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Politics & Security

People attend a pro-government rally on Jan. 12, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Iran ramps up crackdown, vows 'to cut off hand' that threatens Khamenei

Iran doubled down on the narrative that the protesters were "Israel-linked mercenaries," as international calls grew for the regime's accountability after its bloody crackdown on the unrest.

Soldiers walk past a parked car as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Jan. 20, 2026.

Syria’s Kurds accept sweetened ceasefire deal as US envoy Barrack declares SDF obsolete

The ceasefire follows intense clashes and a rapid Syrian military advance in the Kurdish-held northeast, amid concerns over ISIS prisoners.

Joris Bolomey / AFP via Getty Images

Sudan's RSF says Chad border clashes 'unintentional' after 7 soldiers killed

Chad, which Sudan’s government accuses of backing the paramilitary RSF, said that the incursion killed seven Chadian soldiers.

Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani, meet on the sidelines of the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX2026), Jan. 20, 2026.

Somalia, Qatar sign defense pact after Mogadishu scraps UAE deals: What to know

Somalia and Qatar signed a defense cooperation agreement in Doha on Monday to strengthen bilateral military ties and security collaboration, days after Mogadishu ended all its contracts with the United Arab Emirates.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel assesses Iran protest wave over, regrets not targeting Khamenei

A protester holds up a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration near the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, on Jan. 16, 2026.

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

Trump demands end to clashes with Kurds in call with Syria's Sharaa

US President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, Nov. 10, 2025.

Erdogan welcomes Syria-SDF agreement, urges full implementation

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - JANUARY 18: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa signs a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 18, 2026 in Damascus, Syria. According to Syrian state media, the deal includes a handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governates into government control, and the full integration of SDF fighters into state institutions. It follows the government's recent push towards the key city of Raqqa, after SDF fighters withdrew from Aleppo amid deadly clashes over the

Iran blackout enters 12th day as filtered internet reveals crackdown

Pedestrians make their way along a path at Tehran Grand Bazaar, on Jan. 18, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

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

Right-wing Israelis demonstrate next to the Sde Teman military base.

Analysis

Sexual assault, torture among accusations against 9 Israeli soldiers who guarded Hamas militants

The Israeli military prosecution says the nine were involved in attacking sexually and torturing a Gaza Hamas assailant imprisoned at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s Khamenei reaffirms opposition to Azerbaijan’s corridor plan to Armenia PM

Iran remains opposed to an Azerbaijani corridor through Armenia that would cut off the Islamic Republic’s access to the Black Sea.

🚨 [#Picture] Photos of the aftermath of the strike on Haret Hreik sent to L'Orient Today by Hassan Chaitani, local resident in the area.

Israel confirms killing senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike

An Israeli drone strike hit the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on Tuesday, as tensions run high following a rocket strike in the Golan Heights over the weekend.

Israeli-armored vehicles take position near the border with Syria in the village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, Oct. 25, 2021.

Analysis

Israel plans ‘painful and incisive’ response to Hezbollah but not all-out Lebanon war

Israeli leaders assess they can't afford to leave the rocket attack that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams with no response, but at the same time seek to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon with Hezbollah.

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

Smoke billows from a site targeted by the Israeli military in the southern Lebanese border village of Kafr Kila, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters, July 29, 2024.

Strikes in south Lebanon, Syria as Israel's northern front heats up

The situation in Lebanon is at a boiling point amid growing fears of an Israeli retaliatory strike to a deadly rocket attack in the Golan Heights that could lead to a wider regional conflict.

Animal right activists attend a protest against the ruling party AKP's bill aimed at removing stray dogs from the streets, on June 2, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey passes controversial stray dog bill amid fears of imminent mass culling

Activists fear the bill will lead to massacres of the country's roughly 4 million stray dogs and government critics are concerned it will be used to coerce opposition-controlled municipalities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the NATO 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, July 11, 2024.

Israel’s FM tells NATO to expel Turkey as Erdogan threatens war over Gaza

As Turkey threatens military intervention in Gaza and Israel pushes for Turkey's removal from NATO, questions of how Turkey and Israel's already strained relations will be affected arise.

Dubai Police extradited Faisal Taghi, a high-value target criminal wanted by Dutch authorities, to the Netherlands, on July 29, 2024.

Who is Faisal Taghi, alleged drug kingpin extradited from UAE to Netherlands?

The UAE and the Netherlands have an extradition treaty, though another alleged drug trafficker sought by the European country was recently released from Emirati custody.

United Arab Emirates

Passengers departure from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on July 29, 2024. Airlines suspended flights to Lebanon on July 29, as diplomatic efforts were underway to contain soaring tensions between Hezbollah and Israel after deadly rocket fire in the annexed Golan Heights. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

White House says Lebanon war not 'inevitable' as Israel preps Hezbollah response

US troops in Iraq and Syria are bracing for potential blowback from local militias ahead of anticipated Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah for a lethal rocket attack on a Druze village in the Golan Heights.

OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu, Hamas trade blame on cease-fire as far-right mob storms Israeli bases

Hamas says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has added fresh demands aimed at torpedoing a deal, while the Israeli premier claims the Gaza-based group is stonewalling.

Maja Hitij/Getty Images

France investigates death threats against Israeli Olympic athletes

As demonstrators protest the Gaza war at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, French police are investigating death threats sent to three Israeli athletes.

TOPSHOT - Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese border village of Chihine on July 28, 2024. Fallout from the Gaza war is regularly felt on the Israel-Lebanon frontier, where deadly cross-border exchanges have escalated between Israeli troops and mainly Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP) (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images)

Flight disruptions, panic in Lebanon amid efforts to avoid all-out Israel-Hezbollah war

The cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah have continued following the deadly rocket strike in the Golan Heights, which prompted Israeli threats to launch a wider response in Lebanon.