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Politics & Security

A couple watch oil tankers

Iran-Oman deal over Hormuz takes shape as war-weary US looks on

Trump administration appears poised to concede Iran and Oman's management of Hormuz in hope that Tehran eventually fold on its nuclear program.

Jared Szuba

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on June 22, 2022.

Turkey’s Erdogan heads to Saudi Arabia for talks with MBS, Pakistan’s Sharif

The visit comes as the three countries ramp up coordination to weather the regional fallout from the Iran war.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani meets with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Ankara, Aug. 6, 2026.

Syria's Shibani updates Turkey on Kurds' integration, slams Israel during Ankara visit

The visit highlighted Ankara's growing influence in post-Assad Syria, with the two neighbors expanding strategic coordination on security and regional affairs.

Latest News

AIPAC to oppose El-Sayed after major Michigan primary victory

Michigan Democratic Senate primary winner Abdul El-Sayed

Turkey's intel chief hosts Libya delegation amid unification push: What to know

Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin

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

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

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

An Egyptian army soldier stands among the bushes in the wired border of the Philadelphi Corridor.

Mossad director, US officials back in Egypt for talks on Philadelphi Corridor

The Israeli delegation for the deal to release the hostages arrived in Cairo for talks with the Americans and Egyptians ahead of a potential summit this Sunday.

WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Who is Taliban’s first UAE envoy since its return to power?

The United Arab Emirates is only the second country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, after China.

United Arab Emirates

URS FLUEELER/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi FM makes unannounced visit to Iraq, meets Sudani: What we know

Saudi Arabia and Gulf states are showing increasing interest in Iran-dominated Iraq.

Iraqi security forces monitor the area during a demonstration to demand the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Bashiqa camp, located in the Mosul province, on Oct. 8, 2016, outside the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad.

Analysis

Turkey’s security pact with Iraq: Which side came out on top?

The most contested presence for Baghdad is the military base established by Turkish forces in 2015 near the Iraqi town of Bashiqa.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt’s Sisi to pay first visit to Turkey as ties with Erdogan warm

Turkey and Egypt are expected to ink several cooperation deals during the visit, which will seal the end of more than a decade-long hostilities.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) reacts next to his nominee for the foreign ministry cabinet position Abbas Araghchi (R) as the former greets parliament members after giving an address during a session to approve his new cabinet appointments in Tehran on August 21, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Araghchi, Nasirzadeh and Khatib: Meet Iran’s new cabinet under Pezeshkian

The new cohort of ministers includes officials from both hard-liner and moderate camps; it also includes the first female minister in over a decade.

Attendees hold up signs with the names of people who died in the Gaza war on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2024.

At DNC, Harris contends with Democratic divide on Gaza

DNC delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement warn that if Harris doesn’t get tough on Israel, she risks alienating voters in battleground states like Michigan come November.

Lebanese firefighters put out a fire in a car after an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon on August 21, 2024. An Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon on August 21, killed a Fatah official, said a leader from the Palestinian group and a security source, marking the first such attack reported on Fatah in over 10 months of cross-border clashes. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel assassinates Fatah official in Lebanon, a first since Gaza war began

In a first since the Gaza war, a senior Fatah official was killed in an Israeli strike on Lebanese soil, as Israel-Hezbollah cross-border hostilities continue to escalate.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel-Hezbollah tension expands to Golan Heights amid rocket attack

The Israeli military is threatening to retaliate after more than 50 Katyusha rockets were fired by Hezbollah at the Golan Heights town of Katzrin, following overnight strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah ammunition depots.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken, Fidan discuss Gaza ahead of cease-fire talks in Egypt

The conversation followed the top US diplomat’s latest visit to the region without a breakthrough.

One of hundreds of drones made by Iran is displayed in this image, as the country continues to be sanctioned by the US, in this undated image.

Iran flexes drones, missiles at key Russia arms expo

Iran seized the event as a chance to showcase its military prowess, as the region is on edge and expecting an imminent Iranian attack on Israel after the killing in Tehran of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamburg

Iranian police close German Embassy school in latest row with Berlin

Iranian authorities shut down a German language school on Tuesday in a move widely seen as retaliation for Berlin banning the Hamburg Islamic Center in July.