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Politics & Security

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity of Libya, in Tripoli on Aug. 11, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Libya as US-backed unification push gathers pace

The Turkish foreign minister will hold talks in both Tripoli and Benghazi as Ankara seeks to preserve its military, maritime, energy and commercial interests while Washington pushes Libya’s rival camps toward a power-sharing arrangement.

Qaani

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Esmail Qaani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, has been heavily involved in Iran’s relations with Iraqi militias.

lia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan while quietly implementing it

Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he rejects US President Donald Trump’s Gaza reconstruction plan, Israel is advancing its implementation.

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

Latest News

Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad, brother to death for war crimes

Bashar Al Assad

Interview

Israel's deputy FM, Sharren Haskel, bets on a new right after breaking with Netanyahu

Sharren Haskel speaks at an event marking 60 years of diplomatic ties between Germany and Israel hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin, Oct. 16, 2025.

Iran’s Khamenei appoints six military commanders: What to know

image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

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

Judges enter the courtroom prior to the verdict in the case against Japanese whaling at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 31, 2014. The UN's top International Court of Justice will rule today whether Japan has the right to hunt whales in the Antarctic, in an emotive case activists say is make-or-break for the giant mammal's future. AFP PHOTO / ANP / MARTIJN BEEKMAN ***Netherlands out*** (Photo credit should read Martijn Beekman/AFP via Getty Images)

What is next at ICJ as South Africa opens Israeli genocide case?

South African lawyers and legal experts presented to the International Court of Justice in the Hague their arguments, claiming that Israel is carrying out genocide against Gazan population.

People raise flags and placards as they gather around a statue of late South African president Nelson Mandela to celebrate a landmark "genocide" case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on January 10, 2024.

How is Middle East reacting to South Africa's Gaza genocide ICJ case against Israel?

Several Arab countries have publically announced their support for South Africa’s genocide case filed against Israel at the ICJ.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on January 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East.

Saudi-Israel normalization emerges as leverage for post-war Gaza

Dormant discussions of a two-state solution are back on the US and regional agenda as part of Israel-Saudi normalization talks shelved after Oct. 7.

The statue of late South African President Nelson Mandela.

Day 97 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Jan. 11

Chinese ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York City on December 8, 2023.

China, Russia abstain as UN Security Council adopts resolution condemning Houthi attacks

Attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels have caused major disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea.

an overview of the buildings of the International Criminal Court ICC CPI in The Hague.

Analysis

What to expect as Israel, South Africa face off over Gaza genocide case at ICJ

Israel and South Africa are both gearing up for a much-mediatized hearing at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over the IDF military campaign in Gaza.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Crew members on Britain's HMS Diamond respond to Houthi missiles and drones in the Red Sea, Jan. 9, 2024.

Houthis’ largest attack yet in Red Sea poses test for US resolve

Yemeni rebels defied an ultimatum from the United States and its allies, targeting commercial shipping lanes and apparently a UK Royal Navy warship with their largest drone and missile barrage yet.

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Logistics Specialist 1st Class Ousseinou Kaba (left), from Silver Spring, Md., and Logistics Specialist Seaman Abigail Marshke, from Flint, Mich., attach cargo to an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) May 10, 2019 in the Red Sea.

Day 96 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Jan. 10

JONATHAN ERNST/AFP via Getty Images

Meeting Abbas, Blinken backs 'tangible steps' toward Palestinian state

The US secretary of state is on a week-long Middle East tour as part of Washington’s efforts to contain any regional escalation and push for a post-war plan for Gaza.

01/01/2024, Istanbul, Turkey. People sits on the iron fences to watch and participate the solidarity march. Thousands gathered in Istanbul Galata Bridge in a demonstration expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. (Photo by Ilker Eray / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by ILKER ERAY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

‘Only the first step’: Turkey's Erdogan flaunts anti-Mossad op as against Israel

The Turkish president also hinted that new counterespionage operations against Israeli spy networks could be underway.

Hezbollah militants carry the coffin of slain Hezbollah military commander Wissam Tawil (Jawad) during his funeral in his hometown village of Khirbet Selm, south of Beirut on January 9, 2024. Hezbollah announced on January 8 the killing of a "commander" for the first time, naming him as Wissam Hassan Tawil. A security souce in Lebanon, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said Tawil "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south", and was killed there by an Israeli strike targetin

Who are the Hezbollah fighters killed by Israel in 2024?

The Lebanese military organization has announced the death of several fighters in recent days as clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border continue to rage.

A woman touches victims' portraits as mourners attend an outdoor vigil for the victims of Ukrainian passenger jet flight PS752.

Downed Ukrainian jet families struggle to hold Iran accountable

The families' quest for justice remains futile four years after the tragedy, as Iran continues to defy international pressure and obstruct independent probes.