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Politics & Security

People gather under a large portrait of Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during a memorial to mark the 40th day since his father, Ali Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed in US-Israeli joint strikes, on April 9, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Ceasefire without relief: How Iranians are grappling with post-war repression

Despite the ceasefire, pressure is mounting inside Iran: arrests are rising, the internet remains largely shut down, and millions face deep economic uncertainty.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Ambassador to the United States Nada Hamadeh in Beirut on Aug. 29, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency)

Meet Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon's US ambassador set to lead Israel talks

Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh is expected to lead the Lebanese delegation in talks with the Israeli side in Washington on Tuesday, the first such contact between the two parties in decades.

A woman walks past a digital screen displaying news of US-Iran peace talks along a road in Islamabad on April 10, 2026.

In Islamabad, US set to face a more defiant Iran at negotiating table

Iran's widening ambitions after the war include a bid to exercise permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Latest News

Lebanon boosts army presence in Beirut as Hezbollah slams Israel talks: What to know

A Lebanese army vehicle is parked at the departures area of Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport on April 10, 2026. Israel's military on April 9 warned residents of Beirut's southern suburbs, long a stronghold of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, of imminent strikes and called for them to evacuate. While Israel regularly issues evacuation warnings before bombing the southern suburbs, the announcement also included the outskirts of Lebanon's only international airport. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in Beirut on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, the most violent attack on the Lebanese capital since the start of war. The strikes came as Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, claimed it was close to a "historic victory". (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP via Getty Images) /

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

Turkey launches first overseas drilling mission in Somalia: What to know

This picture taken on Oct. 19, 2020 in Istanbul shows Turkey's third drilling ship 'Kanuni' as it enters the bosphorus near Haydarpasa port.

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

Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images

UN says over 43% of Gaza residents now displaced as Rafah talks stall

Convoys of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are stuck on the Egyptian border.

JACQUELYN MARTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Back in Israel, Blinken tries to reach a deal on opening Gaza's Rafah crossing

On a second visit in four days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images

Day 10 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct.

Ten days into the fighting between Israel and Hamas, nearly 1 million are now displaced in Gaza as rocket barrages continue in the direction of Israel and the Israeli bombardment intensifies on the enclave.

IDF soldiers move through neighborhoods destroyed by Hamas militants after they attacked this kibbutz days earlier near the border of Gaza on October 15, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel. Israel has sealed off Gaza and launched sustained retaliatory air strikes, which have killed at least 1,400 people with more than 400,000 displaced, after a large-scale attack by Hamas. On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza by land, sea, and air, killing over 1,300 peopl

Analysis

Arab Israelis express solidarity with victims of Hamas attack

Arab Israelis, including members of the Bedouin community in the Negev, are among the victims of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

Afif Abu Much

By Afif Abu Much

In Baqa al-Gharbiyye, reporting on business and tech

SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Rafah crossing still closed for Americans fleeing Gaza, despite US-Egypt deal

The White House national security adviser said that an attempt by American citizens to pass through the Rafah crossing into Egypt failed due to Hamas' actions.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna (C) and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (R) visit the damaged Barzilai Medical Center in the city of Ashkelon on October 15, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel on October 7 which killed at least 1300 people, sparking a retaliatory bombing campaign that has killed more than 1900 in the Gaza Strip ahead of a potential Israeli ground invasion of the territory. (Photo b

France's top diplomat discusses hostages in Israel, ahead of Lebanon visit

French Minister Catherine Colonna met today in Israel with her counterpart Eli Cohen and with families of French-Israelis missing and kidnapped by Hamas before next traveling to Lebanon.

A picture taken from the southern Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 15, 2023.

Day 9 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 15

Nine days into the fighting between Israel and Hamas, nearly 1 million are now displaced in Gaza as rocket barrages continue in the direction of Israel and the Israeli bombardment intensifies on the enclave.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A Palestinian woman looks up as she prays in the yard of a school, in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on October 14, 2023, as fighting between Israel and the Hamas movement continues for the eighth consecutive day in the Gaza Strip enclave. Palestinians sought refuge on October 14, 2023, after Israel warned them to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip before an expected ground offensive against Hamas, one week after the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

Gaza residents tell stories of pain and fear as they flee Israeli bombardment

As many residents flee south, some Gazans are remaining in their homes, fearing a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left but never returned.

onvoy trucks loaded with supplies are seen at Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road on Oct. 14, 2023, in Cairo.

Nearly 600 Americans stuck in Gaza amid Egypt talks over Rafah, aid

Egyptian officials said they will not allow foreigners to exit Gaza via the Rafah border crossing until an agreement on aid deliveries is reached, according to reports.

Policemen from the River Brigade (Brigade Fluviale) patrol on a boat on the Seine River, in front of the Louvres' museum in Paris on May 9, 2023.

France on high alert due to Hamas-Israel war, Louvre Museum closed

The killing on Friday of teacher Dominique Bernard was apparently related to tensions in the Middle East, said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Ben Caspit and Daoud Kuttab Webinar

Israeli, Palestinian journalists preview Gaza war at Al-Monitor event

Ben Caspit and Daoud Kuttab delved into the details of Israel’s security failures, the future of the Palestinian quest for statehood and the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip at Al-Monitor's webinar.

Israel has pounded northern Gaza since Hamas's deadly incursion a week ago

Day 8 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 14

Eight days into the fighting between Israel and Hamas, nearly 1 million are now displaced in Gaza as rocket barrages continue in the direction of Israel and the Israeli bombardment intensifies on the enclave.