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Politics & Security

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Saudi Arabia wants Iran-backed militia 'heads to roll' in Iraq amid talks with Tehran

Riyadh is pressing Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to act against the groups behind attacks on the kingdom as Baghdad struggles to balance ties with Tehran and Washington.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference at the site where Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a US airstrike in 2020 near the airport upon his arrival in Baghdad, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

The Iraqi parliament speaker is calling on his Iranian counterpart to help Iraq export oil through Hormuz amid the regional conflict.

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting Iran's late Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2026.

With talks stalled, Iran ups threats against Gulf, Europe: What to know

The threats have raised concerns that the conflict between Iran and the United States could expand beyond the region.

Latest News

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

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.

Analysis

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

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

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.

United Arab Emirates

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

Namazi

'Bring us home': American held in Iran ends weeklong hunger strike

“Don't let President Biden leave us in this abyss of misery,” Siamak Namazi said in a letter penned from prison.

HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's soccer team celebrates with militia leaders after Gulf Cup victory

The team held up a photo of militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan says Sweden lost NATO bid support as Turkey fumes at Quran burning

Three days of protests followed a demonstration in Stockholm as President Erdogan says Sweden lost Turkey's support for its NATO accession

A picture taken from the northern Israeli town of Metula near the border with Lebanon shows a member of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon talking with Israeli soldiers through the border fence, on the outskirts of the southern village of Kfarkila, Lebanon, Jan. 19, 2023.

Lebanon's army 'on alert' following border tension with Israel

The Lebanese army is on alert following rising tensions with Israeli forces at the border.

The US Treasury Department building is seen in Washington, DC, January 19, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

US targets Iranian officials with human rights sanctions

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 10 Iranian individuals and one entity connected to the protest violence.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry give a joint press conference, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 22, 2023.

Large Arab boycott of Libya conference as Italy's FM visits Egypt

On the sidelines of a heavily boycotted Arab League consultative meeting, Egyptian officials met Italy's foreign minister to discuss illegal immigration from Libya, among other issues.

This photograph taken on January 22, 2023 shows German, European Union and French flags and the facade of the French National Assembly. (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

EU rolls out new Iran sanctions but does not designate IRGC as terrorists

European foreign ministers have added 37 names to the list of Iranian individuals and entities subject to sanctions, but did not call for designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist group.

A man and a woman hold up a banner depicting the image of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in the custody of Iranian authorities, during a demonstration denouncing her death by Iraqi and Iranian Kurds outside the UN offices in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on September 24, 2022. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Fleeing repression, Iran's Kurdish activists struggle to find refuge in Iraq

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has become a key escape route for an unknown number of Iranian Kurds fleeing brutal repression and torture in Iran, but most fail to find security and stability in Iraq.

Iraq dinar

Iraq's government struggles to control US dollar price

The Iraqi economy is suffering from the US dollar's rise as a result of smuggling dollars outside of Iraq.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey faces tough options on Syrian rebel allies amid Damascus thaw

Ankara’s quest to restore ties with Damascus has left its Syrian rebel allies confused as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group controlling Idlib, seeks to raise its profile and lure the disenchanted to its ranks.

Saudi aid

Analysis

'Saudi first' propels shift toward strings-attached aid policy

Saudi Arabia's announcement of conditional foreign aid is being seen as a move by the kingdom to stand up to global pressures and conduct itself with more autonomy.

By Salim A. Essaid

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on Jan. 18, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey's Erdogan shows no give on Sweden’s NATO bid

The hope is that the Turkish president will deal on NATO, Sweden and Syria after May 14 elections; Turkey-Syria talks unsettle refugees; Could jihadists make a comeback in Europe?

Week in Review

By Week in Review