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Politics & Security

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses foreign ambassadors to Iran, in Tehran on Oct. 5, 2025.

Iranian officials vow 'harsh' response as Trump threatens action: What to know

Iranian officials signaled openness to a nuclear deal but warned they would retaliate against any US military strike.

(L to R) Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid; Qais al-Khazali, head of the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq"; one of the member factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) paramilitaries; Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani; and former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki attend an event commemorating the 21st anniversary of the group's creation at a hotel in Baghdad on May 3, 2024.

Analysis

After Trump’s rebuke, can Maliki rebound in Iraq, or does Sudani become favorite?

President Donald Trump’s criticism of Nouri al-Maliki could either hurt or help his chances to return to office, depending on how Iraq’s political leaders respond, experts said.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

EU nears terror listing of Iran’s IRGC as France, Spain flip: What to know

France and Spain had previously opposed the designation of the IRGC, arguing that the move could curtail any chance of dialogue with Tehran.

HASSAN ALI ELMI/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey declares Somalia unity a priority after Israel's Somaliland recognition

Ankara has designated Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a national security priority in its latest expression of support.

Latest News

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

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.

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

MAXIM SHIPENKOV / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

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

Turkey’s Central Bank delivers moderate rate hike

The bank said it has slowed the pace of monetary tightening, assessing that it is close to the level required to establish a course of disinflation.

Activists take part in a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the controversial death of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman on January 18, 2017 in Buenos Aires. Nisman died in mysterious circumstances in January 18, 2015, after accusing Argentina's then president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, of obstructing his investigation of a 1994 bombing at a Buenos Aires Jewish center. / AFP / EITAN ABRAMOVICH (Photo credit should read EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP via Getty Images)

US charges Colombian-Lebanese Hezbollah member in Argentina bombing

The US alleged Samuel Salman El Reda helped Hezbollah perpetrate the deadly 1994 attack against a Jewish community center in the Argentinian capital, following sanctions related to the attack earlier this year.

US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood (2nd R) raises his hand during a United Nations Security Council after the vote about a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on Dec. 8, 2023.

UN push for Gaza aid stalls amid US objections

The United States is weighing whether to use its UN Security Council veto for a third time since the Gaza war began.

Sara Massoumi in an undated photo

Iranian journalist Sara Massoumi sentenced to prison over tweet: lawyer

Sara Massoumi criticized the Islamic Republic over the death of teenage girl Armita Geravand, who some allege was beaten for not wearing the hijab.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits the USS Gerald Ford in the eastern Mediterranean on Dec. 20, 2023.

Pentagon chief visits aircraft carrier based off Israel amid Gaza war

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a visit to the USS Gerald R. Ford that if Israel were to shift to more precise tactics in Gaza, it would reduce the threat of attack by Iran's proxies in the region.

Members of the UN Security Council hold sideline meetings as they take a break at the United Nations headquarters on Dec. 19, 2023, in New York City.

Day 75 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 20

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (R) and his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos give a press conference in Larnaca on December 20, 2023 talking about a humanitarian aid corridor from the Mediterranean island to war-torn Gaza. (Photo by Elisa AMOURET / AFP) (Photo by ELISA AMOURET/AFP via Getty Images)

In Cyprus, Israel's FM says Gaza maritime corridor deal is imminent

A plan for a humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza could take shape in a matter of weeks.

Jared and Joyce webinar

The Israel-Hamas war: Live Q&A with Pentagon Correspondent Jared Szuba

Become a Pro member today to attend this webinar on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 12 pm ET.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Why is Hamas chief Haniyeh visiting Egypt after Iran meeting in Qatar?

Pressure is building on Israel to halt the fighting to allow access to humanitarian aid and the release of hostages.

Yemeni coastguard members loyal to the internationally-recognised government ride in boats in the Red Sea off of the government-held town of Mokha in the western Taiz province, close to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, on December 12, 2023. (Photo by Khaled Ziad / AFP) (Photo by KHALED ZIAD/AFP via Getty Images)

As US rallies new Red Sea task force, Arab states remain silent

The US is opting for a collective defensive approach after Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a dozen commercial ships with drones and missiles in the Red Sea during recent weeks in response to Israel's war in Gaza.

Third Nile Cataract, Sudan, 29 Dec. 29, 2022.

What failure of Nile dam talks means for Egypt and Ethiopia

Years of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have failed to yield an agreement, leading to tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia amid water issues related to climate change.

Assyrian Christians from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon attend a Christmas mass at Saint Georges church in an eastern Beirut suburb on Dec. 25, 2014.

Assyrian Christmas message raises tensions in Turkey’s parliament

The tensions are a snippet of the larger conflict regarding citizens’ rights to speak their mother tongues in the public and official sphere in multiethnic Turkey.