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August 25, 2026

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Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent addresses the audience during opening remarks at the Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism at the State Department on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bessent spoke alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as they discussed the rise of far-left political terrorism as a transnational threat. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

In 'warning shot,' US threatens sanctions on Iran’s trading partners

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said countries were given "defined timelines" to halt business with Iran or face US sanctions.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Traders are awaiting details about new US measures sure to further disrupt Iranian oil flows.

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington.

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

Latest News

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

Win McNamee/Getty Images

China slams Trump over economic war on Iran: What to know

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian holds a press conference on Aug. 19, 2026.

Explainer

King Abdullah visits China as region hedges against US unpredictability

King Abdullah II arrives in Beijing, Aug. 20, 2026. Photo from Xinhua/Chen Yehua.

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 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

Ambassador Godec

US diplomat: 'There is an absence of political will’ in Nile River dam dispute

A State Department official told the Senate on Thursday that the Biden administration supports a "two-stage process" to diplomatically resolve the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.

US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to members of the media in the Senate Subway on April 29, 2021, in Washington, DC.

Sanders drops opposition to guided bombs sale to Israel

Progressives' push to block Israel arms sale falters amid Gaza cease-fire, procedural deadline.

Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Blinken visits Middle East to bolster Israel-Hamas cease-fire

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman this week for discussions on maintaining the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Yemeni tribesmen attend a rally denouncing the United States and the outgoing Trump administration's decision to apply the "terrorist" designation to the Iran-backed movement, in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 4, 2021.

Senate Democrats urge Biden to pressure Saudi Arabia over Yemen blockade tactics

The Senate letter called on President Joe Biden to use diplomatic and economic leverage to compel the Saudi-led coalition to lift restrictions on imports into Yemen.

Joe Biden

Biden pledges to rebuild Gaza, resupply Israel’s Iron Dome

Biden praises US role in bringing about the cease-fire.

Jim Risch

Top Republicans ask Biden to stand by recent US weapons sale to Israel.

Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a resolution to block the Biden administration's sale of precision weapons to Israel, prompting the top Republicans on the House and Senate foreign relations committees to respond.

Four 250-pound class GBU-39/B guided weapons are seen mounted on a USAF F-15E on Aug. 14, 2003, at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. GBU-39s are part of an arms package for Israel that some progressive Democrats are opposing.

House Democrats move to block Israel arms sale amid Gaza conflict

The gesture underscores a groundswell of opposition to Israel's policies among progressive lawmakers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he shows a slideshow during a briefing to ambassadors to Israel at the Hakirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 19, 2021. Netanyahu said today that Israel's aerial bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip was aimed at deterring Hamas, but he did not rule out conquering the enclave's Islamist rulers.

US expects 'significant de-escalation today,' Biden tells Netanyahu

As President Joe Biden appealed for calm, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there was no timeframe for ending the conflict with Hamas.

Israeli security forces deploy to disperse Palestinian protesters amid clashes near the settlement of Beit El and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 18, 2021.

House Democrats back away from delaying Israel arms sale amid Gaza conflict

The Biden administration will brief lawmakers on the proposed $735 million sale of JDAM guidance conversion kits and other weapons equipment.

Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system is launched to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, above the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, on May 17, 2021.

Senate unlikely to block arms sale to Israel amid Gaza conflict

The Biden administration aims to provide Israel with additional bomb guidance systems.

Israeli soldiers fire a 155 mm self-propelled Howitzer toward targets in the Gaza Strip from their position near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on May 12, 2021. Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz vowed more attacks on Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza to bring "total, long-term quiet" before considering a cease-fire.

Senate Democrats, one Republican call for Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire

The Biden administration has yet to explicitly call for a cease-fire in Israel and the Palestinian territories, resulting in criticism from his own party.

Palestinian journalists stand in shock following the destruction of Jala Tower, which was housing international press offices, by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on May 15, 2021. The Israeli airstrike demolished the 13-floor building housing Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and American news agency The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip.

Intel: Blinken hasn't personally seen evidence that Hamas used the building housing AP, Al Jazeera

Israel says the building was used by the Palestinian militant group, but it has not publicly provided any evidence to back up that claim.