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Politics & Security

Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah (Western Zawtar) on August 2, 2026. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed in June, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy. The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East with rocket fire at Israel in suppo

Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday

The Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut.

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025.

Analysis

How Turkey's PKK amnesty law entwines Kurds' hopes with Erdogan's ambitions

The first legislation to emerge from direct negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan offers a path to ending Turkey's war with the PKK while potentially giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the votes he needs to remain in power for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A memorial depicting Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of the "Quds Force" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was killed by a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020, is pictured at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 6, 2026. Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic on April 6 defied threats from the US President to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Ima

US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC: What to know

The airline was previously sanctioned for providing assistance for the IRGC and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Latest News

Trump’s strategy on Iran may pay off as deal appears imminent

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport on Aug. 2, 2026 in Morristown, New Jersey.

Analysis

Why Iran is fighting to keep Hormuz at center of US negotiations

Two brothers watch oil tankers, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, and fishing boats anchored in the waters off Muscat near the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Gaza family buries 112 recovered from war rubble after Israeli strike

People attend a mass funeral for members of the Abu Sharia and Al-Hasayna families, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble of their homes after an attack earlier in the war, on Aug. 4, 2026 in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza.

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

A Dassault Rafale C (below) and an F-16 Fighting Falcon combat airplane perform maneuvers over Ramstein Air Base during a day of fighter plane exercises on June 06, 2024 in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany.

US F-16s arrive in Middle East as Israel prepares for Iran strike

As Israel prepares to strike Iran, a batch of US air force reinforcements has landed in the region, the second this month.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - NOVEMBER 29: The Pentagon is seen from a flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on November 29, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and the world’s largest office building. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Analysis

Pentagon's Iran leak shocks Israel but not delaying strike plans

Israel denies having changed its plans after the leak of Pentagon documents allegedly describing is preparations for a strike bigger than the one against Iran in April.

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

A car marked "Press" at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area where a number of journalists were located in the southern Lebanese village of Hasbaya, Oct. 25, 2024.

Israeli strike kills three journalists in Lebanon, drawing condemnations

Media workers in Lebanon have been subjected to killings and threats from the Israeli military since Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities began last year.

People and politicians attend the funeral of the victims of the October 23, 2024, attack at a Turkish defense company, TUSAS, in Ankara, Oct. 24, 2024.

PKK claims responsibility for TUSAS attack in Turkey’s capital

The Kurdish militant group said the attack was to send a message to Turkey about its conduct toward it.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, gives a speech during the extended format meeting of the BRICS summit in Kazan on Oct. 23, 2024.

UAE, Egypt pursue Iran outreach at first joint BRICS summit in Russia

The summit in the Russian city of Kazan was the first to feature Iran, Egypt and the UAE as full members.

An Airbus A350 plane of Qatar Airways from Doha parks after it landed at Berlin's airport "Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt", during the opening of the southern runway of the airport, in Schoenefeld, southeast of Berlin, on November 4, 2020. - Passenger flights are to began landing on October 31, 2020 at Berlin's new international airport, a moment many Germans thought they might never see after years of embarrassing delays and spiralling costs. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AF

Qatar Airways suspends Iran, Lebanon flights, joining growing list of airlines

Amid conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, few airlines are operating in and out of Tel Aviv, and fewer still in and out of Beirut and Tehran.

Thick smoke billows from a raging fire at a storage tank of the al-Awda oil field facility near al-Qahtaniyah in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border on Dec. 24, 2023, a day after a reported Turkish strike.

Turkey pummels Kurds in Syria over Ankara attack amid overtures to PKK leader Ocalan

The timing of the attacks has spurred speculation that hawks on both sides are seeking to torpedo efforts to end the conflict between the Turkish army and the PKK.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath addresses the media in Colombo on Oct. 24, 2024.

Sri Lanka arrests 3 men in plot to attack Israeli-run Jewish center: What we know

Three Sri Lankan nationals were arrested on Thursday after Israel's National Security Council urged Israelis to leave certain areas of the country due to "credible terrorism threats."

By Rosaleen Carroll

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

International press conference in support of Lebanon, in Paris, on Oct. 24, 2024.

Paris conference for Lebanon secures $1B in humanitarian, military aid

The countries participating at the Paris conference for Lebanon pledged $800 million in humanitarian aid and $200 million for the Lebanese armed forces.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel, Hamas in wait-and-see mode ahead of US election

With Hamas and Israel holding firm and the US election less than two weeks away, a cease-fire deal still appears far from reach.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

France s President Emmanuel Macron receives Lebanon s Prime Minister Najib MIKATI before their bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on October 23, 2024. Context of war between Lebanon and Israel, extension of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, solidarity with lebanese people, the two men shake hands on the stoop at the top of the steps and look towards the photographers. (Photo by Amaury Cornu / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by AMAURY CORNU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Mikati says Lebanon ready to deploy 8,000 troops to border if Israel cease-fire reached

The announcement came during an aid conference organized by France to support Lebanon and its civilian population affected by the ongoing Israeli war.

Military honour guards stand next to the coffin of taxi driver Murat Arslan, the day after he was killed in an attack at a state-run aerospace industries building in Ankara, October 24, 2024.

Turkey says 2 PKK members behind TUSAS attack, ramps up airstrikes in Iraq, Syria

With funerals for victims underway, Turkish officials identified the attackers as operatives of the Kurdish militant group.