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Politics & Security

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki answers reporters' questions during a news conference with US President Barack Obama in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Dec. 12, 2011, in Washington.

What’s next for Iraq as Nouri al-Maliki gets nominated for PM?

Maliki, who resigned after the 2014 ISIS offensive, has been nominated by Iraq’s largest parliamentary alliance but must still be formally nominated by the next president and form a government that secures parliamentary approval.

US President Donald Trump looks on after the "Board of Peace" meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 22, 2026.

Trump says Iran seeks deal as US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East

Iranian officials have signaled they are open to nuclear talks but unwilling to compromise on enrichment.

Roj Camp

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

With Syrian government forces taking over nearby al-Hol and security breaking down, families of ISIS fighters at Roj Camp live in fear and uncertainty.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images

Iran seizes on killing of Alex Pretti, accuses US of hypocrisy

AI-generated photos showing Americans asking Iran's supreme leader for help and a wave of Arabic-language commentary are circulating on social following the killing of a protester by US federal agents over the weekend.

Latest News

Israel recovers final Gaza hostage, Rafah crossing set to reopen: What to know

Truck carrying aid enters Gaza through the border crossing on Oct. 12, 2025, in Rafah, Egypt.

Yemen’s Houthis hint at Red Sea attacks as US-Iran tensions rise: What to know

Galaxy Leader

Turkey detains nurse over hair-braiding video in support of SDF

A woman with braided hair during a solidarity demonstration in Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on Jan. 23, 2026.

USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group reaches Middle Eastern waters

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits the Strait of Hormuz as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Nightdippers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 lifts off from the flight deck, Nov. 19, 2019.

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 Royal Air Force Typhoon FRG4s is being prepared to conduct further strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen at RAF Akrotiri on Feb. 3, 2024.

Pentagon vows more strikes against Iran-backed groups, rejects open-ended campaign

The Pentagon says it isn't planning for an open-ended campaign of retaliation against Iran-backed groups, even as Israel vows to expand its war in Gaza on to the Rafah area.

Outgoing French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna (R) welcomes newly appointed Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne at the ministry before the handover ceremony in Paris, on Jan. 12, 2024.

France's Colonna to lead UNRWA investigation as Spain, Portugal donate $4.8 M

Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will lead a UN investigation into allegations that 12 UNRWA staffers participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas assault against Israel.

MUSTAFA ABUMUNES/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan foreign minister visits Tehran amid reports Iran provided drones

The meeting comes after the two countries agreed to resume their diplomatic ties in October.

A vehicle of the Syrian Democratic Forces is pictured along a road as fighters deploy to impose a curfew in the town of al-Busayrah during a guided media tour organized by the SDF, in northeastern Deir ez-Zor province, Syria, Sept. 4, 2023.

6 Kurdish SDF forces killed in Iran-linked attack on Syria base housing US troops

The drone attack left at least six dead among the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Supporters of Lebanon's President Michel Aoun cheer under a large national flag, as he prepares to leave the presidential palace in Babbda at the end of his mandate, east of the capital Beirut, on October 30, 2022. - Already reeling from three years of economic meltdown, Lebanon faces the prospect of its multi-faceted crisis deepening further when President Michel Aoun's mandate expires. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s alliance with Christian FPM movement shows cracks

The presidential vacuum and ongoing cross-border hostilities have strained already deteriorating relations between the Shiite Hezbollah group and the Free Patriotic Movement.

Libya trafficking

In Libya, human traffickers turn to TikTok to promote services

Human traffickers in the North African country are exploiting the social media platform to promote alleged safe journeys to Europe.

Israeli right wing activists block the exit of Ashdod port to stop trucks they claim are carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, in the coastal city of Ashdod, on February 1, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Oren ZIV / AFP) (Photo by OREN ZIV/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Undeterred, Israel's far right advocates for settlers' return to occupied Gaza

In preparation for the next elections, the Israeli far right is already campaigning to resettle the Jewish communities evacuated during the 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A Palestinian man walks alongside Israel's separation barrier painted with an image of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, in the West Bank town of al-Azariya, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Nov. 8, 2021.

Hussein, Rajoub or Barghouti: Fatah leadership as key to Palestinian future

While Fatah has lost its liberation role over the past decades, the movement is also struggling with how to prepare for the day after Mahmoud Abbas.

Cargo is unloaded from a Russian AN-124 cargo plane transporting parts of the S-400 air defense system from Russia, after it landed at Murted Airfield on July 12, 2019 in Ankara, Turkey.

Analysis

Four factors driving Turkey's calculus to trade Russian S-400s for US F-35

As its ties improve with Washington, the United States has offered Turkey an opening to return to the F-35 consortium — but only if it gives up its Russian S-400 systems.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the funeral ceremony for victims of twin explosions near the cemetery where the grave of Iran's former top military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani is located on Jan. 05, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

Iran-Israel intel war rages as Tehran says it identified Israeli spies worldwide

The announcement came in the wake of a chain of Israel-blamed targeted assassinations of senior Iranian officers in Syria, which have left Tehran in a tight spot for revenge.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne chairs a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Middle East, including the situation in Gaza and Israel on Jan. 23, 2024, in New York City.

France's new FM Sejourne makes first visit to Egypt, Lebanon, Israel & Jordan

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné is set to visit the Middle East, meeting with almost all the parties involved in the Gaza war, except Qatar.

A US Air Force B-1 Bomber fires flares while providing air support for a US Army recon mission Oct. 27, 2006 in the Paktika province of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.

Breaking | Last Updated: April 10, 2024, 9:50 pm

US strikes Iran-affiliated targets in Syria & Iraq in response to Jordan attack

US launches unprecedented volley in conflict with Iran-backed groups, hitting more than 85 IRGC and militia targets in Iraq and Syria.