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Politics & Security

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022. - Turkey on May 25 said the NATO accession process for Sweden and Finland would not move forward unless they addressed Ankara's security concerns, in talks with delegations from both Nordic states. NATO member Turkey has opposed the applications of Sweden and neighbouring Finland over what it considers leniency t

Turkey arrests two over alleged Mossad espionage ties: What to know

Prosecutors accuse the suspects of providing intelligence for more than a decade, including technical data on communications equipment and attempting to infiltrate technological supply chains.

A person with a motorbike stands on the side of a road as US-led coalition plane operates at a base on Jan. 26, 2026 in Al-Shaddadi, Syria.

US troops pull out of Shaddadi base in Syria: What to know

The base has been a hub for American troops between the central city of Hasakah and the strategic Khabur River Valley, once the gateway to the Islamic State's oil-producing heartland.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A picture shows a view of a street with access to a detention center under the Adliyeh (Palace of Justice) bridge (L) of Lebanon's capital Beirut, on Aug. 7, 2022.

Lebanon, Syria sign deal to transfer 300 Syrian prisoners: What we know

Lebanon and Syria signed a deal to transfer more than 300 convicted Syrians held in Lebanese prisons to their home country to complete their sentences.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Iranian FM says US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman 'a good start'

Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said the two sides agreed to continue talks but would first consult with their capitals.

Latest News

Analysis

From 'help is on the way' to nuclear talks, Iranians wary of Trump's shift

An Iranian man walks past an anti-US and anti-Israel banner hanging on a building in Palestine Square in Tehran on Jan. 27, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Iran names Ali Shamkhani head of Defense Council: What to know

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, attends a meeting with the diplomatic adviser to the French president, in the Iranian capital Tehran, on July 10, 2019.

Analysis

As US-Iran talks set to begin, Israel struggles to shape Trump's options

The commander of CENTCOM, Admiral Brad Cooper, visited Israel as the official guest of Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Storm Leonardo displaces 140,000 as heavy floods hit northern Morocco

An emergency vehicle drives through flood waters as residents are evacuated and relocated to other towns as preventive and emergency evacuations are carried out to move residents living near flood-prone areas following the weather alert and the rise in the water level of the Loukkos River, with flooding expected in the coming days, in Ksar El Kebir on Feb. 1, 2026.

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

A sign directs pedestrians towards the United States on January 16, 2019 in Tijuana, Mexico. Thousands of people from Mexico and Central America, many who arrived in caravans, hope to cross the border daily into America. The U.S. government is partially shut down as President Trump is asking for $5.7 billion to build additional walls along the U.S.-Mexico border and the Democrats oppose the idea. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia top MidEast recipients of US visas in 2022

Citizens from the MENA region received about 480,000 non-immigrant visas, or about 7% of the total 6.8 million visas issued globally.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.

US, Turkey blacklist Syrian militants' financial facilitators

The new sanctions target members of US-designated terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.

Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen and EU high commissioner for foreign affairs josep Borrell , Brussels, may 2 2023

Israel, EU reconcile, agree to hold summit after Cohen-Borrell meeting

In a surprising move, Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and EU's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell agreed in Brussels to hold an association council meeting by the end of 2023. Israel is also advocating for more EU sanctions on Iran.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Israel woos senior Republicans as White House continues to snub Netanyahu

Government insiders are alarmed by what appear to be efforts to undermine the overtures to the White House.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

US urges to elect a president in Lebanon 'free of corruption'

The State Department appeal comes as Lebanese politicians fail to address the country's economic crisis.

A Palestinian man rides his bike past a mural depicting Khader Adnan, a Palestinian hunger striker and top figure in the Islamic Jihad group in the occupied West Bank, in Gaza City on May 2,2023. - Khader Adnan began a hunger strike on February 5, 23, died on May 2, 2023, the prison service said in a statement, adding that he was "affiliated with the Islamic Jihad". (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian Khader Adnan dies in Israeli jail after 87-day hunger strike

Rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip after Palestinian Khader Adnan died on hunger strike in Israel's Nitzan prison.

The silhouette of an Israeli soldier is outlined in the sky by a flare fired to search for a rocket that landed near Kibbutz Meitsar in the Israeli annexed Golan Heights, April 9, 2023. - Israel launched artillery strikes on Syria early morning on April 8 after several rockets were fired from there and landed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel's retaliatory strike to rocket attacks from Syria -- which no one has claimed -- is the latest episode in escalating violence in the region. (Photo by JALA

Israel carries out airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria: local media

The incident near Aleppo followed suspected Israeli strikes on a Hezbollah center in central Syria over the weekend, and as Arab foreign ministers meet in Jordan to normalize relations with Assad.

An Israeli security officer mans the control booth at the crossing point to Jordan (background), in the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, on January 28, 2021. - The Allenby (King Hussein) bridge crossing is due to be closed in the evening as part of restrictions to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli court extends detention of Jordanian lawmaker

The decision of the Israeli court to extend the detention of Jordanian parliamentarian Imad al-Adwan could signal that the affair could take time to be resolved.

Seized drugs, including Captagon, are displayed for the media in the town of Marea, in the northern Aleppo countryside, on May 24, 2022, following clashes among different Turkey-backed factions in Syria. - A decade of appalling civil war has left Syria fragmented and in ruins but one thing crosses every frontline: the drug fenethylline, commercially known as captagon. The stimulant -- once notorious for its association with Islamic State fighters -- has spawned an illegal $10-billion industry that not only

Saudi Arabia seizes 5 million Captagon pills in latest bust

A Saudi raid is the latest in a series of drug busts that has seen nearly weekly arrests inby the country for transporting, selling and promoting drug use since March.

Supporters wave flags and chant slogans while waiting for the arrival of CHP Party presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu during a campaign rally on April 30, 2023 in Izmir, Turkey.

Turkey’s Kilicdaroglu pulls ahead of Erdogan in latest polls as campaign heats up

As the latest polls show a close race against the opposition, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has returned to the hectic campaign trail and confronted his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the opposition stronghold city of Izmir.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

US does not confirm Turkey’s claim of killing Islamic State leader in Syria

The US administration said it had no information to support Ankara’s claim to have killed the Islamic State leader.

Egypt frees long-held Al Jazeera journalist amid thaw with Qatar

The release of Hisham Abdelaziz comes as Egypt and Qatar are working to normalize their relations after years of tension, even as Cairo continues its crackdown on journalists.