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July 31, 2026

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This aerial photo shows a tanker unloading imported crude oil at a terminal port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 25, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images) / China OUT

China cuts deal with Houthis, adjusts for long US war with Iran

China is cutting its own deals and gaining wartime leverage as the Trump administration scrambles to contain the war and reopen Hormuz.

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade marking the ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21, 2023.

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia to announce Red Sea coalition to counter Houthi threats

Around 50 countries have been invited to join the Saudi-led initiative aimed at countering Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping and preventing a repeat of recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Amberin Zaman

Jared Szuba

By Amberin Zaman , Jared Szuba

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Katz riles Iran, US as Netanyahu-Trump meeting raises questions

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to settle for a brief meeting with President Donald Trump, while his defense minister, Israel Katz, appeared intent on provoking Iran by publicly disclosing sensitive intelligence.

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

Latest News

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Trump Netanyahu

Trump says Iran seeks talks after strikes halted

US President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a bilateral meeting with President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office of the White House on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

Israeli Air Force F-35 flies during an aerial demonstration at a graduation ceremony for Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim air base in southern Israel December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1B826A4350

Tinderbox: Israeli military attacks in Iraq could complicate US strategy in Middle East

Washington may need to draw some red lines to protect its larger regional interests.

Netanyahu prepares for elections, makes diplomatic push

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that supporting US President Donald Trump’s "deal of the century" by granting Palestinians 715 construction permits could help him ahead of the elections and for the composition of a future government.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is seen before meeting with Oman's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah (not pictured) in Tehran, Iran July 27, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC170D699600

Iranians unite to condemn sanctions on Zarif

Iranian officials from opposing political sides have united in defense of the country’s foreign minister, the latest target of US sanctions.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a rally marking al-Quds Day, (Jerusalem Day) in Beirut, Lebanon May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC196CD3C190

Why US sanctions won’t affect Hezbollah’s popular support

US sanctions on the Lebanese Hezbollah group appear to have affected the party’s various wings financially, including the construction association known as Jihad al-Binaa, but popular support and projects are still going strong.

Deadly school bus airstrike haunts Yemenis 1 year later

Younis Qatabri was severely injured in the school bus bombing in August 2018 in Yemen, and a year later he remains in pain and cannot walk unaided.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif talks to the media during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Coordinating Bureau in Caracas, Venezuela July 20, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero - RC197678EF30

US blacklists Iranian foreign minister

After the United States placed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, White House officials told the media that he was merely a propaganda chief not worth negotiating with; experts, however, said Zarif was an effective messenger for the Islamic Republic.

Military forces are seen in North Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Picture taken December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC158CDC6DE0

Pentagon pushes Egypt to fight counterinsurgency campaign in Sinai

The Pentagon used a visit by Egypt’s defense minister to push the US ally into a counterinsurgency-style approach to the fight against terror groups in the Sinai desert.

Israel, Egypt strengthen energy ties

Strengthening ties in the field of energy between Israel and Egypt is a clear interest for both countries, but no less a significant American interest as well.

Syria’s Kurds feel brunt of Turkish-US crisis

Turkey is sending military reinforcements to its border with Syria after two missiles were recently launched from Syria toward a border city, portending an imminent Turkish offensive in the area.

Colony Capital CEO Tom Barrack speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - HT1EC7M04VDBL

Intel: Democrats double down on probe into Trump’s Saudi nuclear dealings

House Democrats on Tuesday shed more light on a years-long lobbying campaign in which Saudi Arabia and the US nuclear industry worked with some of President Donald Trump’s key allies to secure a favorable civil nuclear agreement.

Israel, US, Iran prepare for out-of-the-atmosphere battle

Israel and the United States are together developing super-technologies that enable missiles to hit other missiles out of the atmosphere.

Turkish soldiers ride on a military vehicle in the center of Afrin, Syria March 24, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1B6933DB00

Can Syrian Kurds’ offer unlock door to compromise with Turkey?

The Syrian Kurds have offered Turkey a 5-kilometer-deep buffer zone that would see the pullout of Kurdish forces and heavy weaponry, without seeking the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Afrin, but only that of aligned militia.