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Politics & Security

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Iran says it is stepping up its crackdown on armed groups in the impoverished province as Sunni clerics have been reported killed there and in the predominantly Kurdish northwest.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

CENTCOM chief meets Saudi Arabia's MBS amid Houthi gains in Yemen

The low-profile meeting between the Pentagon's commander in the Middle East and Saudi crown prince comes as Yemen's Houthis seized the high ground overlooking a vital economic waterway.

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

What does Houthi advance mean for Yemen’s southern separatists?

Yemeni separatists

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Analysis

Houthi gains in Yemen are testing Saudi Arabia’s security strategy

boats and a container ship near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Iran, misreading Trump’s resolve, escalates conflict in Yemen ahead of US midterms

Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement, arrive with their weapons to rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon, in Sanaa on April 8, 2026, following the announcement of a ceasefire in the Middle East war.

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

KONSTANTINOS TSAKALIDIS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images

Fury in Turkey as Red Crescent sells tents following quakes

Turks' ongoing fury over the government's response to the devastating earthquakes has ramped up over reports that the Turkish Red Crescent sold thousands of tents instead of distributing them to victims.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) give a press conference at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Damascus, Syria, Feb. 27, 2023.

Egypt's FM Shoukry visits Syria, Turkey in renewed earthquake diplomacy

The top Egyptian diplomat's visit to Syria and Turkey marks a first after almost a decade.

Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets Ukraine's Zelenskyy on first such visit to Kyiv since 1991.

Saudi Arabia signs $400 million deal for Ukraine aid in historic visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this was the first official visit of the Saudi foreign affairs minister in more than 30 years, and most senior for any Arab delegation since Russia's invasion last year.

Israeli security forces examine the site of a reported shooting attack, near Jericho in the occupied West Bank on February 27, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

US confirms citizen killed in West Bank as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates

Extensive damage occurred in the West Bank village of Huwara after a night of torching and vandalism by Israeli settlers and following a deadly Palestinian attack earlier on Sunday that killed two Israeli brothers.

A family pass by a ruined building in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 25, 2023.

New earthquake hits Turkey’s disaster zone, killing one, trapping several

The new quake collapsed several buildings in a province that is among 11 Turkish provinces that were badly hit by the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men bake Matzoth (unleavened bread) at a bakery in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, on April 11, 2022. Religious Jews eat Matzoth during Pesach holiday (Passover). According to biblical narrative, due to the haste with which the Jews left the land of Egypt, the bread prepared for the journey did not have time to rise. To commemorate their ancestors' plight, religious Jews do not eat leavened food products throughout Passover. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox seek to prohibit Passover non-Kosher food in hospitals

Back in the coalition and in greater force, ultra-Orthodox parliamentarians exploit their political clout to advance religious legislation.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A picture taken from the east Jerusalem Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp shows a view of the settlement of Pisgat Zeev (C), in the northern part of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, and the Palestinian area of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank (background), Feb. 23, 2023.

Israel's Netanyahu government advances settlement expansion

Israel's High Planning Committee advances plans approved by the government Feb. 12 for thousands of new housing units in West Bank settlements.

Russian fighters

Iran is seeking billions in arms deals from Russia, White House says

Moscow may send Iran fighter aircraft as Pentagon officials warn the tactical relationship could evolve into strategic cooperation.

Russia / Mideast

Turkey quake refugee

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the media on the Iranian nuclear issue at the Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem, Sept. 9, 2019.

Israel steps up military planning against Iran’s nuclear program

Recent reports on Iran accelerating its uranium enrichment are pushing Israeli leaders to inspect concrete plans.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war at year 1: Turkey's balancing act succeeds, but game far from over

Despite his diplomatic gains over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cautious dance between Ukraine and Russia can't be declared a success quite yet.

SYLVIE LANTEAUME/AFP via Getty Images

US transfers Pakistani brothers from Guantanamo Bay

Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani and Mohammed Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani are being repatriated after nearly two decades in the US military prison. Their departure brings the remaining number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to 32.

Washington Pulse