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Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump gestures as he steps off Air Force One to board the new Qatari-gifted Boeing plane, en route to the United States following his participation in the NATO Summit at Royal Air Force Mildenhall on July 8, 2026, in Mildenhall, England.

Trump says US to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

Satellite imagery has detected recent construction at the underground facility.

Israelis turn out to cast their ballots on election day for the 20th Knesset on March 17, 2015 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Explainer

Israel's next election: Who's leading in polls and what's at stake?

After months of negotiations and speculations, the coalition announced that general elections will take place on Oct. 27.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

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)

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

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

10/29/2023 Golan Heights, Israel. Israeli soldiers, as part of the 'Israeli Paratroopers Brigade,' experimented with colorful smoke during their battalion training at the Golan Heights on October 29, 2023, before subsequently returning to the Gaza border. (Photo by Dima Vazinovich / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by DIMA VAZINOVICH/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

US military advisers depart Israel, focus on containing blowback from Gaza war

The White House on Monday dismissed international calls for a cease-fire, suggesting humanitarian ‘pauses’ instead, as the IDF sent armored forces into the northern Gaza Strip.

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.