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Politics & Security

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images

Yemen’s Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport: What to know

The Yemeni government claimed that its armed forces struck the Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthis accused the government's ally, Saudi Arabia, of carrying out the strikes.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraq's new prime minister is in Washington promising business deals and closer ties with the United States, but convincing the Trump administration he can rein in Iran-backed militias may prove his toughest challenge.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

U.S. President Donald Trump returns to Joint Base Andrews on July 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump, switched from the old Air Force One to the new Air Force One while stopping in the U.K. at RAF Mildenhall Air Force Base was returning from his visit to Ankara, Turkey where he attended the NATO summit. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump says US to resume naval blockade of Iran's ports

President Donald Trump countered Iran's attempts to collect tolls on shipping via the Strait of Hormuz by announcing the US would do so at a rate of 20% for all cargo transiting the waterway.

Latest News

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Explainer

China expands Sudan footprint through ports, debt relief, mining

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)

Analysis

Why Iran is making infrastructure next front in Mideast conflict

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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 religious protester holds a portrait of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden during a protest rally against the United States on July 30, 1999, in Islamabad.

Why is bin Laden’s ‘letter to America’ trending during Gaza war?

The controversial 2002 letter explains the al-Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind’s reasons for attacking the United States.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) addresses parliament to mark the opening of the new legislative year.

Turkey postpones vote on Sweden’s NATO bid as lawmakers raise F-16 sale

The postponement is believed to have linked Ankara’s approval of Stockholm's entry into NATO to progress on its own bid to buy new F-16 fighter jets from the United States.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey accused of double standard as Armenian journalist's killer walks free

Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink's murderer walked free in Turkey Wednesday while the government's critics pointed aghast to political prisoners held years beyond the court's authority to keep them.

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Day 41 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 16

A police car sits in front of the Islamic Center Hamburg (Islamisches Zentrum Hamburg) in Hamburg, Germany, Nov. 9, 2022.

Germany raids Islamic center allegedly linked to Hezbollah

The nationwide operation comes as Hezbollah and Israel continue to exchange fire along the Lebanese border.

TOPSHOT - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (R) arrives to lay a wreath of flowers by the graves of Palestinians killed in recent Israeli military raids on the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees, north of the occupied West Bank on July 12, 2023. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Can Abbas lead Palestinian Authority into Gaza after Israel-Hamas war?

As the humanitarian situation in Gaza grows more dire by the day, some Palestinians are frustrated at the slow pace of the leadership in Ramallah.

US navy destroyer

US Navy intercepts drone fired from Yemen amid Gaza war

The Biden administration's restrained approach to deterrence hasn't fully halted attacks by Iran-backed militias across the Middle East in response to Israel's war in Gaza.

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on June 2, 2021 shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the city of Lod early on May 12, 2021 and Israel's centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid at the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 31, 2021. - Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid said he had succeeded in forming a coalition to end the rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest serving leader.Lapid's announcement came in the final hour before a midnight deadlin

Israel's Netanyahu 'must go now,' says opposition leader Lapid

For the first time since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu can no longer head the government, arguing that the Israeli public does not trust him.

ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli settler attacks force 963 Palestinians out of West Bank homes since Gaza war started

The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem says hundreds of Palestinians have fled their homes due to settler violence, and the United States is pressuring Israel on the issue.

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) attend the repatriation ceremony for Irish soldier Sean Rooney who was killed on a UN patrol, at Beirut international airport on December 18, 2022. - The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon urged Beirut to ensure a "speedy" investigation into the fatal shooting of an Irish soldier this week. The convoy of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) came under fire near the village of Al-Aqbiya late on December 14, a

Lebanon releases suspected Hezbollah member accused of killing Irish UNIFIL peacekeeper

Mohamad Ayyad, who is believed to be linked to the paramilitary Hezbollah movement, was charged with the killing of an Irish UNIFIL soldier in southern Lebanon last year.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Day 40 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 15

UN trucks Gaza

First fuel truck since Oct. 7 enters Gaza via Egypt

The fuel shortages have added to the desperation of more than 2 million people trapped inside the enclave, which the Israel offensive has ravaged for more than a month.