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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.

Latest News

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

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

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.

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

Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brussels, Jan. 25, 2023.

Israel's president holds talks on Iran and Hamas hostages during EU visit

In Brussels, Herzog was expected to raise the issue of two Israeli nationals — Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed — captured by Hamas

A Lebanese soldier walks past an American flag flying next to US made Bradley Fighting Vehicles at the port of Beirut on August 14, 2017. (Photo credit should read PATRICK BAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

US to provide $72 million in salaries for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army, police

Washington's support for Lebanese military staff comes nearly two years after country's top general warned of desertions and his troops' inability to afford food.

Jared Szuba

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

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh

European ministers meet Palestinian PM, commit to support Palestinian elections

Meeting in Brussels with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, European senior officials pledged to support holding Palestinian national elections soon and advancing Palestinian reform plans.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) takes part in a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 18, 2019. (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Washington Post blasts Pompeo's 'vile falsehoods' on Jamal Khashoggi

The former secretary of state called the slain Saudi columnist an “activist,” which led to condemnation from The Washington Post.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and the German chancellor (not in picture) give a joint press conference at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, Jan. 13, 2023.

Explainer: What is behind Iraq's Central Bank shuffle and what is next?

The economic crisis in Iraq as a result of the ongoing rise in the value of the US dollar against the dinar resulted in the prime minister sacking the heads of the Central Bank of Iraq and the Trade Bank of Iraq.

A Saudi family arrive at a hospital in the center of the capital Riyadh, on May 14, 2013.

Saudi Arabia ahead of UK in women's health index, leads Arab world

A global survey reveals that Saudi Arabia is the leading country for women's and girls' health in the Arab world, while other regional countries sat at the bottom of the 122 global list.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

2 police officers gunned down in Iran's protest-hit southeast

The attack occurred in an area that has seen the worst of the violence from Iranian security forces determined to crush the anti-government protests that have rocked the nation over the past four months.

GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli demolition of West Bank outpost shakes Netanyahu’s cabinet

Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are on a collision course over an illegal West Bank outpost.

In this aerial photo from a drone, a tram passes an empty road in the Karakoy district on the final day of a four-day lockdown across Istanbul, Turkey, April 26, 2020.

Church blaze kills two in Turkey's Istanbul

A blaze at an Istanbul church left two dead and two others injured, heavily damaging the historical building.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey postpones NATO talks on Sweden, Finland bids

Ankara has thrown its hands up in response to Stockholm's permission for a Quran-burning protest as Helsinki hints that Finland could join the alliance without Sweden.

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu meets with Jordanian king in Amman, attempts to mend rift

For the first time since 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: January 25, 2023, 4:50 pm

US sanctions Hezbollah financial adviser in Lebanon

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Lebanese economist Hassan Moukalled, his two sons and his money-exchange business.