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Politics & Security

Commuters drive along a bridge near a building bearing a landmark anti-US mural in Tehran, on June 22, 2025.

Bracing for backlash, Iran sends mixed signals on US talks

Iran's public messaging remains fragmented, with cautious openness from the presidency, rigid red lines from security officials and outright rejection from hard-liners, who see negotiations as futile.

US Department of State's senior advisor to the president for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends the Sudan Humanitarian Fund event at the Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2026.

US says Sudan warring parties back withdrawal plan as donors pledge $700M in aid

State Department senior adviser Massad Boulos announced Tuesday that a "comprehensive peace plan" has been approved by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though it still needs to be approved by Sudan's warring parties.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff arrives for a press conference with the US president and Israel's prime minister in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb. 4, 2025.

Witkoff meets Netanyahu as Israel warns against potential Iran deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s security chiefs briefed US envoy Steve Witkoff on the country’s concerns ahead of Friday’s US-Iran talks.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Iran seeks nuclear-only US talks, to drop Turkey as host: Source

Iran’s push for a bilateral, nuclear-only format and a possible shift to Oman has frustrated mediators.

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Breaking

Last Updated: February 3, 2026, 3:21 pm

US F-35 downs Iran drone as IRGC boats target tanker near Hormuz

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 12, 2025 shows navy vessels taking part in a joint Iranian-Russian-Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman.

On eve of talks, UAE's Gargash throws weight behind Iran-US deal

Diplomatic advisor to the United Arab Emirates President Anwar Gargash (C) react on stage with Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe (R) during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 3, 2026. Spain will seek to ban social media for under-16s to protect them from harmful content such as pornography and violence, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on February 3, in the latest such move by governments. Australia established a world first i

United Arab Emirates

Lebanon’s army chief in Washington as Hezbollah disarmament enters critical phase

Lebanese soldiers standing atop a military vehicle in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2025.

RSF shells Sudan’s Kordofan as US-Saudi truce plan stalls: What to know

Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on Aug. 14, 2025, to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army.

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

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran unveils new ballistic missile after US deployment to Gulf

Iranian officials said they had already mass-produced the "radar-evading" missile, which relies on artificial intelligence and is capable of "completely destroying" any frigate.

Logos are displayed on the screens at the cyberattack training facility "immersive cyberattack room", at the Galileo Global Education in Puteaux, west of Paris, on May 2, 2023. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)

In Jordan, rights groups sound alarm over controversial cybercrime bill

The bill has been widely criticized as a tool for Jordanian authorities to clamp down on anyone criticizing the government.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP via Getty Images

Following Saudi drone deal, Turkey's Erdogan targets $6B in defense sales

Speaking at the opening of Turkey’s largest defense fair, the Turkish president has pledged to raise military exports by 36% while his defense industry chief reveals that last week’s drone deal with Riyadh alone was worth $3.1 billion.

US Defense Department European Command via Getty Images

Russian fighter jet damages US drone over Syria

US military officials say they don't quite know why Russian aircraft keep harassing US drones over Syria, but they're continuing to explore options to protect them.

Demonstrators gather around a burning flare during a protest rally against the Israeli government's judicial reform plan in Tel Aviv on July 24, 2023. Israeli lawmakers on July 24 approved a key clause of a controversial judicial reform plan that aims to curb the powers of the Supreme Court in striking down government decisions. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel’s enemies gloat, friends concerned over judicial overhaul chaos

While Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah relishes over growing internal rift within the Israeli society, Washington is increasingly concerned and making calls to senior Israeli officials to manage the crisis.

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

Volunteers help to extinguish a wildfire that broke out in the Datca district of Mugla, Turkey, July 13, 2022.

Wildfires hit Turkey’s Mediterranean coast as temperatures soar

More than 250 fires have raged across the country in less than two months amid unusually high temperatures.

Israeli security forces detain a demonstrator near the Knesset.

White House says Israel's judicial overhaul vote 'unfortunate'

Following a controversial vote in Israel's parliament, the White House urged the country's leaders to "build a broader consensus through political dialogue.”

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed receives Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Abu Dhabi.

Who is Sultan Al Mansouri, Qatar’s first UAE ambassador in 6 years?

A career diplomat who previously served as Qatar’s ambassador to Austria in 2019 and as the ambassador to China in 2014, Mansouri brings a negotiating and economic skillset to the position.

Smoke billows in southern khartoum as deadly shelling and gunfire resumed after the end of a 24-hour cease-fire in Sudan, June 12, 2023.

Sudan war 100 days on: Over 3,000 deaths, millions displaced, no ceasefire

The war in the East African nation has killed thousands and uprooted millions from their homes since it broke out in April.

Turkish Airlines planes are parked at the new Istanbul Airport, Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019.

Russian migration to Turkey spikes by 218% in aftermath of Ukraine war

Nationals of Iran and Iraq, meanwhile, constitute the largest group of foreigners who left Turkey in 2022.

Israeli security forces use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the entrance of the Knesset.

Breaking | Last Updated: July 24, 2023, 3:05 pm

Israel’s Knesset adopts first judicial overhaul bill despite US warnings

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heralded the passing at the Knesset plenum of the first bill of his judicial overhaul plan.

Members of Israel's security forces remove protesters blocking the Knesset entrance amid a monthslong wave of protests against the government's planned judicial overhaul, Jerusalem, July 24, 2023.

Israeli protests block Knesset entrance ahead of judicial overhaul vote

President Isaac Herzog is seeking a compromise in order to postpone the expected vote today on the first element of the government’s judicial overhaul plan.