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September 12, 2026

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Admiral Charles Bradford "Brad" Cooper II, Commander of US Central Command speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, at US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, on March 5, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)

CENTCOM chief in Saudi Arabia as Yemen's Houthis seize Bab al-Mandeb

The Houthis' seizure of Mocha and Perim Island effectively puts them in a position to close the Bab al-Mandeb.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

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

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

The Iran war escalated this week as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked four southern Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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)

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

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

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.

Analysis

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

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.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Amir Yaryab

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

Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani shakes hands with Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov after a joint news conference in Doha, Qatar August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon - RC1DD95787D0

Why Russia seeks to stay neutral in Saudi-Qatar rift

Russia's offer to mediate in the Qatar crisis is a strategic move designed to place Moscow in the catbird seat without endangering relations with either side.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Stranded by US airstrikes, IS fighters fleeing Lebanon retreat to Syria

The Pentagon says it will leave the militants alone if they don't try to link up with Islamic State forces on the Iraqi border.

Protesters including Murat Yusa and Lusik Usoyan testify before the House Foreign Affairs Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats Subcommittee about the attack on demonstrators by members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security detail on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC1B04368AB0

Second indictment for Erdogan guards over DC beatdown in May

A grand jury in Washington has indicted Turkish security officials accused of attacking pro-Kurdish protesters in the US capital in May, prompting worry that the Turkish president may boycott upcoming United Nations meetings just as the administration seeks to repair ties.

U.S. military and Iraqi army reinforcements deploy after the defeat of the Islamic State militants in Qayyara, Iraq, August 29, 2016. Picture taken August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - S1AETYKITNAB

US troop numbers in Iraq, Syria could surge under new accounting rules

The Pentagon wants to stop undercounting temporarily deployed fighters and allow for the deployment of more support personnel needed in the war against the Islamic State.

U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by military personnel as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS1D28A

Trump keeps world guessing on Iran deal’s future

Even as Iran hawks complain they are shut out from the White House, proponents of the nuclear deal are not confident they will prevail with the president.

A convoy of Islamic State fighters and their families begin to depart from the Lebanon-Syria border zone in Qalamoun, Syria August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX3DQF7

US targets Islamic State fighters leaving Lebanon after cease-fire

US airstrikes blocked the militants’ route to the Syrian war zone of Deir ez-Zor near the border with Iraq.

Rouhani: Trump lacks means to pressure Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the United States is no longer able to isolate and pressure Iran.

F-35 offers Israel 'entire Middle East' from the cockpit

The acquisition of F-35 stealth jets guarantees Israel unprecedented aerial superiority.

Senior Counselor to the President Steve Bannon arrives before the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Win McNamee/Pool - RTSWKL4

Russia weighs in on Bannon-free White House

Analysts examine what foreign policy changes Washington might make concerning the Mideast now that Steve Bannon is gone, and what that could mean for Moscow.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with a Cuban news agency in this handout picture provided by SANA on July 21, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSJ1BR

How AKP supporters learned to live with Assad

Having vilified President Bashar al-Assad for years, President Erdogan and his supporters are backing off their previous threats against the Syrian president with the growth of Kurdish groups in Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX3DQUX

The more Trump sinks, the more Turkey’s currency and government recover

Discouraged by the US president’s dismal performance, global short-term investors are returning to emerging economies, including Turkey, boosting Ankara’s economic and political prospects in critical times.

New chapter in Iran-Turkey ties could have major impact on Syria

While the closer Turkey-Iran alignment on regional issues is not likely to fully mean the same thing in Iraq as in Syria, the broader picture is closer Iran-Turkey-Russia cooperation on the ground.