempt to defy a ban and march on Taksim Square during a May Day (Labour Day) rally, marking International Workers' Day, at the Sarachane Park aqueduct in Istanbul, on May 1, 2024.

Turkey: Over 200 detained in May Day demonstrations

Police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

Blinken Bibi

Blinken meets Netanyahu, pressures Hamas to agree to cease-fire deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the rounds of senior Israeli officials on Wednesday after stops in Amman and Riyadh.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before the House Armed Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. The committee heard from Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Brown Jr. and Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Mike McCord about the Pentagon's FY2025 budget request. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Pentagon chief says US concerned over Israel's 'lack of execution' on Rafah evacuation plan

Hours after Netanyahu said Israel would launch an invasion of Rafah "with or without" a cease-fire deal, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin sought to pump the brakes, telling House lawmakers that Israel has not fulfilled necessary steps to provide Rafah's civilians with a safe haven ahead of the expected incursion.

An Iranian Navy vessel participates in Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps special forces military drill in the Gulf of Oman at an undisclosed location near Iranian southern port town of Bandar-e Jask on Thursday, April 6, 2006.

Iran conducts naval drills with missile-corvette amid Gulf maritime tensions

Several leading warships and speedboats were shown off in the Persian Gulf exercise, accompanied by fresh warning messages, only two weeks after the Islamic Republic directly targeted Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles.

Iranians attend the funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024.

Iran's hold on Syria strong despite 'withdrawals' after Israeli attacks

While Tehran has been withdrawing some military commanders from Syria in response to Israeli targeting, reports of a large-scale drawdown in Iranian forces in the country are exaggerated, analysts say.

Newly re-elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

In Turkey, Istanbul mayor faces backlash after calling Hamas a ‘terrorist organization’

Turkey's president is notably staying mum over the comments made by Istanbul’s popular mayor.

Palestinians inspect the damage to buildings after Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Pressure builds for Gaza cease-fire as Israel readies to invade Rafah

As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch a Rafah incursion "with or without a deal.”

TOPSHOT - A Palestinian looks at the damage to buildings after Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

With clock ticking in Cairo, Netanyahu ups threats, cancels war cabinet meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to enter Rafah regardless of the outcome of the current negotiations with Hamas.

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 16: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) visit the Gleis 17 memorial, which commemorates Berlin Jews deported by the Nazis to concentration camps during World War II, during a one-day visit by Netanyahu on March 16, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. Netanyahu's visit is being accompanied by protests in Berlin today, including both by people angry over Israel’s policies towards Palestinians as well as those critical of possible new legislat

Analysis

As Israel awaits Hamas response, Netanyahu frets over possible ICC warrants

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems torn between trying to reassure the International Criminal Court and appeasing his hard-line coalition partners on the Cairo cease-fire talks.

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

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

How EU-West Bank police mission hopes to advance two-state solution

Newly appointed EUPOL COPPS chief Karin Limdal is tasked with helping Palestinian law enforcement institutions reform to facilitate the implementation of the two-state solution and Palestinian statehood.

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - APRIL 12: A general view of the International Court of Justice April 12, 2006 in The Hague, the Netherlands. (Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images)

ICJ rejects Nicaragua's request for action against Germany over support for Israel

Nicaragua filed its case against Germany last month over alleged violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention.