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Politics & Security

Members of Iran's Basij paramilitary force march

Analysis

As Iran regime marks 200 days of war, is it also preparing for dissent?

Seven months into the war with the US, Iranian authorities staged a pro-government mobilization in Tehran, combining patriotic spectacle with a carefully calibrated demonstration aimed for domestic internal security capacity.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Latest News

Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (C) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan returns empty-handed from talks with Putin, Raisi

Erdogan fails to enlist Russian and Iranian support for a fresh Turkish military operation in Syria, but he remains bent on maintaining the pressure.

President of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani (R) pays tribute in front of a casket.

Massacre of nine Iraqi tourists blamed on Turkey sparks protests, diplomatic fallout

Turkey's shelling of a tourist resort in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Dahuk region leaves Iraqis mourning and angry.

sketch of Iranian official Hamid Noury's trial in Sweden

Iran threatens Sweden as ex-official sentenced to life

A Swedish-Iranian row is deepening after a Swedish court sentenced an ex-Iranian official to life in prison and Tehran accused Stockholm of harboring "terrorist groups."

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli settlers, security forces clash over West Bank outposts

Despite their dismantling by Israeli security forces, hundreds of Jewish settlers are determined to stay at seven makeshift outposts across the West Bank.

The Assyrian Church of the Virgin Mary, which was previously destroyed in 2015 by the Islamic State, in the village of Tal Nasri, south of the town of Tal Tamr, Hasakah province, Syria, Nov. 15, 2019.

Assyrian family properties in Syria threatened by illegal seizures

The numerous parties to the Syrian war are ignoring the theft and forgeries of properties of minorities in the country, including the properties of Syriac Assyrians who have fled the war.

Bidan Salman

Analysis

The Takeaway: Biden visit launches new chapter in US-Saudi ties

Egypt braces for Nile Dam filling; Can Israel help Morocco with Western Sahara?; Palestinians blocked at airport; Erdogan cancels student loan interest; Islamic State menaces Iraq-Syria border.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti

Austin Milley

Pentagon warns Iran not to aid Russia's war against Ukraine

Rare rebuke comes after White House declassified intelligence revealing Moscow's interest in Iran's fleet of armed drones.

Gen. Mohammed al-Bayati, secretary of the Iraqi prime minister, visits those injured by Turkish shelling at a hospital in the city of Zakho.

Iraq says Turkey killed Arab tourists in artillery attack on Kurdistan resort

The attack, which Turkey denied in a statement, came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran to win Tehran's backing for a further invasion into northeastern Syria.

Amir-Abdollahian

Iran: We will negotiate on nuclear deal until sanctions are removed

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says they are ready to negotiate, but other officials are signaling that Iran must prepare for no deal with the US.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah, Israel tensions heat up over border

US-led mediation over Israel's maritime borders with Lebanon complicated by border tensions with Israel.

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters take part in a parade in the rebel-controlled town of Tell Abyad in Raqqa province, Syria, Oct. 13, 2020.

Syrian Kurds seek support amid Turkish threats of military action

Syrian government forces have deployed in north Syria in anticipation of a Turkish military operation.

Turkey military

Erdogan vows to move forward with Syria operation despite objections from Iran, Russia

Turkey’s president remains adamant despite opposition from US, Russia, Iran, Syria.