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Politics & Security

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on Aug. 18, 2026, shows Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan (C) during the sentencing of Wassim al-Assad.

In first, Lebanon to hand over former Syrian general to Sharaa government

The decision comes as Syria's new authorities move to prosecute former regime figures over alleged crimes committed during the country's civil war.

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

Latest News

US sanctions International Criminal Court president, top lawyer

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

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

The village of Bibsna, located on the Syrian-Turkish border, was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake, and rescue teams are trying to recover the victims and treat the wounded, Feb. 6, 2023.

Already displaced by war, Syrians search earthquake rubble for loved ones

Residents of northwest Syria, most of whom found refuge in the area after fleeing the bombing in their hometowns during the war, found themselves facing a new catastrophe following Monday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

Rescuers search for survivors through the rubble in Sanliurfa, on Feb. 6, 2023, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's south-east. -

How will Turkey’s killer earthquakes impact the country’s politics?

The mood of the public could very well shift against Erdogan and the AKP if their response to the earthquake is not swift.

This aerial view shows residents helped by bulldozers, searching for victims and survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings, following an earthquake in the town of Sarmada in the countryside of the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, early on February 6, 2023. Over 1,500 people have been killed in the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. (Photo by MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf countries rush earthquake aid to Turkey, Syria

Countries in the Gulf have announced aid for Turkey and Syria after Monday's devastating earthquakes.

Passengers arrive at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in Lod on March 1, 2022. A US visa waiver will energize travel between the two countries. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

US, Israel closer to signing visa waiver as Netanyahu rushes to finish line

To enter the coveted program, the prime minister's coalition will have to facilitate the traveling of American Palestinians and American Israeli-Arabs between the West Bank and the US.

Russian physics researcher Yuriy waits in line for tickets to see Russian rapper Oxxxymiron on Kadikoy Street, Istanbul, Turkey, March 15, 2022.

Russians in Turkey increasingly rejected on residency permits

According to official figures, Russians top the list of short-term residency holders in Turkey as of January 2022, with 133,495 Russian nationals on short-term permits. But since mid-December, they have been facing denials for paperwork to stay in Turkey.

Netanyahu blinken

Analysis

Netanyahu counts Iran, Sudan as wins following Blinken visit

And Iraq worries about getting caught, again, in US-Israel-Iran crossfire.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Amir-Abdollahian

Iran’s FM visits Venezuela, Nicaragua to shore up 'anti-Western' alliances

The US recently eased sanctions on Venezuela, and the South American country’s openness to repair ties with Washington is worrisome for the Iranian government.

People demonstrate outside the Iranian embassy in Ukraine on October 17, 2022 in Kyiv, after the city was hit by swarms of kamikaze drones sold by Iran to Russia, leaving at least three dead. (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV/AFP via Getty Images)

New US sanctions target Iran’s drone supply to Russia

The targets include eight senior executives of an Iran-based firm involved in the manufacture of drones used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Shlomi Amsalem/GPO

Israel, Sudan to normalize ties? Not so fast

The normalization process is allowing the prime minister to flash his diplomatic bona fides at a time of domestic turmoil, but normalization may still take time.

A picture taken on Aug. 20, 2018, shows a general view of the US Embassy in Ankara.

Ankara lashes out at US envoy over security alerts: 'Get your filthy hands off Turkey'

Turkey’s rhetoric against Washington and several European capitals grows more belligerent, with the interior minister calling out the American ambassador.

Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) escorts Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani (L) along with other dignitaries at the start of the "Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership" in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on December 20, 2022. (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Trilateral Biden-Abdullah-Sudani call reiterated support for Iraq

The Iraqi prime minister also discussed Iraq’s economic situation with the president as the dinar continues to slide against the dollar. Jordan's King Abdullah II was also on the call.

Giza zoo

Overhaul plan for Giza Zoo stirs controversy in Egypt

The historic zoo is in need of renovation, but critics fear that the government's announced plan may make things worse.