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Politics & Security

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visits Latakia airport on Sept. 18, 2026.

Syria’s Shibani visits Latakia airport to review Russia deal progress: What to know

Syria is seeking to ensure that the August deal to turn Russian facilities in the country into joint training centers is implemented.

Hibatullah Barakat / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists

A Lebanese military court has charged the five, including an Assad-era Syrian officer and Hezbollah members, with running a cross-border security network planning attacks in Syria’s coastal region.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud.

Latest News

Interview

Yemen separatists urge US not to let Saudi Arabia ‘call the shots’

Yemenis gather during a rally to show their support for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the coastal port city of Aden, on December 14, 2025. (Saleh Al-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump administration approves $24B sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

A US Air Force F-35 fifth-generation jet fighter takes off during the NATO's Ramsteign Flag 2025 exercise at Leeuwarden Air Base on April 8, 2025.

US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz payments

A pedestrian passes by the Treasury Building in Washington, DC on Jan. 18, 2023.

Turkey's Erdogan to run for 'final' third term in 2028, adviser says

Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images

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

Two Israeli warplanes fly over the southern Lebanese village of al-Tiri.

Israeli warplanes become every day reality for Lebanese

Research based on complaints to the UN Security Council reveals an intrusive and constant Israeli presence over Lebanese airspace, with consequences for public health.

A grab taken from a video produced by al-Qaeda-linked media group as-Sahab and broadcast by the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera 11 September 2006 shows the number two in al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, speaking in an undisclosed date and place.

US kills al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan

The Biden administration sees Zawahiri's presence in Kabul as "a clear violation" of the 2020 Doha agreement with the Taliban, a senior US official said.

Jared Szuba

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

Bulk carrier M/V Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,000 tonnes of corn, leaves the Ukraine port of Odesa en route to Tripoli.

Turkey reaps rewards in international standing as first grain ship leaves Ukraine

Turkey's diplomatic mediation between Ukraine and Russia could mitigate impact of global food crisis.

Yemeni demonstrators protest demanding the end of a yearslong blockade of the area imposed by the Houthi rebels on the country's third-largest city of Taez, Yemen, July 26, 2022.

Yemeni citizens anxious as truce set to expire

The cease-fire has bestowed a massive relief on millions of Yemeni citizens, who fear a return to conflict.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) attends a press conference with Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (L), at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on June 25, 2022.

Iran nuclear talks in Vienna could resume in days

The EU's policy chief says Iran will receive significant economic and financial dividends from a nuclear deal.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's oil trade hit with new round of US sanctions

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned the United States will continue targeting Iran's petroleum exports unless the nuclear agreement is revived.

WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran-Afghanistan border tensions continue

The Islamic Republic and the Taliban have formed a committee to address violence on the border.

Supporters of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, protesting against a rival bloc's nomination for prime minister, gather inside the parliament building a day after storming it, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq, July 31, 2022.

Rival Shiite forces flex muscles in two protests in Baghdad

Speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbusi suspended parliament in response to Sadrist protesters who have occupied the Green Zone, closing down for now the prospects of a government formation.

A huge banner bearing portraits of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) and his predecessor, the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (R), is seen on a building being constructed at phase 15 and 16 of South Pars gas field development in the southern Iranian port town of Asaluyeh on July 19, 2010 as a top official announced that global energy majors are welcome to help develop oil and gas projects in Iran despite new sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic. AFP PHOTO/ATT

Latest PRO Memo: Russian energy deal with Iran could prompt further cooperation

Bijan Khajehpour explores in-depth the recent $40 billion MOU between Russia’s Gazprom and Iran's national oil company and its potential impact.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran ready to conclude nuclear talks

Iran’s top negotiator has said Tehran wants a "swift conclusion" to the nuclear talks.

Russian ruble coins and banknote are seen on a Russian ruble sign under construction in downtown Moscow, Russia, June 29, 2022.

Sanctions impact Russian emigres in Israel needing pensions

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman tries helping older Israeli citizens who immigrated from Russia and depend on their modest Russian pension.

A Syrian man whose shop was destroyed in a regime aerial bombardment the previous day walks around the area on May 15, 2019.

Syrian escalation risks all-out conflict involving Turkey, Russia, Iran

A military escalation on all axes and from all sides in Syria followed the Tehran summit.