Newsletter: China-Middle East

Top Oman official visits China

Secretary-General of Oman’s National Security Council Idris Abdulrahman Al Kindi visited China just last week, less than a month after a meeting between Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi and China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun.

By Joyce Karam , Rosaleen Carroll

Newsletter: Daily Briefing

Iran declares 'existential war' as US strikes reach near Tehran

By Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Turkey

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Turkey

Newsletter: Gulf

Saudi Arabia’s southern front is back

Escalating tensions between Yemen's government and the Houthis threaten to pull Saudi Arabia back into a conflict Riyadh has spent four years trying to keep frozen.

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know

The former president, who was a virulent critic of Israel while in office, was reportedly part of a Mossad plan to replace the current Iranian leadership.

Iran

Lebanon army enters Palestinian camp ahead of Aoun’s US visit

Lebanese military forces took over offices belonging to Palestinian factions inside a refugee camp in the north as a sixth round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors concluded.

Lebanon

Newsletter: Daily Briefing

Why Iran, US are drifting back to conflict

Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi; Bahrain sentences 3 to life in prison over ties to Iran's IRGC; and more.

By Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

How UK's IRGC designation raises stakes for Iran and Europe

Following Britain's designation, Iran has presented a unified front in which all institutions are projecting the IRGC as an integral component of national sovereignty.

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

In Trump meeting, Iraq PM says US troops to withdraw by Sept. 30

The White House appeared to support a deadline to remove remaining American counter-ISIS troops from Iraq, but security concerns among Washington's Kurdish partners and US business firms remain.

By Jared Szuba

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

Bahrain sentences 3 to life in prison over ties to Iran's IRGC: What to know

The sentencing comes as Bahrain continues to crack down on individuals allegedly spying for Iran, at a time when the IRGC has resumed its strikes against US assets in the Gulf.

Bahrain

Analysis

As Trump prioritizes Hormuz, Israel fears Iran rebuilding nuclear program while preserving ballistic missile threat

Israel is worried that the United States is centering the Strait of Hormuz, deprioritizing the threat of a nuclear Iran.

By Ben Caspit

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