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August 5, 2026

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DETROIT, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 01: Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks after a radio appearance on Dr. Horace Sheffield's GOTV Community Rally on August 01, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. El-Sayed currently holds a 15-point lead against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) according to a recent poll. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: August 5, 2026, 11:09 am

Abdul el-Sayed becomes first Muslim-American to win Michigan senate primary

Sayed made supporting Palestinians and criticism of Israel and the Iran war a big part of his campaign, and he has not explicitly endorsed democratic socialism like other progressives in the Democratic Party.

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport on Aug. 2, 2026 in Morristown, New Jersey.

Trump’s strategy on Iran may pay off as deal appears imminent

Through far-sighted diplomacy and a durable new regional architecture, Trump has cornered Iran between alignment and atrophy — and a deal may now be imminent.

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza double game: Back Trump, reassure Israel’s right

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to both give the impression that Israel retains total freedom of action in Gaza while allowing the Board of Peace to move ahead with President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

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

Latest News

Analysis

Another US-Iran truce, same Hormuz standoff: What comes next

TOPSHOT - This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026. Iran launched attacks on US sites in the Gulf in response to American strikes on the country, state media said on June 27, after Washington accused Tehran of attacking one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The trading of fire raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that beg

By Rosaleen Carroll

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

Analysis

Lacking leverage over Trump, Israel stays quiet on US-Iran talks

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US military options narrow as Trump calls off Iran strikes: What to know

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.

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

A Syrian boy holds the Iranian flag as a truck carrying aid provided by Iran arrives in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on September 20, 2017 while Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across the province.
Two separate offensives are under way against the jihadists in the area -- one by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the other by Russian-backed government forces. The Syrian army now controls around 70 percent

Did Israel nix Russian deal on Iran-backed forces in Syria?

Putin intensifies diplomacy with Israel and Turkey, as Iran adjusts its Syria policy after Helsinki; Damascus and Syrian Kurds keep talking; Al-Monitor breaks story on costs of US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Iranian Communications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi exchange documents during a signing ceremony after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev - D1BETSIUABAB

Is Russia a better fit than the EU to help relieve Iran from sanctions?

While Iran would prefer EU help when it comes to relief from US sanctions, Moscow might be better suited to this role than Europeans.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Not Pictured) as ranking member Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron Bernstein - RC1E51F466C0

Washington ratchets up sanctions threats against Turkey

President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on the same day the Senate advanced a bill restricting Turkey’s access to financial assistance.

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Turkeyís President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. Tatyana Zenkovich/Pool via REUTERS - RC1B9A3C2D00

Trump lashes out at Erdogan, threatens sanctions over Brunson

The strain between Turkey and the United States hits another high point as the US president threatened Ankara with "large sanctions" if it does not free detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, General Qassem Suleimani, attends celebrations marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2016 in Tehran.

Iranians waved "Death to America" banners and took selfies with a ballistic missile as they marked 37 years since the Islamic revolution, weeks after Iran finalised a nuclear deal with world powers.
/ AFP / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's Soleimani continues war of words with Trump

The head of Iran’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, responded to President Donald Trump’s tweet threatening Iran.

GettyImages-996920282-(11).jpg

Iran maneuvers to protect its interests in Syria

Iran’s strategy on Syria enters a more proactive phase as the Islamic Republic maneuvers to keep its interests, including its partnership with Russia, intact.

US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. - Turkey on July 15, 2018 moved from jail to house arrest US pastor Andrew Brunson who has spent almost two years imprisoned on terror-related charges, in a controversial case that has ratcheted up tensions with the United States. Andrew Brunson, who ran a protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was first detained in October 2016 and had remained in prison in Turkey ever si

What prompted Turkey to move US pastor from prison to house arrest?

The United States must determine what best motivates Turkey when it comes to foreign policy and diplomacy: the carrot or the stick.

A prisoner transport vehicle leaves after the trial of US Pastor Andrew Brunson who is datainined in Turkey for over a year on Terror charges, in Aliaga, north of Izmir, on July 18, 2018. - Andrew Brunson, head of a small Protestant church in the western city of Izmir, has been in detention since October 2016. Turkish prosecutors accuse Brunson of links to a group led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a failed 2016 coup -- and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (Phot

US pastor granted transfer to house arrest by Turkish court

American pastor Andrew Brunson has won a long-awaited move from prison to house arrest from the Turkish court, which credited "health issues" for its reversal.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JULY 11: US President Donald Trump walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the 2018 NATO Summit at NATO headquarters on July 11, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Leaders from NATO member and partner states are meeting for a two-day summit, which is being overshadowed by strong demands by U.S. President Trump for most NATO member countries to spend more on defense. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Friction with US may affect Turkey's trajectory in NATO

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shared a fist bump in Brussels, but a figurative fistfight continues between Congress and Ankara.

People check damage at the site of an air strike in Amran, Yemen June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1520F24B70

UAE talks up diplomacy as Congress curtails US involvement in Yemen war

Emirati officials are taking to Capitol Hill to say they’re giving the UN-brokered peace in Yemen a shot, but their patience is running out.

Detained pastor case casting large shadow over Turkish-US ties

Complex criminal cases with political overtones makes the case of the American pastor Andrew Brunson more difficult to resolve than it might have been otherwise.

Khamenei adviser’s Moscow visit stirs foreign policy debate in Iran

The lack of transparency surrounding Ayatollah Khamenei’s foreign policy adviser’s recent trip to Russia, including his announcement of a major deal for Russian investment, has caused heated debate among Iranians.