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Politics & Security

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, arrives in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 27, 2025, to attend a memorial service for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Putin meets Iran’s top security official as Trump says Tehran wants deal

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran is seeking a nuclear deal but declined to specify a timeline for negotiations.

Men sign up to join the "martyrdom brigades" under the umbrella of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), who called upon Iraqis to volunteer in fighting alongside Iran in the event of a full-scale war with the US and Israel, at a mosque in Baghdad on January 29, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi militias claim volunteers readying to defend Iran from US: What to know

Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba have said they are registering volunteers to defend Iran should the US attack.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi (L) give a statement at the Ritz Hotel as they meet on Jan. 30, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Araghchi visits Turkey as Ankara steps up diplomacy in Iran-US standoff

Talks between the top Turkish and Iranian diplomats further clarified red lines but fell short of de-escalation.

Vehicles pass by a large patriotic banner depicting the Iranian flag on Enghelab Square in Tehran on January 14, 2026.

US sanctions Iranian officials over protest crackdown, IRGC funding

The Treasury Department also blacklisted an investor accused of embezzling billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenue.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel ups Iran intel sharing with US, expects Trump to strike within 'weeks'

TOPSHOT - Cars drive past an anti-US billboard installed on a building at the Enqelab Square in Tehran on January 26, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Analysis

Kurds, Damascus step back from brink as SDF signs fresh deal with Syrian government

Kurdish security forces patrol the street on Jan. 23, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Saudi defense chief visits White House as Riyadh pushes against Iran strike

Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pose for a photo opportunity ahead of a meeting in the US State Department Building on Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Navy destroyer, aircraft join US armada amassing near Iran

A view of the guided missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black in the Mediterranean Sea, on Dec. 31, 2023.

Jared Szuba

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

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

US copter

Day 33 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 8

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Nov. 6, 2023.

Iran's Khamenei urges Iraq PM to pressure US over Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's Tehran visit came only one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Baghdad, amid an uptick in Iran-backed militia attacks on US bases in the region in response to Israel's war on Hamas.

MOHAMMAD ZANOUN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

One month into Israel-Hamas war, more than 10,000 killed in Gaza, almost 1.5 million displaced

The war in Gaza has killed more than 10,000 people and injured more than 25,000 since Oct. 7 as prospects of cease-fire appear remote.

A woman walks along a building whose facade is covered with Stars of David painted during the night, in the Alesia district of Paris, France, Oct. 31, 2023.

France investigates suspected Russian role in Star of David graffiti in Paris

French police are investigating whether Stars of David spray-painted on Parisian buildings in late October were directed by Russian actors.

SOUTHERN ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 01: Tanks move across a field on November 01, 2023 in Southern Israel. As Israel's response to Hamas's Oct 7 attacks entered its fourth week, the Israeli PM said the current war would be a long one and would amount to a "second war of independence." In the wake Hamas's attacks that left 1,400 dead and 230 kidnapped, Israel launched a sustained bombardment of the Gaza Strip and began a ground invasion to vanquish the militant group that governs the Palestinian territory. (Photo by

Analysis

Israel advances rapidly in Gaza, but eliminating Hamas leaders to take time

While the Israeli army advances rather rapidly toward Hamas headquarters in the heart of Gaza City, eliminating the group's leadership would require more time than what Israel can afford.

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

Yahya Sinwar.

Day 32 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 7

A picture taken on Jan. 13, 2020, during a press tour organized by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a view inside Ain al-Asad military air base

New attacks hit US bases in Iraq, Syria as Iran ups threats over Gaza

White House and Pentagon officials have said they will hold Iran accountable for attacks on US bases by Iranian proxies.

AT SEA - JANUARY 22: The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines January 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas. The Florida is one of four Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines to be converted to guided missile submarines. (Photo by David Nagle/U.S. Navy/Getty Images)

US sends in submarine as Iran-backed attacks continue in Syria, Iraq

The Ohio-class submarine is the latest in the Pentagon's strike arsenal to arrive in the region amid a massive buildup of capabilities as Washington warns Iran and its proxies not to launch opportunistic attacks on Israel.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken ends Middle East tour in Turkey, no Gaza 'humanitarian pause' in sight

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed his Middle East tour in Turkey as anti-US protests ramped up in the country.

Haniyeh meets Khamenei

Hamas leader meets Iran’s Khamenei in Tehran

Iran is the main financial backer of Hamas. Its proxies across the region have increased attacks on US and Israeli targets in recent weeks.

Pro-Palestinian supporters pray while gathering during an anti US and anti Israel demonstration in front of the US Consulate in Johannesburg, on November 04, 2023.

South Africa recalls diplomats in Israel, cites 'genocide' in Gaza

The South African government on Monday recalled its diplomats from Israel and took aim at Israel's ambassador in Pretoria, calling his position in the country "untenable."

Israeli war cabinet

Israeli minister who called to nuke Gaza votes in cabinet meeting, despite suspension

Asked on the radio if Israel should throw a nuclear bomb at Gaza, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu responded, "that’s one option."