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Politics & Security

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a statement at the Ritz Hotel as he meets Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, on Jan. 30, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

US-Iran talks uncertain as Tehran pushes to sideline regional countries

Iran is also pushing to move the negotiations to Oman and to exclude its missile program from the talks.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi, speaks during an interview with AFP in Tripoli on Feb. 26, 2011.

Saif Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan ruler, killed in gunfight: What to know

Gadhafi was a key figure in his father Moammar Gadhafi's regime, and faced legal prosecution for his alleged roles in crimes against Libyans.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a press conference on May 11, 2011, at the green zone area in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq’s Maliki rejects Trump criticism, vows to stay in PM race

Maliki refused to withdraw from the race, despite mounting pressure from the US, and expressed a desire for good relations with Iraq’s neighbors and Washington.

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.

Latest News

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

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.

Witkoff meets Netanyahu as Israel warns against potential Iran deal

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.

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

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

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.

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

An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at Qingdao port in China's eastern Shandong province on May 9, 2022. - China OUT (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican lawmakers urge sanctions over Iran oil sales to China

Senate Republicans are pushing for harsher penalties against Chinese-linked actors involved in Iran’s oil and petrochemical trade.

rticipants hold placards reading "I choose Maryam Rajav."

Iran rebukes Italy over 'terror sponsorship' after hosting MEK leader

Iran was enraged by the Italian Senate Foreign Relations Committee after it hosted the leader of an opposition group that has been seeking regime change in Tehran for decades.

EU Council President Charles Michel (R) arrives with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 9, 2020. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Is Turkey ready to join European Union as Erdogan jump-starts its bid?

In line with its founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s vision, Turkey had historically positioned itself as a part of the Europe. Erdogan’s unexpected push may lead to some progress in certain avenues, experts and observers believe.

JONAS ROOSENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Israel condemns Sweden’s permission to burn Torah scroll

Israel’s highest officials are calling on Swedish authorities to revoke the Stockholm police's authorization for activists to burn a Torah scroll. The move comes shortly after the Quran burning in Sweden which sparked outrage in the Muslim world.

Israeli soldiers take position along the border with Lebanon, in the town of Metulla in northern Israel, July 12, 2023.

Analysis

Israel’s Hezbollah deterrence is eroding as Lebanon border heats up

IDF seniors warn that Hezbollah is becoming bolder and bolder, increasingly attempting to infiltrate Israeli territories and to provoke incidents with Israel.

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

The Incubent Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Konstantinos Floros (L),Greece's Minister of Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos (M) and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant (R) review an honor guard prior to their meeting, at the Ministry of National Defence in Athens, Greece, on May 4, 2023 (Photo by Menelaos Myrillas / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by MENELAOS MYRILLAS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)

In Azerbaijan, Israel’s defense chief discusses Iran, security cooperation

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant noted that his visit to Baku brings cooperation between the two countries to a new and unprecedented level.

Vehicles carrying the first UN delegation to visit rebel-held northwestern Syria, arrive through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on February 14, 2023.

Syria tells UN it will grant aid access via Bab al-Hawa

The announcement comes two days after the UN Security Council failed to reauthorize its vital cross-border aid operation into Syria.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (R).

Erdogan’s NATO moves agitate Russia but don’t spell Turkey's sharp shift to West

The Turkish leader is navigating Ankara’s relationships in ways that he believes best benefit Turkey’s interests and above all his own political survival.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

UAE, after Kuwait, releases Iranian prisoners

The moves come as Iran works to restore its ties with Gulf countries following years of estrangement and tension.

United Arab Emirates

Turkey NATO

Analysis

Turkey's F-16s in doubt after Erdogan says no Sweden vote before October

The Biden administration's planned sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey could hinge on when the Turkish parliament chooses to ratify Sweden's accession.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

An Israeli soldier extinguishes a bush fire caused by a Molotov cocktail.

Hezbollah threatens to ‘act’ if Israel attacks Lebanon after border shooting

Tensions are particularly high between Israel and Lebanon in large part due to the conflict over the Ghajjar border town.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand on September 15, 2022. (Photo by Alexandr Demyanchuk / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran summons Russia's ambassador over UAE islands dispute

On Monday, Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued a statement calling for a “a peaceful solution” to the dispute over the Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands “in accordance with international law."