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Politics & Security

BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 14: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shake hands with Omar Seddik, Sudan's newly appointed foreign minister before their meeting during the China-CELAC Forum at Diaoyutai State Guest House on May 14, 2025 in Beijing, China. The summit includes China's key Latin American trade partners, and comes as Beijing and Washington work on defusing a trade war. (Photo by Florence Lo - Pool/Getty Images)

Explainer

China expands Sudan footprint through ports, debt relief, mining

Reports have emerged of a potential $300 million copper mining deal between the Sudanese government and a Chinese company.

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran is making infrastructure next front in Mideast conflict

Tehran appears to be codifying a pattern that emerged during the recent conflict, increasingly floating attacks on economic infrastructure as an integral part of the conflict's equation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, showcasing Paris' support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while seeking to secure a share of the country's emerging reconstruction market.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images

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

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

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

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

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

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Kurds poised yet again to sway Istanbul race as Turkey's local polls approach

Control of Istanbul, Turkey's major seat of political power, is up for grabs as nationwide municipal elections approach.

THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images

Breaking | Last Updated: February 1, 2024, 2:49 pm

Biden authorizes sanctions over West Bank settler attacks

Under a new executive order, the State Department has imposed sanctions on four Israelis accused of violence and intimidation that forced Palestinians to flee their homes in the West Bank.

HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s IRGC reportedly relocates forces from Syria ahead of expected US strikes

The move comes after a drone strike on a US post in Jordan killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens of others in an attack blamed on Iran.

(To go with AFP story by Mihaela Rodina) Urlati Plant Manager, Luc Viaene (L), Romanian President Traian Basescu (C) and Bob MacDonald (R), President and Chief Executive Officer of P&G, stand together during the official inauguration of a new Procter & Gamble plant in Urlati, a city 80km northeast from Bucharest, on September 29, 2010. The new factory will produce hair care products, of which 90 percent will be exported throughout the European Union and Turkey. AFP PHOTO/DANIEL MIHAILESCU (Photo by DANIEL M

Armed man in Turkey holds hostages at Procter & Gamble plant

An assailant who took seven people hostage in protest of the civilian casualties in Gaza was caught by Turkish police after nine-hour-long standoff.

Jared Elizabeth US-Iran proxy webinar

US confrontation with Iran’s proxies: Live Q&A with Jared Szuba and Elizabeth Hagedorn

The children of Palestinian Mahmoud Al-Durra, 32 years old, from Gaza City, who was displaced to the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip after Israeli raids destroyed his house and his wife was killed, play in the ruins on Jan. 31, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza.

Hamas claims stir debate over UN’s aid lifeline to Gaza

The Biden administration is under mounting pressure to urgently resume funding for UNRWA, without which aid agencies say humanitarian conditions will further deteriorate in the Gaza Strip.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Bashar Assad during the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Saudi Press Agency / Saudi Press Agency via AP

Gulf thaw with Syria gains steam: UAE sends envoy, Saudi diplomats plan visit

The reports about the Saudi visit come after the UAE’s first ambassador to Syria in more than a decade took up his post.

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah.

Analysis

Why did Kataib Hezbollah suspend attacks on US forces in Iraq?

The Iraqi militia’s announcement was the result of Iranian influence and Iraqi political developments, analysts say, ahead of a looming US military response to the killing of American soldiers in Jordan.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

A Lebanese woman looks at graffiti on a smashed glass facade in the heart of the capital Beirut on October 25, 2019 as anti-corruption demonstrators cut off major roads across the country for a ninth day, pledging to carry on with their protests despite the president offering to meet their representatives. - The entire political class has been targeted in days of unprecedented street demos that have dominated city centres and closed banks, schools and universities across Lebanon. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Mideast corruption rankings: UAE least corrupt, Lebanon & Iran close to bottom

Arab states’ average corruption score dropped to an all-time low in 2023, as did Turkey’s, the corruption index shows.

amlies of hostages and supporters hold signs and photos of hostages during a protest calling for an hostages deal with Hamas near the Israeli Prime Minister's residence on January 22, 2024in Jerusalem Israel. According to Israel, 132 hostages are still held by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attack. As the conflict between Israel-Hamas conflict rages on, the IDF focused the military offensive on Khan Younes, now the epicenter of the clashes in southern Gaza. For their part, families of hostages in Israel

Analysis

What's holding up Israel-Hamas hostage release, cease-fire deal?

Reports indicate that Israel would have to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of murder, in exchange for the release of the roughly 136 hostages held in Gaza.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Hamas delegation heads to Cairo for talks on hostage release, truce

A Hamas delegation has been dispatched to Cairo to discuss the latest proposal on a truce and release of hostages in Gaza, though several sticking points remain between the two sides.

Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman (C) meets with people as they show their solidarity and support outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 9, 2023, after the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)

What we know about attempted attack in Sweden outside Israeli Embassy

Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Zin Nevo Kulman thanked Stockholm police for thwarting an attempted attack by neutralizing a suspected explosive device.