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October 17, 2026

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Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

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

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump rules out US troops in Iran, leaves Pickaxe Mountain strike on the table

He did not dispute reports that the US military is weighing use of the "mother of all bombs."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 15, 2026.

Israeli president meets FM Wang Yi as reports link China to Iran’s military buildup

Israeli President Isaac Herzog held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed topics ranging from economic and cultural cooperation to regional security.

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan, Saudi national charged in bugging OpenAI meetings?

The Saudi national who was arrested for allegedly planting a covert listening device at OpenAI’s offices has extensive experience working at leading technology companies in the US and serves as a venture partner at a Saudi venture capital firm.

Latest News

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In bid to win over Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu may strike Yemen before elections

A giant electoral poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with the slogan "no surrender" is displayed on the facade of a building in Tel Aviv on Sept. 29, 2026

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

Trump offers Iran path to nuclear deal while keeping up military pressure

US President Donald Trump speaks at the "Golden Age of American Innovation Summit" at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Deal or war? Israel fears fallout from Trump’s next move on Iran

GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA - OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up an appearance at a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on October 05, 2026 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Trump is campaigning for incumbent U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Gov. Jim Pillen ahead of the November midterm elections. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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

Explainer

Rubio says Iran ‘lost’ Hormuz. Has it?

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Pnyx hill, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies, with the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis seen in the background, in Athens on October 7, 2026. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

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

This picture taken December 12, 2019 shows (L) a view of the exchange board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh displaying Aramco shares on the second day of their trading, along with a poster depicting Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz ibn Saud (C), his son and current King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R), and the latter's son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) on display. - Energy giant Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion as its share price surged again on its second da

Gulf oil exporters look past Biden’s green energy platform

The possible return of Iranian crude to global markets is a short-term concern for Gulf oil producers, which expect to be the last man standing in a decarbonizing world.

An eagle statue is seen placed on a Menorah sculpture donated by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP) dedicated to US President Donald Trump by the entrance to Trump Heights, an Israeli settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on September 21, 2020. - Twenty Jewish families are due to move to the remote spot by the end of November, with the aim of 20 families arriving each year for the next decade. Trump Heights, or "Ramat Trump" in Hebrew, was inaugurated in June 2019 by Pr

Netanyahu goes for broke in Trump's last two months

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still hoping to squeeze last-minute favors from outgoing US President Donald Trump at the expense of his relationship with the incoming administration.

The influential head of Lebanon's General Security apparatus, Abbas Ibrahim, is pictured during an interview at his office in the capital Beirut on July 22, 2020. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s intelligence chief visited Damascus amid efforts to free Austin Tice

Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim suggested efforts to secure the American journalist's release continued after Ibrahim visited Washington last month.

Intel: US to activate air defense batteries to test Israel's Iron Dome

Both Iron Domes are expected to arrive at Fort Bliss by January

US Vice President Joe Biden meets with General Lloyd Austin, the commander of United States Forces - Iraq (USF-I), and US ambassador in Iraq James Jeffrey at the US embassy upon the former's arrival at Baghdad on a surprise visit on November 29, 2011, during which he is due to meet top Iraqi officials, as American troops depart Iraq ahead of a year-end deadline. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden unlikely to turn back in Iraq

Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says Biden knows Iraq "as well or better than just about anyone."

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 22: James Jeffrey, State Department special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, waits for the beginning of a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 22, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on "Assessing the Impact of Turkey's Offensive in Northeast Syria." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

US threat to shutter Baghdad embassy 'ongoing,' says Syria envoy

Outgoing US Syria envoy James Jeffrey says the State Department's threats to close the US Embassy in Iraq is "very serious."

A picture taken on October 14, 2020 shows a general view of the Israeli settlement of Psagot on the eastern outskirts of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. - Israel approved 2,166 new homes in settlements across the occupied West Bank, official figures sent to AFP showed, ending an eight-month lull in settlement expansion. The approvals came less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel, which in return pledged to freeze its plans to annex

Pompeo reportedly to visit Israeli West Bank settlement

The US secretary of state is expected to make an unprecedented visit to Psagot, an Israeli settlement in what is globally recognized as Palestinian territory, on his current trip to the Middle East.

With Biden’s election, Israeli left relevant again

Now that Joe Biden has been elected as the next president of the United States, Israel’s political left feels revived.

How will US removal of Turkestan Islamic Party from terrorism list affect Syrian file?

The Turkestan Islamic Party, which is mainly made up of fighters from the Uighur minority in China and is one the largest non-Syrian fighting group in Idlib, has been removed from the US terrorist exclusion list.

How Biden will roll back Trump’s ‘America First’ legacy on foreign aid

Early foreign aid priorities for the new administration will include restoring aid to the Palestinians and potentially Yemen.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu is in Washington to participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords. (Photo by Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images)

Israeli settlers disappointed over Trump’s defeat, worry over Biden

Disappointed over the defeat of their friend, US President Donald Trump, West Bank settlers worry over the Biden administration.

Greece, Egypt expect Biden will be 'decisive' in Mediterranean dispute, Greek PM says

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' comments came as Turkey announced it was extending exploratory work in the contested waters.