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Politics & Security

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Caught in the middle, Oman shrugs off Trump's latest Iran threat

For the second time in months, President Donald Trump has threatened to strike the US partner as it holds talks with Iran.

MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Houthis claim new strikes on Saudi Arabia after IRGC warning: What to know

A senior Iranian commander said Saudi Arabia will be unable to the defeat the Yemeni group as the conflict intensifies.

Burhaanettin Duran

Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

The Turkish president’s top communications aide says Ankara will not be drawn into the Israeli government's “games” as Washington pushes a Turkey-Israel-Syria deconfliction mechanism.

Latest News

Syria’s FM pays Pakistan first visit in 19 years amid new regional alignments

Islamabad

Australia summons Israeli ambassador over World Central Kitchen strike: What to know

Zomi Frankcom

Interview

Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks

Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, gives a press conference in the autonomous region's capital Arbil on June 25, 2025.

Masrour Barzani

Masrour Barzani

KRG Prime Minister

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

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran sanctions BBC Persian

The Islamic Republic has been lashing out at London-based Iranian news outlets for their coverage of the anti-government protests in Iran.

Kyiv

Ukraine pressures Israel to supply weapons, cites Iranian threat

With reports of Iran supplying Russia with attack drones, Israel is finding it increasingly difficult to reject Ukraine’s pleas for defensive weaponry.

A general shot taken on June 30, 2015, shows a neighborhood in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Syrian government retaliates for killing of soldiers by Islamic State

The Syrian government and Russia accused the Islamic State of blowing up a troop bus of the Syrian army’s Fourth Division in its main headquarters near Damascus.

AFP via Getty Images

Russian referendums strain Egypt-Ukraine ties

Egypt denies sending observers to monitor the Russian referendums on illegally annexing four regions in Ukraine.

Iran ukraine drones

Analysis

The Takeaway: Iranian drones in Ukraine send message to West

Closer Iran-Russia ties are another thing to worry about; Israel won't send missile defenses to Ukraine; Lebanon-Israel agreement still needs details filled in; and why the region may need nuclear energy to meet climate goals.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti

drone attack

US military eyes counter-drone experimentation in Saudi Arabia

US Central Command is moving ahead with plans to help enable shared air and missile defense across the Middle East.

A Tunisian prostitute works in a brothel in the district of Abdallah Guech in Tunis on Feb. 19, 2011.

Tunisia's sex workers want their brothels back

The crackdown on legal brothels in Tunisia puts its sex workers at risk of further harm.

HDP MP Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu holds a photograph depicting censorship.

Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, writers reject Turkey’s new 'censorship' bill

Turkey’s main opposition has taken the newly enacted bill to the Constitutional Court for annulment, while Erdogan described the law he swiftly ratified as “a pressing necessity.”

Iron Dome

Israel won’t supply Ukraine with missile-defense systems

Defense Minister Benny Gantz continues to refuse requests by Kyiv to supply Ukraine with the Israel-US-developed Iron Dome or other anti-missile systems.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi authorities find nearly 4 million amphetamine pills hidden in peppers

One recent think tank report suggested Saudi Arabia needs to focus more on curtailing demand for such drugs among its population.

Israeli soldiers search an area for Palestinian assailants who fled after they carried out an attack on an Israeli checkpoint with an explosive device and gunfire, in the village of Till, near Nablus, West Bank, Oct. 16, 2022.

Israel resorts to besieging West Bank cities as tensions mount

Israel is implementing a policy of besieging the West Bank cities and towns, as resistance operations are increasing and expanding across the West Bank.

ERdogan Flake

US dismisses Turkish criticism of imbalance in Mediterranean

The US ambassador to Turkey stated that America is focusing on the Russian invasion of Ukraine amid simmering tensions between Turkey and Greece.