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September 6, 2026

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A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amir Yaryab

Who is Amir Yaryab, IRGC’s cyber commander in US crosshairs?

The US State Department has offered up to $10 million for information on Amir Yaryab, who oversees a key part of Iran’s cyber operations.

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ahead of the eighth round of talks in Rome, the Israeli military reported clearing Hezbollah's underground stronghold at Ali al-Taher after besieging the ridge for months.

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

Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Israel to release 5 Lebanese prisoners ahead of next talks: What to know

Israel said the detainees are "civilians who are not members of a terrorist organization" and "were not involved in terrorism," concluding, "There is no reason to continue holding them in Israel."

Latest News

US airstrikes target Iran's Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island

ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel favors status quo as tensions in Iran's leadership fuel escalation risk

missile

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

Pentagon inks 7-year missile-production deal amid Iran war shortage

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel’s Lebanon dilemma: Confront Hezbollah without angering Trump, triggering Iran

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as Netanyahu departs the White House from the West Wing in Washington, U.S. March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC12B9AA4CE0

It's time for Israel-US defense treaty

A defense pact with the United States would mean much more for Israel than statements such as recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

A plaque remains on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office two days after President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton announced that the State Department would close the PLO office in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1FFC939370

Are Trump team’s overtures to Palestinians serious?

After the failure of the Bahraini workhop, the Trump team is making overtures to the Palestinian president and suggesting the reopening of the Palestinian mission in Washington — but can this be taken serious?

A boy is seen at the site of an airstrike launched by the Saudi-led coalition in Sanaa, Yemen, February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC19CF75D3A0

Intel: How Congress is curbing US support for Yemen war

U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 11, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC19027566C0

Trump’s pick for top general plays down Iran war talk

A day after Iranian boats reportedly attempted to seize a British tanker in the Gulf, President Donald Trump’s pick to become the military’s top officer downplayed the potential for conflict with Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seen during a meeting with tribal leaders in Kerbala, Iraq, March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen - RC18FCCF2B90

Rouhani out of time, support for revised nuclear deal

US sanctions and Europe's failure to come up with a satisfactory substitute for the nuclear deal are weakening the moderates in Iran's government while inflaming the hawks.

Royal Navy vessel HMS Montrose at sea during Baltic Operations in this photo taken June 15, 2014. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Adam C. Stapleton/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1E7A174850

IRGC denies it tried to capture British tanker

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has denied they attempted to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

France's top diplomat Emmanuel Bonne meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran, Iran July 10, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC12F4E624A0

Tehran says it will stick to phased reduction of nuclear deal commitments

Iran told a French envoy that it will continue to scale back its commitments under the nuclear deal unless the other signatories honor their end of the deal.

Turkish soldiers stand on a watch tower at the Atmeh crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, as seen from the Syrian side, in Idlib governorate, Syria May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1525F30880

Turkish-US talks on northern Syria stall as S-400 crisis peaks

US envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey tells the German Marshall Fund that a residual force of US troops will be staying in northeastern Syria for an "indeterminate time"; this decision appears to have been made in part to protect the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units from Turkey.

Is Lebanon caught in the crossfire of the current US-Iranian standoff?

With Iranian-backed Hezbollah playing a role in Lebanon's government, how much might the country suffer in case of a military confrontation between Washington and Tehran?

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waves his hand during a welcome ceremony at Salam Palace in Baghdad, Iraq March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC1D812E2710

Is Iran’s influence in Iraq waning?

Iran is formalizing its relationship with Baghdad as a strategic step in lessening the negative economic effects of US sanctions, but the pro-Iran PMU integrating into Iraqi armed forces leave some Iraqi leaders uneasy.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a joint statment, at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, July 19, 2018. Debbie Hill/Pool via Reuters - RC15A2D3CB00

Is Netanyahu concerned about anti-Semitic rulers?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu befriends far-right leaders, such as Hungary’s Victor Orban, and keeps silent when his close ally, President Donald Trump, invites to the White House an anti-Semitic cartoonist.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they pose on the West Wing colonnade in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC1AE2447D80

Will Trump follow suit if Israel attacks Iran?

Ahead of the 2020 US presidential elections, President Donald Trump might decide to back Israel militarily, if it decides to attack Iran.