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Politics & Security

People ride motorcycles past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.

Analysis

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey names new envoys to Iran, Oman, Qatar in regional reshuffle

Turkey’s latest ambassadorial changes mark a partial return to career diplomacy in Tehran and the Gulf as Ankara maintains a balancing act amid the Iran war.

Motorcyclists ride past a billboard featuring Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) and Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (L) in Islamabad on April 20, 2026, ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks.

What Lebanon army chief’s visit to Pakistan means

Lebanon’s armed forces commander, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, met with his Pakistani counterpart, Field Marshal Asim Munir, during his visit to Pakistan that coincided with ongoing negotiations between Iran and the US despite exchanges of fire.

Rahmi Koc

Analysis

Turkey's probe into pro-secular tycoon goes beyond crude Kurdish joke

Rahmi Koc is under investigation after a widely condemned joke about Kurdish women, but critics say the case reflects deeper tensions over free expression and selective justice in Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Hezbollah calls on Lebanon to 'correct' relations with Iran

KAWNAT HAJU / AFP via Getty Images

Breaking

Last Updated: June 9, 2026, 5:51 pm

US military strikes Iran after Apache helicopter downed off Oman

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

'We are already hearing the bus': Israeli insiders fear Netanyahu is losing Trump’s backing on Iran

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on December 29 for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States wo

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

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

Turkey's team players celebrate their victory.

Turkey's women's volleyball team receives hero's welcome after European title win

Turkey's Sultans win the European women's volleyball championship. The victory coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference.

Syria’s Assad abolishes notorious military field courts

Thousands of civilians are believed to have been executed after being tried at these courts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Sochi.

Breaking | Last Updated: September 5, 2023, 6:56 pm

Turkey's Erdogan fails to persuade Russia's Putin to return to Black Sea grain deal

Russia withdrew from the deal two months ago after claiming the West was not keeping its side of the bargain by allowing for greater Russian agricultural exports.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (C) holds a trilateral summit with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the presidential palace in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Sept. 4, 2023.

Israel, Cyprus, Greece leaders enhance cooperation on gas infrastructure

The leaders of Israel, Greece and Cyprus met in Nicosia to discuss strengthening the trilateral strategic alliance between the countries and exploring options for exporting Israeli natural gas via Cyprus to Europe.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi watches combat drones alongside high-ranking officials and commanders during a military parade marking the country's annual army day, Tehran, Iran, April 18, 2023.

Why is Iran boasting upper hand in intelligence war against Israel?

Iran has recently been projecting with growing confidence the image of being on the winning side in the continuing intelligence war that it has been waging against Israel for years.

Eritrean asylum-seekers rally to protest an event organized by Eritrea's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept. 2, 2023.

Israel’s Netanyahu calls Eritrea immigrants 'tangible threat' to state’s future

After the violent demonstration by Eritrean immigrants over the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to banish them from Israel "voluntarily or by other means."

Greek State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis gestures as he speaks during a press conference at the European Council in Brussels on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Greece-Turkey ties on upswing as FM set to visit, Cyprus tensions subside

Turkey tries to dial down confrontations in the eastern Mediterranean before the Greek minister's visit as part of its push to improve relations with the West.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during a meeting in Sochi, on August 5, 2022. (Photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev and Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In Russia, Turkey's Erdogan seeks better ties with Putin, but distrust lingers

The Turkish president wants to enhance his prestige by brokering a new grain deal but faces an uphill battle, with increasing distrust from Moscow over Ankara's ties with Ukraine, and posture inside NATO.

Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attend a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 7, 2022.

Syria’s Kurds struggle to contain backlash after detaining allied Arab militia leader

Kurdish-led forces guarding Syria’s Islamic State prisons have been on high alert amid spreading clashes in Deir Ezzor province.

US Vice President Joe Biden (L) listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk during joint statements in the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on March 9, 2016. Biden implicitly criticised Palestinian leaders for not condemning attacks against Israelis, as an upsurge in violence marred his visit. / AFP / POOL / DEBBIE HILL (Photo credit should read DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Why are Israel's ex-Shin Bet chiefs urging Biden not to host Netanyahu?

Two former directors of the Israeli Shin Bet — Ami Ayalon and Yuval Diskin — call on President Joe Biden to support the Israeli protest movement against the judicial overhaul by not inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

US President Joe Biden (L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) arrive for the family photo during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit (GCC+3) at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022.

Analysis

US-Saudi diplomacy gives lifeline to Palestinian leadership, two-state solution

How big is Assad’s Suwayda problem?

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Iraqis drive past electoral billboards and placards of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Karrada district, Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 19, 2021.

US welcomes conviction of Iranian, 4 Iraqis for killing American citizen

Stephen Troell, an aid worker in Baghdad, was killed in November when gunmen opened fire on his car.