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Politics & Security

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

Breaking | Last Updated: June 26, 2026, 5:44 pm

US carries out strikes in Iran after vessel attack

US forces struck Iranian coastal targets after Tehran was accused of attacking a commercial cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C, back) looks on as (L/R, front row) Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh sign a framework agreement at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2026. Lebanon, Israel and the United States on Friday signed a trilateral framework agreement aimed at paving the way for a peace deal between the two long-time Middle East adversaries. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP

US brokers deal for limited Israeli withdrawal in south Lebanon

The deal establishes a US-facilitated military coordination group to oversee the creation of two initial pilot zones in southern Lebanon.

Latest News

Trump calls Iran’s drone attack on cargo ship 'foolish violation' of ceasefire

President Donald Trump speaks during a Rose Garden Club dinner at the White House on June 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Jared Szuba

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

Analysis

Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha

Vance

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

As US talks stall, Hezbollah chief defiant, says Israel to leave Lebanon ’humiliated'

brahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Iran attacks cargo ship off Oman, testing Trump’s Hormuz Strait deal

The Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC Tasman VI and the Singapore-flagged container vessel Wan Hai 353 are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 19, 2026.

Jared Szuba

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

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

Erdogan

Erdogan announces military operations in Syria's Manbij, Tal Rifaat

The Turkish president said operations in northern Syria will expand "step by step" and that Ankara will keep an eye on “who supports these legitimate steps" and "who hinders them.”

A picture taken from the E1 corridor, a super-sensitive area of the occupied West Bank, shows the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the background on June 30, 2020.

Tensions rise between Israel, Palestinians ahead of Biden visit

While tensions are escalating on the diplomatic level, IDF troops continue Operation Break the Wave to curb spiraling violence in the West Bank and Israel.

BIROL BEBEK/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken says US fighter jet sales to Turkey 'separate' from NATO demands

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he will meet with Turkish, Swedish and Finnish officials to discuss Ankara's demands.

A Turkish Special Forces Police officer is seen standing watch during a press tour at a border outpost in front of a section of the new Iran - Turkey border wall on Sept. 27, 2021 in Caldiran, Turkey.

Traffickers use refugees to smuggle drugs from Iran to Turkey

There are growing claims and indications that refugees illegally crossing the Iranian-Turkish border, the route of an exodus from Afghanistan to the West, are forced to smuggle drugs by their traffickers.

Members of the "Martyr Abu Ammar Brigades" (alias of Yasser Arafat), part of Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades faction affiliated with the Fateh movement, stand with small arms during the funeral of Islamic Jihad militant Chas Kamamji in his home village of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, on April 14, 2022.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad ramps up capabilities in West Bank

Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, announced the formation of a new Nablus Brigade following the Flag Day marches.

This picture taken on March 26, 2022, shows a view of the exterior of Iraq's Council of Representatives.

Iraq's parliament passes anti-normalization law

Iraq's lawmakers further criminalize relations with Israel.

Iraq crops

Climate crisis worsens desertification in Iraq

The Iraqi authorities are warning of the high rate of desertification in the country amid other environmental and economic problems.

The sign of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is pictured in front of the headquarters, photographed in Vienna on Dec. 17, 2021.

Iran criticizes nuclear watchdog's 'unfair' report

A new IAEA report underlined Tehran's failure to come clean on its undeclared nuclear sites and fears are growing that the assessment may further complicate a revival of the Iran nuclear deal.

Demonstrators gather with Israeli flags at the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 29, 2022, during the Israeli 'flags march' to mark "Jerusalem Day".

Hamas refrains from rocket response to controversial Jerusalem march

Hamas has refrained from responding and even foiled attempts by other factions to launch rockets from Gaza toward Israel.

People chant slogans during a rally for International Women's Day on March 08, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkish women’s groups rally behind anti-femicide platform

In Turkey, women’s groups and the political opposition are demonstrating in support of the We Will Stop Femicides Platform as it fights for its survival.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israelis warned to leave Turkey over Iran threat

Following the killing of Sayad Kohdai last week, Iran has warned it will avenge his death by targeting Israeli businesspeople in Turkey.

A young woman runs while a fighter approaches a man.

Displaced Yemenis grow desperate in camps

Humanitarian organizations are struggling to meet the needs of millions of internally displaced Yemenis amid the ongoing war.