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Politics & Security

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to examine US policy towards Venezuela on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Jan. 28, 2026.

Rubio says ‘thousands’ killed in Iran, US prepping for threats against personnel

The top American diplomat’s comments follow US President Donald Trump saying an “armada” is heading toward Iran.

MAXIM SHIPENKOV / AFP via Getty Images

Sharaa, Putin meet in Moscow after Russia's abrupt pullout from Syria base

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Moscow, his second in four months, comes days after Russia began withdrawing its forces and evacuating equipment from its military base in northeast Syria.

A B model of Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA (Assault Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in the sky on March 2, 2022 in Corlu, Turkey.

Turkey arrests 6 in alleged Iran IRGC spy plot involving armed drones

Turkish authorities arrested six people accused of spying for Tehran, as Ankara works on plans to contain security risks and refugee fallout from potential US strikes on Iran.

Latest News

Interview

YPG spokesman: Syrian forces' strategy is to isolate Kurdish towns and cities

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

YPG spokesman

‘Save the Post’: Washington Post journalists urge Bezos to protect foreign desk

The Washington Post building at One Franklin Square on June 5, 2024, in Washington.

‘Very bad choice’: Trump threatens to cut Iraq aid if Maliki returns as PM

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leaves after casting his ballot at a polling station in Baghdad on Nov. 11, 2025 during Iraq's parliamentary elections.

As phase 2 looms, Netanyahu insists no Turkish or Qatari troops in Gaza

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

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

Iranian mourners gather around coffins wrapped with the Iranian flags during the funeral ceremony of yesterday's explosion on Jan. 5, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

Analysis

Israel-Hamas war gets personal for Iran

Targeted killings in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria cause Iran to rethink escalatory options.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Israeli soldiers deploy at kibbutz Beeri near the border with Gaza, Oct. 11, 2023.

Israeli military causes uproar with plans to investigate its conduct on Oct. 7

News of the Israeli military establishing a committee to investigate itself took security cabinet members by surprise.

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah to mark the anniversary of the killing of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, in a Beirut's southern suburb on Jan. 3, 2024.

'Battlefield will speak for itself', Hezbollah chief warns Israel amid retaliation fears

The region is boiling amid a series of developments that have raised fears of the Gaza war spilling into a wider regional conflict.

TOPSHOT - 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 in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, as an artillery unit shells southern Lebanon on January 4, 2024. Nasrallah warned Israel against all-out conflict, after Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi, in a visit to the Lebanese border, said troops were "in very high readiness". (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP) (Photo by JALAA M

Analysis

Israel uncertain of Hezbollah's intentions, prepares for all options

While Israel does not expect Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to launch an all-out war, it is preparing for anything to happen.

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

Gallant Blinken

Blinken returns to Middle East as concern of war's escalation grows

The US secretary of state's latest shuttle diplomacy comes amid mounting concerns the Israel-Hamas war could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

TOPSHOT - Palestinian journalists attempt to connect to the internet using their phones in Rafah on the southern Gaza Strip on December 27, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Power cuts have become a fact of life in war-torn Gaza. But thanks to embedded SIM cards, Palestinians can still access the internet and stay in touch with loved ones abroad. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza journalists killed at rate of 7.5%, higher than US soldiers in recent wars: IFJ

IFJ has recorded the death of 75 journalists in Gaza since Oct. 7 out of an estimated 1,000 working there before the war began.

A picture depicting Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, hangs on a building near the site of a drone strike attributed to Israel targeting Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in the southern suburb of Beirut on Jan. 3, 2024.

Day 91 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Jan. 5

Members of a band play music s they participate in a demonstration in support of Somalia's government following the port deal signed between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland at Eng Yariisow Stadium in Mogadishu on January 3, 2024. Somalia vowed to defend its territory after a controversial Red Sea access deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway state of Somaliland that it branded as "aggression". (Photo by ABDISHUKRI HAYBE / AFP) (Photo by ABDISHUKRI HAYBE/AFP via Getty Images)

Ethiopia-Somaliland deal receives wide condemnations, including from Egypt, Turkey

Several countries in the region condemned a recent deal giving Ethiopia access to Somaliland’s coast.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein, Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 4 2024 Credit: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO

In Israel, US envoy Hochstein struggles to defuse tension with Lebanon's Hezbollah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US envoy Amos Hochstein that Israel is determined to profoundly change the security situation on its border with Lebanon by both diplomatic and military means.

The Soloturk aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force flies an F-16 aircraft over Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's Founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, on October 29, 2023. Turkey marked its centenary as a post-Ottoman republic on October 29, 2023, with somewhat muted celebrations held in the shadow of Israel's escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALT

Ahead of Blinken's trip, Turkey's patience is wearing thin on F-16s sale

Ahead of the US top diplomat’s visit, Ankara has signaled that its patience over its bid to purchase new F-16 fighter jets from the United States is wearing thin.

Erkan Bas (L), leader of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), and fellow party MPs Sera Kadigil (C) and Ahmet Sik (R) display a portrait of jailed TIP MP Can Atalay, during a swearing-in ceremony at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, June 2, 2023.

Erdogan rivals call Turkey 'banana republic' as high court rulings ignored

Turkish officials’ dismissal of courts has also resulted in the threat of targeted sanctions against them by the Council of Europe.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 27: Actress Cynthia Nixon speaks as she announces a hunger strike calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the White House on November 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. Nixon, who was joined by state legislators, community leaders and activist, demands that President Biden call for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and stops military aid to Israel. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

'Quietly complicit': second US official quits over Biden’s Gaza war handling

Tariq Habash, a Department of Education political appointee, said he could no longer represent an administration that “does not value all human life equally.”