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August 27, 2026

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Demonstrations in Tehran, Iran

Analysis

How Iran is readying for economic protests as Trump escalates pressure

Iranian authorities are bracing for unrest as US pressure collides with a battered economy, fuel price indecision and fresh memories of bloodshed.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump arrives at Myrtle Beach International Airport on Aug. 21, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Trump says Hormuz mine-free as Iran, Oman agree to clear them

The US president again says Hormuz is clear of mines as Iran and Oman announce their plan to clear the strait.

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

China warns US not to interfere with Iran trade: What to know

China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing was firmly opposed to what it called “illegal unilateral sanctions” and would take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its rights.

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Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

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)

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

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

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)

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

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Analysis

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

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)

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

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

U.S. troops patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria, November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1F4F72F170

What does US-Turkey military deal really entail?

Turkish incursion into Syria thwarted: Washington said “no” and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan bowed.

Kurdish members of the Self-Defense Forces stand near the Syrian-Turkish border in the Syrian city of al-Derbasiyah during a protest against the operations launched in Turkey by government security forces against the Kurds, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - GF10000302386

Intel: Why military confrontation between Turkey, Kurds in Syria might be good news for Russia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s repeated threats to attack Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria depend on Ankara’s ability to meet certain conditions if they’re to become reality.

Fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn (L), amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (C), and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe transit the Arabian Gulf, according to the U.S. Navy in this picture released on July 24, 2019. Kyle Carlstrom/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS- THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1A0335D650

Zarif says foreign ships making Gulf 'less safe'

Iranian officials continue to push back against the naval presence of the United States and United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf.

Lacrosse is taking Israel by storm

Israel's women's national lacrosse team, founded eight years ago, has already left its mark on international competitions by beating countries with long history of lacrosse.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands during a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1DDD25D480

Deciphering cryptic safe-zone deal between Turkey, US

Details are emerging of a safe-zone road map between the United States and Turkey in Syria.

TOPSHOT - A fighter of the Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) flashes the victory gesture while carrying a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher during the advance through the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, after the Iraqi government announced the launch of the operation to retake it from Islamic State (IS) group control, on August 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

As US pressure increases on Iran-backed militias, they turn to Iran

Iran-backed PMU factions are under intense pressure from the Iraqi government and the public, leading them to Iran.

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani as Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif (3rd R) and other members of the Iranian delegation stand next to them during an official meeting at the Millennium Hotel near the United Nations on September 18, 2017, in New York. / AFP PHOTO / LUDOVIC MARIN (Photo credit should read LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Rebuking Trump, French FM defends Iran mediation efforts

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian directly rebukes Trump and insists France will continue "mediation efforts" with Iran "to avert a wider conflict."

A Tunisian soldier holds his position during an exercise along the frontier with Libya in Sabkeht Alyun, Tunisia February 6, 2016. Tunisia has completed a 200-km (125 mile) barrier along its frontier with Libya to try to keep out Islamist militants, and will soon install electronic monitoring systems, Defence Minister Farhat Hachani said on Saturday. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - GF10000298826

Army failure to prepare training could impact North Africa efforts

The Pentagon failed to properly prepare US Army troops in Africa to train foreign partner forces, a declassified inspector general investigation has found.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1EB24996A0

Why Egypt matters — maybe more than ever

The US-Egyptian partnership deepens in Sinai, but human rights issues won’t go away.

Policemen stand atop military armored vehicles after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - LR1EC7G0KXRL2

How 2016 coup attempt led Turkey to buy Russian air defenses

Turkey’s purchase of Russian air defense systems comes as part of Ankara’s efforts to obtain security and reassurance from Russia against the United States, which, it believes, was behind the 2016 coup attempt.

Why Moscow is ignoring US cyberattacks on Iran

Despite Russia's partnership with Iran, Moscow turns a blind eye to American cyberattacks on key Iranian targets.

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on August 08, 2019, shows armoured vehicles of the US-led coalition driving in the town of Ras al-Ain in Syria's Hasakeh province near the Turkish border on July 28, 2019, and a convoy of Turkish armoured vehicles driving towards Bab al-Hawa crossing point between Syria and Turkey on a highway in the northern countryside of the Syrian province of Idlib on June 20, 2019. - A top Syrian Kurdish official gave a guarded welcome Thursday to a US-Turkish agreement to e

Turkey, US agree to coordinate on Syrian buffer zone

A deal to jointly control a strip of territory now held by Syrian Kurds could reduce friction between Turkey and the United States after Ankara threatened a unilateral military intervention, but some human rights advocates say Turkey will use it to put Syrian refugees back in harm's way.