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August 25, 2026

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

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

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.

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

AT SEA - JANUARY 18: A U.S. Navy helicopter descends to land on the flight deck of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) aircraft carrier while at sea on January 18, 2020 off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The USS Nimitz is currently conducting routine operations and training at sea. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier holds a flight deck area of 4.5 acres and can hold 65 aircraft along with nearly 5,000 total personnel. It is the oldest U.S. Navy carrier in active service and was commissioned on May 3, 1975. (Ph

In reversal, Pentagon orders aircraft carrier to remain in Middle East to deter Iran

The acting US defense secretary cited Iranian leaders' threats against President Donald Trump and other US officials in the order for the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to remain in the Middle East.

US again sends B-52 bombers to deter Iran as tensions peak

The deployment is the third flight of nuclear-capable Stratofortresses to the region in less than two months

Turkish Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gives a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart following their meeting in Ankara, on December 8, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

State Department denies forming group with Turkey on CAATSA sanctions

After Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed that Ankara and the Washington were setting up a working group on US sanctions on Turkey, a State Department spokesperson denied the existence of any such body.

Rouhani: Iran reserves right to avenge Soleimani death

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will avenge the US assassination of its top commander Qasem Soleimani and will continue to seek the ouster of American forces from the region.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: President Donald Trump (R) holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office at the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Trump administration pushes last-minute arms deals to Middle East

The move to go forward with a proposed $290 million sale of precision-guided bombs for Saudi Arabia comes just weeks before the Biden administration arrives.

Syria’s Kurdish-led administration calls on Biden for political recognition

SDF commander Mazlum Kobane told Al-Monitor last month he hopes the Biden administration will double the US troop presence in northeast Syria.

Pro-Israel group criticizes Georgia Senate candidate for past sermon

Christians United for Israel slammed Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock over a 2018 sermon he gave on the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, but others have defended the candidate for a US Senate seat.

On June 14th, 2016 Ambassador Dan Shapiro and Ms. Julie Fisher hosted the US Embassy’s annual shared society and interfaith Iftar welcoming leaders from all faiths and diverse Arab and Jewish communities in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan. With a message of partnership and tolerance, religious and community leaders, educators and youth groups, along with Egyptian and Jordanian friends, all gathered to dine for a Tuesday evening Iftar meal at Ambassador’s residence in Herzliya Pituach . Ambassador

US ambassador's residence in Tel Aviv sold for $67 million

The State Department has not acknowledged the buyer, reported to be Trump ally and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

This picture taken early on November 19, 2020, shows a projection on the Louvre Museum in Paris by Amnesty International members depicting jailed Saudi human rights activists including Loujain Al-Athloul (C) and reading "Mr Macron, demand their release", ahead of the upcoming virtual G20 summit. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s national security adviser criticizes Saudi Arabia for jailing women’s rights activist

Jake Sullivan called the sentencing of activist Loujain al-Hathloul "troubling."

A picture taken on November 22, 2016 shows an Israeli army Dolphin-class submarine sailing at Israel's Naval port in the Mediterranean city of Haifa. / AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli, American submarine activity suggests show of force against Iran

Israel reportedly dispatched a submarine to the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in what has been taken as a clear warning to Iran not to escalate tensions at this sensitive time of transition.

Lebanese men watch the head of the country's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah during a televised speech, at a coffee shop in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, on August 30, 2020, on the tenth day of the month of Muharram which marks the peak of Ashura. - Ashura is a 10-day period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Ge

Nasrallah says Hezbollah would not be part of Iran nuclear talks

The Shiite party's leader also said Hezbollah has doubled its missile supplies.

A Russian Mil Mi-17 military helicopter flies by a soldier during a joint Russian-Turkish patrol convoy in the eastern countryside of the town of Darbasiyah near the border with Turkey in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on December 7, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey sticks to its guns on Russian S-400s despite US sanctions

Voices are growing louder in Turkey questioning why these systems were ever purchased, considering the headaches they have caused for Ankara.