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Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump (C) attends a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) multilateral meeting alongside alongside (L/R) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026.

Trump tells Middle East leaders US-Iran talks have ‘momentum’

Trump hosted top officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq on the sidelines of UN General Assembly.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian disembarks from his plane

Analysis

As Trump confirms US-Iran meeting, can Pezeshkian find at UN path to a deal?

In New York, Pezeshkian will be seeking leverage, not reconciliation, as Iran scrambles to balance military defiance, economic crises and tentative mediation against the costs of prolonging the conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas, Egyptian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, and Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias meet in Cairo, Sept. 22, 2026.

Egypt hosts Greece, Cyprus defense ministers: What to know

Egypt is looking to increase security and energy cooperation with both countries as part of a focus on the eastern Mediterranean.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey’s $18B Ponzi-like scandal likened to Madoff as arrests mount

Turkey detained 14 more people Tuesday as authorities widened a probe into one of the country's largest investment-fund scandals.

Latest News

Turkey, US sign $2M grant deal for small nuclear reactors: What to know

construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

Iran seizes assets of 394 people accused of spying for 'hostile enemy'

Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on Sept. 14, 2026.

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Emilie Moatti

Israeli legislator promotes new 'Peace Authority'

Emilie Moatti, head of the Knesset's subcommittee on foreign affairs, is busily planning meetings on advancing cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.

Sarahbeth Maney/Getty Images

House Republicans urge Biden to change course on Iran talks

In a letter to President Joe Biden, more than 160 GOP lawmakers warned a deal reached without their approval could "meet the same fate" as the original nuclear agreement.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s supreme leader dismisses 'nonsense' nuke allegations

Iran’s supreme leader said there was no military side to his country’s nuclear program and stressed Iran's need for nuclear energy.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

As Turkey warms to Israel, Ankara reiterates support for Palestinians

Turkish officials say support for two-state solution and Palestinian rights will not be sacrificed ahead of the Israeli president’s visit.

Majd Kamalmaz

US talks directly with Syria on missing American but White House a ‘holdup,’ family says

The family of Majd Kamalmaz is pleading with the White House to build on previous engagement with Damascus, saying the Syrians have demanded to speak with a high-level US official.

A Syrian soldier looks over at the town of Daraa from his position in the southern city of Sweida on Jan. 23, 2013.

Violence on rise in Syria’s Suwayda

Residents of Syria’s southern city of Suwayda accuse the Syrian government of supporting gangs and the spread of weapons, which encourage violence within the community.

Libyan interim Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha, newly named by the Libyan parliament, delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport, Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 10, 2022.

Egypt backs Libyan PM-designate to form new government

Egypt pins hope on Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha to secure the exit of all foreign forces from Libya and prepare for holding elections in the war-torn country.

State heads pose during the 35th Session of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 5, 2022.

AU summit in Addis Ababa ignores Nile dam crisis

The 35th African Union Summit was held in Addis Ababa to discuss peace and security issues in Africa, but the Grand Ethiopian Renassiance Dam was not on the agenda.

Libyan interim Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli on Feb. 10, 2022.

Russia voices support for new Libyan PM

Moscow is throwing its support behind new Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha and its belief that he can "unite Libyan society."

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, arrives at the venue of the JCPOA meeting that aims at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, in Vienna on Feb. 8, 2022.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Differences persist as clock ticks on Vienna talks

Islamic State and Turkey; HTS's role in Islamic State leader's killing; Iran's message for Iraq; Gaza's dangerous landfills; Egypt's climate action; and more.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at a joint press conference in Ankara, Dec. 17, 2020.

Iraqi court's ruling on KRG gas puts Turkey on the spot

A top Iraqi court has ruled that the 2007 oil and gas law affecting the Kurdistan Regional Government is unconstitutional in a heavy blow to the KRG and its energy deals with Turkey.

Chabad office in Moscow

Israeli ultra-Orthodox fret over Russia-Ukraine conflict

For the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, which considers Ukraine as a sort of a homeland, the possibility of a Russian invasion is taken personally.