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Politics & Security

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Jeddah, on April 20, 2026.

MBS hosts Sudan's Burhan in Jeddah as $1.5B Saudi-backed arms deal stalls

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan traveled to Jeddah Monday for a visit that could be aimed at salvaging a $1.5 billion Pakistani arms deal Riyadh has reportedly blocked.

Vehicles move on a road in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on March 11, 2026.

Bahrain orders citizenship review as Iran war-linked crackdown escalates: What to know

The move comes as Bahrain steps up arrests and tightens security measures amid the war, with authorities targeting alleged Iran-linked dissenters and considering additional citizenship revocations.

Jewel SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon-Israel negotiations to continue even as Iran talks stall

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also said that Lebanon will lead the negotiations and that no other party will take part, emphasizing that this track is separate from any other talks.

Pakistan Air Force J-10 fighter jets over Islamabad, March 23, 2025.

Analysis

Pakistan’s quiet fighter jet deployment to Saudi Arabia signals Gulf anxiety

As US-Iran talks unfold, Islamabad balances mediation with a growing military role in the kingdom.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Latest News

Analysis

Italy’s TB3 drone deal signals turn toward Turkey amid US-NATO tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands during the press conference following their meeting at Villa Doria Pamphilj, on April 29, 2025, in Rome, Italy.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Interview

UAE official says opening Hormuz integral to any Iran deal, describes infrastructure damage 'manageable'

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

Who are Lebanon’s main players influencing talks with Israel?

Joseph EID / AFP via Getty Images

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

This picture taken on Jan. 26, 2019, shows journalists filming outside the departure lounge and control tower of Sulaimaniyah International Airport.

Turkey extends flight ban on Iraqi Kurds' Sulaimaniyah airport over alleged PKK support

Turkey said its latest ban is in response to "the intensification of activities by the PKK terrorist organization in Sulaimaniyah."

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan says Turkey won't 'back down' on demands for Sweden’s NATO bid

In an apparent jab at Sweden and the United States, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country wouldn’t cave to “veiled threats.”

Anti-government protesters march at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Lod on July 3, 2023.

Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport floods with protesters, 15 detained

Anti-judicial overhaul demonstrators who managed to penetrate the main terminal of Ben Gurion International Airport clashed with police who were trying to push them out of the building.

Members of the Lebanese Army deploy as families await news of their relatives at the entrance of the port in the northern city of Tripoli, on the morning of January 1, 2023, following a rescue operation by the navy of a sinking migrant boat in Mediterranean waters, off the Lebanon's northern coast. - Two migrants died and another 200 were rescued when their boat sank off Lebanon's northern coast, from where increasing numbers make the risky journey to flee a collapsed economy. An AFP correspondent in the im

In Lebanon's north, armed clashes renew fears of sectarian strife

The incidents come as the country reels under a devastating economic crisis.

A kiosk in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Oct. 30, 2022.

Iran: 3 women journalists go on trial as rulers continue with crackdown

Repression of journalists has worsened since widespread protests began in Iran last year, and the government is also restricting use of VPNs.

Men chat as they sit on a bench in front of the New Mosque, bearing Turkish flags, in the Eminonu district in Istanbul, on January 10, 2023. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey says it busted Israeli Mossad spy ring targeting Hezbollah, others

Turkey has detained seven people for spying on behalf of Israel on a major multinational espionage operation.

This picture shows a defaced mural to the glory of Russia's mercenary group Wagner reading "Wagner Group."

Libya factions reassess Wagner's operations in light of mutiny in Russia

The Wagner issue could significantly impact the conflict in Libya and lead to further instability in the country.

ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images

Breaking | Last Updated: July 2, 2023, 3:04 am

US return to UNESCO leaves Israel in awkward spot

After member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization agreed to take the United States back into the agency's fold, Israel is finding itself on its own.

Metamorfoz

Turkey TV series paints dark picture of jailed activist Osman Kavala

A new series on Turkey’s new streaming service Tabii presents a brazen caricature of Osman Kavala, the philanthropist and human rights activist serving a life sentence.

People look at a tank near a circus building in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023.

Pentagon watching closely Wagner’s Mideast posture as questions surround its future

In an excerpt from this week's Security Briefing, Pentagon correspondent Jared Szuba looks at what's next for Wagner's forces in the Middle East and North Africa following the private military company's short-lived mutiny in Russia.

captagon

US outlines strategy to counter Syria's lucrative Captagon trade

The report to lawmakers details US plans to support the counter-narcotics capacity of Syria's neighbors and impose sanctions on the key drug traffickers fueling the regime's operations.

Wagner group

Putin’s Syria policy hangs on amid Russian crackdown on Wagner

Israeli-Saudi normalization linked to Netanyahu White House visit; Israel’s booming arms exports; Turkey-Sweden ties strained ahead of NATO summit; would an 'informal' Iran deal require congressional review?