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Politics & Security

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Iran's IRGC holds anti-helicopter drills in Tehran: What to know

Iran said it downed two US helicopters last month as American forces use the aircraft for strikes in the Gulf.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.

Turkey, Armenia to launch direct trade in normalization push: What to know

The move removes a decades-old reexport mechanism routed largely through Georgia as Ankara and Yerevan step up normalization efforts.

Latest News

In first, Lebanon files formal UN complaint against Iran: What to know

FADEL Itani / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Khaled Hablas

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

An antenna of a communications tower that relays phone and internet signals is pictured in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on October 28 , 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas

US working to keep Gaza's phone, internet services operational

Israel cut communications in Gaza late Friday for over 24 hours as the Israeli military increased strikes and ground operations.

This photograph shows Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) vans parked at the airport in Makhachkala on October 30, 2023. Russian police on October 30, 2023 said they had arrested 60 people suspected of storming an airport in the Muslim-majority Caucasus republic of Dagestan, seeking to attack Jewish passengers coming from Israel. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-Russia ties unravel as Putin calls meeting over Dagestan mob incident

After a Hamas delegation visited Moscow and the anti-Israeli incident in Dagestan, the crisis between Israel and Russia is out in the open.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Families and friends of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza gathered at "Hostages Square" outside the Art Museum of Tel Aviv.

Israel rescues soldier from Hamas captivity in Gaza

In the first known successful rescue mission, an Israeli soldier was freed from Hamas captivity during an Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians storm a UN-run aid supply center, that distributes food to displaced families following Israel's call for more than one million residents in northern Gaza to move south for their safety, in Deir al-Balah on October 28, 2023,

Gaza death toll soars above 8,200 as UN estimates 1.4 million displaced

Aid deliveries are continuing into Gaza, but humanitarian organizations are reporting mass displacement and fuel shortages as Israel continues aerial and ground operations against Hamas.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the unrelenting retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people

Day 23 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 29

Iran protest

Despite incendiary rhetoric, Iran walks tightrope to avoid direct Israel war

Three weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, Iran has adhered to a strategy of caution to avoid direct engagement, translating its threats into limited attacks on US bases through its proxies.

hammam ceiling

Turkey's 500-year-old hammam unveils Istanbul's Ottoman secrets

The 16th-century Zeyrek Cinili Hammam, commissioned by corsair-turned-admiral Barbarossa and built by imperial architect Sinan, has found second life after surviving fires, earthquakes and suspicious sultans who feared hammams could be hotbeds of rebellion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine Erdogan, attend a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Istanbul on Oct. 28, 2023.

Israel recalls diplomats from Turkey after Erdogan’s 'grave' statements

The move came after Erdogan called Israel a "war criminal" earlier Saturday, and marks a backsliding in bilateral ties that had been fully restored just last fall after more than a decadelong break.

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Annual Leadership Summmit on October 28, 2023 at the Venetian Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Day 22 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 28

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - JULY 11: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the opening high-level session of the 2023 NATO Summit on July 11, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The summit is bringing together NATO members and partner countries heads of state from July 11-12 to chart the alliance's future, with Sweden's application for membership and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine as major topics on the summit agenda. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Explainer: Why Turkey's Erdogan finally initiated Sweden’s NATO ratification

Turkish officials caution that ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO is not a done deal and that the process remains littered with challenges.

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade to mark the ninth anniversary of the Houthis' takeover of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, Sept. 21, 2023.

Iran-backed Houthis emerge as threat to Israel, US amid Gaza war

The Houthis' ability to strike shipping in the Red Sea in the event of an expansion of the Israel-Hamas war makes them a factor in global geopolitics.

Yahya Sinwar (3rd R), the new Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh (4th R) sit among other Hamas officials during a memorial for Mazen Faqha, a leader of the Islamist movement who was shot dead in Gaza by unknown gunmen, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, March 27, 2017.

Analysis

Meet Hamas' key leaders, many on Israel's target list in Gaza

Hamas has a complicated and fragmented leadership structure. The militant components of the group have become more powerful in comparison to the political ones in recent years, in part due to Iranian influence.

Ali Hashem

Adam Lucente

By Ali Hashem , Adam Lucente