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Politics & Security

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Analysis

As Pakistan military chief holds Iran talks, Israel's Netanyahu fears being left out

US President Donald Trump's comment that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would do "whatever I want” is troubling the premier's inner circle ahead of the elections in October.

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

This photograph taken during a press tour organised by the Lebanese army shows Lebanese soldiers standing atop military vehicles in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2025.

Lebanon’s military hits back at US sanctions, says loyalty 'solely to the nation'

Lebanon’s army and General Security stressed that their members remain loyal state institutions, responding to US sanctions that for the first time targeted security officers for alleged ties to Hezbollah.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Ireland joins EU push to ban trade with Israeli settlements amid flotilla backlash

European frustration with Israel intensified this week after a far-right Israeli minister posted a video of the mistreatment of international activists detained in the country.

This handout photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on April 25, 2026 shows Pakistan's Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (R) meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Islamabad. US envoys headed to the Pakistani capital on April 25 in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran amid a fragile ceasefire, though the prospect of direct talks remained uncertain. (Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry / AFP via Getty Images) / XGTY / RESTRICTED TO E

Live Updates

Iran talks see momentum as Pakistani officials visit Tehran

Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, has reportedly departed for the Iranian capital, while Doha dispatched a diplomatic team.

Latest News

In first, US sanctions Lebanon military, intel officials for aiding Hezbollah

Israeli soldiers react after taking cover near the Israel-Lebanon border following a Hezbollah drone attack that hit the northern border on May 19, 2026. The Israeli military on May 19 warned residents of 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah, the latest despite a ceasefire. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

US, Iran trade mixed signals on enriched uranium as Tehran weighs response

Iranians drive next to a billboard displaying pictures of nuclear scientists, centrifuges and a sentence reading in Farsi " Science is the power," at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on Aug. 29, 2025.

Feature

With sanctions off, what’s keeping Syria on US terror blacklist?

TOPSHOT - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City on September 22, 2025. (Photo by Bing Guan / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Israel targets Turkey charity amid Gaza flotilla tensions

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

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

A woman walks past a deactivated Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran's Bahrestan Square on Sept. 27, 2025, as part of an exhibit to mark the "Sacred Defense Week" commemorating the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

US targets Iran's military tech with sanctions after allies trigger snapback

New sanctions aim to increase pressure on Iran to restrict the IRGC’s relentless development of ballistic missiles and military aircraft, but risk pushing Tehran further into the orbits of Russia and China.

An activist waves the Palestinian flag as a boat carrying Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and activists.

Israeli navy begins intercepting Gaza-bound international aid flotilla

The Israeli Navy has begun its operation against an international Gaza flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies to the enclave.

A photo taken during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport shows staff loading cargo onto a plane at Beirut's international airport on June 24, 2024.

Lebanon seizes $1.5M in cocaine at Beirut airport: What to know

The country has recently stepped up its fight against drug trafficking, seizing large amounts of cocaine at ports and airports and targeting Captagon production.

US President Donald J. Trump speaks with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as he departs the Al Udeid Air Base for Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar.

Trump signs order to ‘guarantee’ Qatar’s security after Israel strikes

New executive order appeared to go beyond existing US agreements with other Gulf states, enjoining Washington to take “all lawful and appropriate measures” — to include military action — to defend Qatar from external attack.

RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

US troop drawdown in Syria on hold over regime stability concerns

While American troops in Iraq hand over operations against the Islamic State to Baghdad's forces, the parallel drawdown in neighboring Syria has been halted amid concerns about the abilities of the new Islamist-led government in Damascus.

Jared Szuba

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

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MAY 30: A U.S. Army soldier looks onto Baghdad from a guardhouse on the perimeter of the International Zone on May 30, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq. Coalition forces based in Baghdad's International Zone are part of the U.S.-led Military Advisor Group of 13 nations supporting the Iraqi Security Forces. The United States currently maintains 2,500 military personnel in Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Alpha Company 769th brigade Engineer Battalion, Louisiana National Guard is providing for

US troops in Iraq shift to Erbil to focus on ISIS in Syria

The US mission against the Islamic State is relocating its headquarters and most of its troops from Baghdad to Erbil as the prime minister's coalition faces reelection in November.

Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on Aug. 30, 2022.

Iraqi cleric Sadr says he is ready for ‘escalation’ as tensions heat up ahead of elections

Muqtada al-Sadr has reaffirmed his intention to boycott the November elections following an alleged assassination attempt against him, leaving the country's political future uncertain.

The al-Ruya Tower in Gaza City's Rimal area collapses amidst smoke after Israeli bombardment, on September 8, 2025, following Israel's announcement that it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its forces' planned conquest of the urban hub. Israel has been warning for weeks of a new assault on the territory's largest city, without issuing a timeline. It has stepped up air strikes and ground operations on the city's outskirts, sparking fears it could worsen already dire condi

Hamas faces red line in Trump's take-it-or-leave-it Gaza plan

The clock is ticking for Hamas to respond to a deal that would require its disarmament in exchange for an end to the war.

Activists and human rights defenders ride aboard a vessel departing from Tunisia's northern port of Bizerte on Sept. 14, 2025.

Turkey vows to support Gaza-bound flotilla, defying Israeli warnings

The Turkish Defense Ministry said its navy vessels and rescue units in the Eastern Mediterranean were monitoring the flotilla and would provide search-and-rescue support if needed.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Trump offers Netanyahu cover as Israel's far right recoils at Gaza peace plan

The latest peace plan for Gaza offers something previous ones lacked: a way for the Israeli prime minister to save face.

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