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November 7, 2026

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US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks during a press conference

Explainer

Who will lead Congress? Democrats weigh Schumer alternatives, Jeffries bid

A number of contenders have emerged as challengers to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, including strong critics of the Iran war and US support to Israel.

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

Latest News

Feature

Emboldened Democrats gear up to challenge Trump over Iran war, Gulf business ties

A protest sign is seen near the White House the day after Election Day

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

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

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, the interior minister, arrives to a military parade in preparation for the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah. - RTX2O8NJ

How Washington, Riyadh can work together to counter terrorism

It would behoove Washington and Riyadh to take steps to reassure each other in the fight against terrorism.

A member of Libyan forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar holds a weapon as he sits on a car in front of the gate at Zueitina oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi, Libya September 14, 2016. Picture taken September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori - RTSNU2U

US strike rekindles debate over Trump plans for Libya

Barack Obama made a show of battling the Islamic State in conjunction with Tripoli's UN-backed unity government. Will the new president drop the GNA for an anti-Islamist strongman?

(First row From L) Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, French President Francois Hollande, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir pose for a family picture during the Mideast peace conference in Paris, France, January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/POOL TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSVNHB

After Paris — a Moscow conference on Mideast peace?

Palestinians are now developing a follow-up strategy to the Paris II conference, and are hoping for a Moscow conference in the near future.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAJX

US pastor in Turkish jail while Gulen dominates talks

Turkey’s prime minister has asked the US president-elect to hand over exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen in the interest of furthering US-Turkey relations even as Ankara continues to hold American pastor Andrew Brunson on terror charges.

Confusion over US presence at Astana Syria talks

A Russian invitation to the Trump transition team to send a representative to Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana Jan. 23 has caused confusion and revealed limited interactions between the incoming and outgoing US administrations.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on her nomination to be to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSW3K1

Trump's UN nominee reassures advocates of Iran deal, two-state solution

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley offered a measured counterpoint to Donald Trump's inflamed rhetoric during her confirmation hearing Jan. 18.

Turkish military vehicles drive in the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, as they head towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2Y60D

US backs Turkish offensive with airstrikes around al-Bab

After repeated appeals from Turkey for the United States to help Turkish troops and their rebel proxies to capture al-Bab, US airstrikes are resuming in a move that could help diffuse growing tensions between the NATO allies.

A man walks past the Trump Towers building in Istanbul on July 30, 2015. US billionaire Donald Trump handily leads all fellow Republicans in the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats trump him in head-to-head matchups, a poll said July 30. AFP PHOTO/ OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Why Ankara’s honeymoon with Trump may be short-lived

By blasting the Obama administration over Gulen and the Syrian Kurds, the Turkish government is signaling to the incoming Trump administration its demands for improved ties.

Family picture during the Mideast peace conference in Paris on January 15, 2017. Foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries are seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/POOL - RTSVMCD

What the world is telling Palestinians, Israelis and Trump

European diplomats believe the international attendance at the second Paris conference reflects broad support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iran President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a news conference in Rome, Italy, January 27, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi - RTX246ST

Rouhani: Nuclear deal renegotiation 'meaningless'

Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iranian hard-liners found a new target to attack: Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri. Meanwhile, President Rouhani dismisses a renegotiation of the nuclear deal, a point brought up by figures close to President-elect Trump, as “meaningless.”

People dine at a coffee shop as an image of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a monitor in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSCC

For Israel, more unknowns than knowns with Trump

The Israeli right and defense establishment have found it hard to determine with any certainty what direction US President-elect Donald Trump will take on policy.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG), operating alongside with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), sits inside a vehicle as she works on a laptop in the town of Hisha after the SDF took control of the area from Islamic State militants, in the northern Raqqa countryside, Syria November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2TNGJ

Turkey, US take Syrian Kurdish battle to Twittersphere

CENTCOM retweeting Syrian Kurds' denial of affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers Party has opened a new front in the battle between Turkey and the United States over US support for Syrian Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State.