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TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

The escalation in southern Lebanon casts a shadow over upcoming Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Saudi Arabia looks to expand its footprint in Iraq

Following decades of setbacks and years of a rift, Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iraq and its support for stability there is accelerating, in what is deemed to be a fundamental change in the relations between the two countries.

Turkey doubles down in pastor row with US

American pastor Andrew Brunson, behind bars in Turkey on terrorism-related charges, risks up to 35 years in jail in a politically loaded case that critics describe as “an eclipse of reason.”

Jordan fears collapse of de-escalation zone in southwest Syria

Jordan seems worried the fighting in Syria’s eastern Ghouta could hit near its borders amid claims of strikes by Syrian jets against rebel-held areas in Daraa.

The path to a nuclear-free Middle East

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should understand that he cannot forge a unified front with Saudi Arabia against the Iran-led Shiite axis while thwarting Saudi plans for commercial nuclear energy.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 13: Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill February 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. The intelligence chiefs were called to testify to the committee about 'world wide threats.' (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

State Department shake-up leaves Qatar hanging

President Trump’s ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson knocks out a leading champion for resolving the monthslong Qatar crisis in the Persian Gulf.

Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American woman detained in Egypt for nearly three years on human trafficking charges, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC15FBA0C5D0

Egyptian-Americans launch human rights push ahead of Sisi re-election

Trump helped free NGO worker Aya Hijazi from prison. Now she’s leading the charge against his Egypt policy.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Ankara, Turkey, February 16, 2018. REUTERS/Cem Ozdel/Pool - RC168F133660

Tillerson's departure could disrupt US-Turkey progress

With US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson leaving office, critical Turkey-US plans to meet about Syria could be delayed as Ankara recalibrates to face incoming Mike Pompeo.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson look up during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1F667E9200

Iranian media compares Trump to Ahmadinejad amid Tillerson dismissal

Iranian media draw parallels between President Donald Trump and Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid the dismissal of Rex Tillerson.

Palestinians pin hopes on Pompeo

The Palestinian leadership hopes that the friendship between intelligence chief Majid Faraj and Mike Pompeo, who will soon be appointed US secretary of state, will help thaw relations between Washington and Ramallah.

Representative Mike Pompeo (R-KS) arrives to testify before a Senate Intelligence hearing on his nomination of to be become director of the CIA at Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC139B6C6070

Iran deal advocates prepare to battle Pompeo nomination

President Trump’s pick to replace Rex Tillerson at the State Department has called the Iran agreement “disastrous” and threatened military action against Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson departs after speaking to the media at the U.S. State Department after being fired by President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - HP1EE3D1F7U48

With Tillerson firing, Trump throws transatlantic Iran talks into disarray

In a tweet, US President Donald Trump threw transatlantic consultations on Iran into disarray March 13 with his surprise decision to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

A Syrian army soldier is seen securing Syrian Arab Red Crescent trucks carrying aid at the entrance of Wafideen camp in Damascus, Syria March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC12D8D4A5F0

Pentagon braces for emboldened Iran after Syria gains

The Pentagon’s top commander in the Middle East told lawmakers today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s gains in the yearslong civil war will bolster Iran’s ability to frustrate US aims in the region.