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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

Remains of the building collapse in Abadan.

Iran high-rise collapse reignites debates on corruption

In the wake of the tragedy, Iranian authorities made multiple arrests, but offered conflicting accounts on the fate of the building owner known for his connections with corridors of power.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki (R) and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a press conference after meeting in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 24, 2022.

Turkey's top diplomat visits Palestine

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his counterpart Riad al-Maliki in Ramallah and reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state before his next meeting with Israeli leaders.

Mitsotakis

Erdogan writes off Greece’s Mitsotakis, maintains stance on NATO expansion

Enraged by the Greek premier’s remarks to US Congress against arms sales to Turkey, Erdogan denounces Greece, along with Sweden and Finland, for supporting terrorism.

al-Qassam Brigades

US sanctions international network laundering funds for Hamas

In a move aimed at cutting off the militant group’s sources of revenue, the Treasury Department designated a Hamas official, three financial facilitators and six companies.

Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (R), an Arab-Israeli lawmaker and member of the Meretz party, attends a session in the Knesset, Jerusalem, Nov. 3, 2021.

Israel’s coalition paralyzed even as legislator backtracks from resignation

Coalition leaders managed to persuade Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi to go back on her resignation, and succeeded in passing the bill on tuition for IDF veterans, but the government is still very fragile and deep in crisis.

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's NATO obstinance threatens more than Nordic membership

From the vantage point of the West, giving in to Ankara’s demands from Finland and Sweden amounts to letting an autocrat design the security architecture of Europe.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs the weekly Cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Feb. 20, 2022.

IRGC colonel's assassination highlights Israel's shift in tactics against Iran

After the killing of IRGC colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, reports claim that Israel has multiplied its efforts against Iranian entrenchment in Syria and Lebanon, against Hezbollah's precision missile project and against terrorism by Iranian agents.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey inches closer to Egypt

The Turkish finance minister is planning a visit to Egypt next month in the latest step toward rapprochement between the two countries.

The portrait of Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is seen on a street vendors cart in Egypt's landmark Tahrir Square on July 4, 2013.

Egypt's National Dialogue unlikely to include Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a political dialogue with his opponents, but many wonder if the Muslim Brotherhood will be invited to attend.

Fans wave US and Iranian flags during the World Cup 2006.

Will the FIFA World Cup help bridge Iran-US gaps?

The US men's national soccer team is in the most politically charged group along with Iran and possibly Ukraine, among other teams.

The Correctional and Rehabilitation Center in Badr city is seen during a government-guided tour for the media, east of Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 16, 2022.

Hunger strikes by prisoners continue in Egypt

A number of political activists in Egyptian prisons have been on a hunger strike for several days to protest their denial of basic rights, at a time the president has called for a national dialogue with opponents.

Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza (background) meets with his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal (Foreground).

Turkey's foreign policy reset sign of Brotherhood's dwindling influence

In addition to economic concerns, the Muslim Brotherhood's dwindling influence in the region and new regional order emerged after the Abraham Accords forced Ankara to mend ties with Egypt.