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Politics & Security

Four Arab Israeli parties join forces ahead of Israel's next elections.

Analysis

Can newly unified Arab Israeli bloc bridge gaps to block Netanyahu next election?

The move signals to their constituents that the four leaders can set aside differences to try to strengthen Arab representation in the Knesset.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Turkey’s Syria gains come with risks as Damascus pushes Kurdish integration

Turkey has benefited from the Syrian government’s rollback of the Kurdish-led forces, but whether those gains translate into lasting security, refugee returns and domestic de-escalation will depend on political inclusion in Damascus.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

This photograph shows an Iranian national flag installed on the Beheshti Mosque that was damaged during recent public protests, in Tehran on Jan. 21, 2026.

Analysis

Proxies, maritime pressure, power plays: Iran’s options if US strikes

A military strike risks entrenching hard-liners in Tehran if Washington fails to accomplish regime change driven by a clear endgame.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane on January 23, 2026, after they withdrew from the Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqqa province of Syria.

Exclusive

US military negotiated SDF withdrawal from Syria's Raqqa prison

Syrian government forces took full control of Raqqa after hundreds of SDF fighters were evacuated to Kobani under US-negotiated safe passage.

Jared Szuba

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

Latest News

Thousands rally for South Yemen independence amid Saudi diplomatic push

AFP via Getty Images

Syria forces push deeper into SDF territory, take over ISIS prison: What to know

Members of Syrian government takeover the Al-Aqtan prison after Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces withdraw from al-Aqtan prison, bound for Kobani, on the outskirts of the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqa on Jan. 23, 2026.

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

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.

Iran says killing of commanders in suspected Israeli strike ‘won’t go unanswered’

Fears grow over a wider regional conflict as Iran's leadership pledges retaliation against Israel, which is accused of having killed over a dozen senior Iranian commanders during the course of the Gaza war.

Iranians participate in the 12th term parliamentary elections and the 6th term Assembly of Leadership Experts' voting at a Tehran polling station on March 01, 2024. The elections encompass both parliamentary and Assembly of Experts' ballots, crucial for Iran's leadership selection and oversight. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

What will post-election hardline domination mean for Iran's future?

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

People gather around the carcass of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen.

Humanitarian groups suspend Gaza operations after Israeli strike kills 7 aid workers

World Central Kitchen, a US-based charitable organization, said seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza. Israel said the incident is under investigation.

An Israeli soldier wearing a patch on the back of his flack jacket showing Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a target stands in front of a self-propelled artillery howitzer, as an artillery unit shells southern Lebanon, in Upper Galilee, northern Israel, Jan. 4, 2024.

Analysis

Killing of IRGC commander in Syria ‘clear escalation’ in tacit Israel-Iran war

Iran vows to avenge an alleged Israeli strike in Damascus that killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Quds Force commander in Lebanon and Syria.

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

This picture taken from Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli tank moving along the border with the Palestinian territory on March 20, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

After Cairo talks, Israel says 'updated' Gaza truce deal on the table

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a new deal is now on the table for the release of hostages, awaiting response by Hamas.

Syrian emergency and security personnel continue to search and remove the rubble at the site of strikes that hit a building annexed to the Iranian Embassy on April 1, Damascus, Syria, April 2, 2024.

US troops in Syria down drone as threat of Iran-backed attacks returns

Israeli airstrikes killed at least three IRGC Quds Force generals at Iran's embassy compound in Damascus on Monday, threatening to reignite retaliatory militia attacks against US troops across Iraq and Syria after a two-month pause.

An employee of the Qatar-based news network and TV channel Al Jazeera is seen at the channel's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017.

Israel’s Netanyahu vows to shut Al Jazeera after Knesset law

The prime minister's pledge drew statements of concern and condemnation from the White House and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Palestinian children sit on a hill next to tents housing the displaced in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 30, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

US, Israel hold virtual talks over threatened Rafah invasion

The virtual meeting between US and Israeli officials took place a week after the American abstention from a United Nations cease-fire resolution ratcheted up tensions between the two countries.

Ultra Orthodox Jewish youths block a road in Bnei Brak as they protest against their conscription into the Israeli armed forces, on April 1, 2024.

Analysis

Row in Israel over ultra-Orthodox draft threatens Netanyahu’s government

Ultra-Orthodox leaders are threatening to topple the government should the IDF start recruiting yeshiva students to serve in the army.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

The site of the strike in Damascus.

Breaking | Last Updated: April 1, 2024, 4:02 pm

Commander in Iran’s IRGC killed in suspected Israeli strike in Damascus

Israel is widely suspected of striking Iranian military targets throughout Syria.

Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) supporters celebrate outside the main municipality building following municipal elections across Turkey, in Istanbul on March 31, 2024. Turkey's main opposition party on March 31 claimed victory in Istanbul and Ankara, with its rising political star emerging from local elections as a serious challenger to veteran President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, addressing supporters at his party's headquarters in Ankara, acknowledged a "turning point" for his party and pro

Analysis

Turkey's Erdogan handed historic setback in local elections

For the first time since its inception in 2001, the ruling party’s nationwide vote share fell below that of the main opposition, dealing a blow to the Turkish president’s post-election plans, analysts believe.

Ezgi Akin

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

The last French soldiers board a French military plane to leave Niger for good, at the French base which was handed over to the Nigerien army, in Niamey on December 22, 2023. The last French troops withdrew from Niger on December 22, 2023, marking an end to more than a decade of French anti-jihadist operations in west Africa's Sahel region, AFP saw and Niger's military announced. The French exit from Niger leaves hundreds of US military personnel, and a number of Italian and German troops, remaining in the

What Niger-US rupture says about Russia and West's shaky future in Sahel

Niger’s decision to suspend military cooperation with the United States follows rising anti-Western sentiment in the region.