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Politics & Security

A shop owner counts Iranian banknotes at a store in the capital Tehran on Jan. 7, 2026.

How Iran stands to win major financial relief in Trump-backed deal

Iran will receive some upfront sanctions relief despite the Trump administration's pledge of “no dust, no dollars.”

Lebanese army forces set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the village of Ghandourieh in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026.

Senate bill adds restrictions on US effort to train Lebanon army: What to know

Lawmakers want to know the number of Lebanese special forces recruits, their equipment and religious background as part of a planned $36 million DOD train-and-equip project aimed at dismantling Hezbollah.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks with Tehran's Chamber of Commerce, June 17, 2026.

After US-Iran deal, Ghalibaf says Tehran seeks deeper ties with China

“China must believe and will believe that we are not just a customer or a trading partner, but a partner in every sense,” Ghalibaf said.

Latest News

Read the full 14-point US-Iran deal

Trump

Syrian Kurd commander Kobane kicks off European tour amid scrutiny from Damascus

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Lebanon President Joseph Aoun to visit White House this month, Trump says

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a government meeting at the Presidential Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 5, 2025.

Who is Fahd Al-Dosari, Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to Lebanon?

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji meets with Fahd bin Abdulrahman bin Hathloul Al-Dosari, the new Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut on June 17, 2026.

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

Armenian rescuers use a dog in search in rescue operations after the earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, February 2023.

Quake disaster delivers diplomatic silver lining for Turkey

Post-quake solidarity has warmed Turkey’s ties with Greece, Armenia and Israel, but no thaw is seen between Turkey and Syria despite their common suffering from the disaster.

West BAnk settlement

The Takeaway: Settlement plans test Biden’s Israel approach

Plus, the family of an American held by Syria grows more concerned after the earthquake, and the US expresses alarm over Tunisia's wave of recent arrests.

Turkey earthquake

Analysis

Will Turkey-Syria earthquake redraw the fault lines of geopolitics?

As in previous decades and centuries, geologic rumblings could be followed by political upheavals in both countries.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

Lisa Johnson, State Department

Meet Lisa Johnson, US nominee to be ambassador to Lebanon

Lisa Johnson has a background fighting the drug trade, which could relate to Lebanon’s role as a transit point for illegal Captagon.

Quake-hit displaced children play near tents set by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) at Islahiye Atatürk Stadium in Islahiye near Gaziantep on Feb. 14, 2023, a week after a deadly earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria.

Earthquake orphans in Turkey, Syria face uncertain future

Thousands of requests poured into Turkey’s Social Affairs Ministry to foster children who survived last week's quakes, but the ministry maintains that its priority is to reunite kids with families or relatives, if they can.

SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Israel approves law to deport Palestinians convicted of terrorism

A diverse Knesset majority passed a bill to strip the Israeli citizenship or residency of prisoners convicted of terrorism who receive stipends from the Palestinian Authority.

Jewish women pray at the women's section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on November 17, 2021. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Israel's ultra-Orthodox punish women for 'immodest dress code' at Western Wall?

Though Israel's Shas party has been forced to back away from its proposed dress code for the Western Wall, many Israelis are still outraged by the audacious proposition.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) drill held by the Iranian army in Semnan, Iran, on Jan. 5, 2021.

US defense intelligence confirms Iran’s drone use in Ukraine

The Pentagon report comes a day after the UK government turned over weapons and other evidence to the United Nations that Iran had attempted to ship to Yemen's Houthi rebels in violation of international law.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer: Why Syria’s Assad opened two border crossings for earthquake aid

Aid has reached both Syrian government and rebel territory in response to the disaster, but the situation remains dire.

Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan delivers a joint press conference with his German counterpart at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, on Feb. 7, 2023.

Top Armenian diplomat heads to Turkey for landmark visit

Top Armenian diplomat will pay a rare visit to Turkey after two killer earthquakes.

A rescue dog searches for victims and survivors, in the regime-controlled town of Jableh in the province of Latakia, northwest of the Syrian capital, on Feb. 12, 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake.

Hero canines warm hearts as Turkey's earthquake rescue operations drop off

Some 400 search and rescue dogs are still working to find survivors in Turkey, though such operations are winding down.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) walks during a hearing at the Magistrate's Court in Rishon Lezion, Israel, Jan. 23, 2023.

Analysis

Is Israel's Netanyahu losing control of judicial overhaul battle?

The coming days will tell whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is controlling the push for the judicial overhaul, or whether is he being controlled by the more extremist elements within his coalition.

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