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Politics & Security

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

Analysis

How failing US-Iran diplomacy is giving way to fresh confrontation

Iran's dismissal of secret talks with Washington comes as diplomacy is in impasse, the Strait of Hormuz remains contested and Iranian commanders signal a potentially more aggressive military posture.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

The incident follows the UAE blaming Iran for strikes on ADNOC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

United Arab Emirates

US sanctions International Criminal Court president, top lawyer

The sanctions come a month after Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to dismantle the court "brick by brick."

Latest News

Syria announces capture of senior ISIS official near Manbij: What to know

SANA

Jared Szuba

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

What we know about Israeli strikes on Syrian air base tied to Turkey

A tank is seen at the Abu Duhur military airport area in Idlib province, on Jan. 21, 2018.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

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

After 44 years, Israel retrieves remains of soldier killed in Lebanon: What to know

Katz

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

Israeli security forces examine the site of a reported shooting attack, near Jericho in the occupied West Bank on February 27, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

US confirms citizen killed in West Bank as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates

Extensive damage occurred in the West Bank village of Huwara after a night of torching and vandalism by Israeli settlers and following a deadly Palestinian attack earlier on Sunday that killed two Israeli brothers.

A family pass by a ruined building in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 25, 2023.

New earthquake hits Turkey’s disaster zone, killing one, trapping several

The new quake collapsed several buildings in a province that is among 11 Turkish provinces that were badly hit by the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men bake Matzoth (unleavened bread) at a bakery in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, on April 11, 2022. Religious Jews eat Matzoth during Pesach holiday (Passover). According to biblical narrative, due to the haste with which the Jews left the land of Egypt, the bread prepared for the journey did not have time to rise. To commemorate their ancestors' plight, religious Jews do not eat leavened food products throughout Passover. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox seek to prohibit Passover non-Kosher food in hospitals

Back in the coalition and in greater force, ultra-Orthodox parliamentarians exploit their political clout to advance religious legislation.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A picture taken from the east Jerusalem Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp shows a view of the settlement of Pisgat Zeev (C), in the northern part of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, and the Palestinian area of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank (background), Feb. 23, 2023.

Israel's Netanyahu government advances settlement expansion

Israel's High Planning Committee advances plans approved by the government Feb. 12 for thousands of new housing units in West Bank settlements.

Russian fighters

Iran is seeking billions in arms deals from Russia, White House says

Moscow may send Iran fighter aircraft as Pentagon officials warn the tactical relationship could evolve into strategic cooperation.

Russia / Mideast

Turkey quake refugee

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the media on the Iranian nuclear issue at the Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem, Sept. 9, 2019.

Israel steps up military planning against Iran’s nuclear program

Recent reports on Iran accelerating its uranium enrichment are pushing Israeli leaders to inspect concrete plans.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war at year 1: Turkey's balancing act succeeds, but game far from over

Despite his diplomatic gains over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cautious dance between Ukraine and Russia can't be declared a success quite yet.

SYLVIE LANTEAUME/AFP via Getty Images

US transfers Pakistani brothers from Guantanamo Bay

Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani and Mohammed Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani are being repatriated after nearly two decades in the US military prison. Their departure brings the remaining number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to 32.

Washington Pulse

A Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber and Su-35S fighter jets fly in formation during the Victory Day military parade, Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2021.

Ukraine war at year 1: Russia-Iran alignment threatens delicate Middle East balance

US officials say Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given Iran a chance to hone its drone warfare skills while potentially expanding its proxies' footprint in Syria, risking escalation with Israel.

People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Nov. 13 explosion at the busy shopping street of Istiklal, Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2022.

Turkey says it killed major Istanbul bombing suspect in Syria drone strike

The drone strike came a week after a Turkish prosecutor indicted 36 suspects including a top Syrian Kurdish commander, over their alleged links to the bombing attack in 2022.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) answers journalists' questions with Iceland's Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir (R), during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Iran, at the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 24, 2022.

Analysis

As Germany's relations sour with Iran, pressure grows on Berlin to do more

Activists in Germany are doubtful whether the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats will thwart the death sentence of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs