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Politics & Security

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In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

The address was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s third since coming to power and included a pledge to rid the Gulf of the US.

Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean.

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

President Trump is doubling down on economic warfare against Iran, betting a naval blockade and sanctions can force a nuclear deal and end the war.

Latest News

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Turkey advances gas pipeline plan to northern Cyprus as East Med rivalry grows

This aerial photograph shows Turkey's first floating natural gas production platform, "Osman Gazi," passing through the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, on May 29, 2025.

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 Prime Minister Yair Lapid meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 12 2022.

In Germany, Lapid makes case for Israel’s position on Iran

Israel’s diplomatic blitz against a renewed JCPOA reaches new heights, with Prime Minister Yair Lapid traveling to Germany and Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveling again to the United States.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

As violence spreads, Israel braces for escalation in West Bank

Ahead of the Jewish holiday period, the Israel Defense Forces are preparing for the possibility of more terror attacks originating from the West Bank.

This picture shows a general view of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) during a meeting, in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022.

Israeli parties unconcerned with equal gender representation

Few, if any, Israeli parties are expected to present for the upcoming Nov. 1 elections Knesset lists with equal representation of women.

Cars drive on a highway with a backdrop of the Milad telecommunications tower in Iran's capital Tehran on March 12, 2022. - Iran said that US attempts to seize its tankers and oil cargo had failed to stop exports that are subject to sanctions imposed by its arch foe. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Post-sanctions risks & opportunities for international companies in Iran

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran criticizes Europe over nuclear talks comments

Tehran has criticized the three European signatories to the nuclear deal for their recent joint statement questioning Iran's intentions.

A media adviser of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a Facebook live broadcast as he opens the weekly Cabinet meeting at his office, Jerusalem, Jan. 21, 2018.

Courting Arab voters, Netanyahu creates TikTok, Instagram accounts in Arabic

Much like the 2021 election campaign, but with multiple efforts, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu opens Arabic-language accounts on all social media networks.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

Israel watches closely as West Bank seethes

Increasing skirmishes have Israel reportedly considering a large-scale invasion of the northern West Bank.

Souvenir stand in Petra, Jordan.

Gendarmerie operation sparks controversy in Petra, Jordan

Petra’s tribal entrepreneurs react to a security operation carried out inside Jordan’s most-visited UNESCO World Heritage Site with criticism and concern for their livelihoods.

A Palestinian family whose house is located in Area C of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was demolished by the military sit inside a cave.

Israeli demolitions force Palestinians to live in caves

The demolitions carried out by Israel since 2005 in the small village of Khirbet Tana, near Nablus, have forced hundreds of Palestinians to live in caves, lacking basic necessities.

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces use a metal detector to sweep the ground during an inspection of tents at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on Aug. 28, 2022, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp.

Senior US commander sounds alarm over Syria’s Islamic State prison camps

Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, the Army four-star general overseeing all American troops in the Middle East, went inside Syria's al-Hol Islamic State detainment camp Friday and spoke with residents. He says many can be sent home.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel capitalizes on deadlock in Iran nuclear talks

Hezbollah and the Lebanon-Israel gas talks; US-Israel friction over report on killing of Shireen Abu Akleh; Al-Monitor Pro webinar to feature UAE Minister of the Future Al-Roumi

Week in Review

By Week in Review

GENT SHKULLAKU/AFP via Getty Images

US sanctions Iran over cyberattack on Albania

The sanctions come after Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran following a July cyberattack ahead of a conference held by the Mujahedeen e-Khalq.

Washington Connection