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October 18, 2026

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shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

The country's last barrels of crude stockpiled beyond the reach of a US naval blockade fell to zero in October, raising the stakes for Tehran amid mounting economic distress.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.

Window for diplomacy with Iran may be closing as Trump again threatens Pickaxe Mountain

Israel still wary of Damascus, writes Ben Caspit from Israel; our correspondent in Tehran and Amberin Zaman explain how Iran and Turkey look to exploit Azerbaijan’s headscarf controversy; Qatar’s top diplomat offers energy assistance to Lebanon, Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.

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."

Latest News

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

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.

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

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Exclusive

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.

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

The platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea which started production today is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal city of Dor on December 31, 2019. - Israel's offshore Leviathan field started pumping gas today in what the operating consortium called "a historic turning point in the history of the Israeli economy."
A joint statement from partners Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, and Ratio said that the start of production was expected to lead to an immediate reduction in dome

Major US energy deal could shake up Israeli gas fields

Chevron acquisition of the American company Noble Energy could affect gas drilling in the Israeli Tamar and Leviathan fields.

Engel is out — will the new foreign affairs chairman upend his Mideast policies?

Three House Democrats are vying to replace Eliot Engel as the party’s new foreign affairs leader — will they actually change his Middle East policies?

Kafule Yigzaw (L) check iron bars at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a 145-metre-high, 1.8-kilometre-long concrete colossus is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa.
Across Ethiopia, poor farmers and rich businessmen alike eagerly await the more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity officials say it will ultimately provide.
Yet as thousands of workers toil day and night to finish the project, Ethiop

Is diplomacy running out on Egypt-Ethiopia dispute over Nile dam?

The African Union, the UN Security Council and the Trump administration may be last best bets to stave off an Egypt-Ethiopia war.

Coronavirus likely to delay Pentagon war games in Mideast to 2021

Mideast war exercises planned for this year are likely to be delayed until 2021, and other war games scheduled for next year may be delayed until 2022.

Intel: Pro-Palestinian progressive insurgent ousts House Foreign Affairs chairman

Pro-Palestinian progressive insurgent Jamaal Bowman ousted House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel in the New York Democratic primary, according to an Associated Press call of the today. While Engel has been trailing behind Bowman since the election was held last month, the counting of mail-in ballots has delayed the final results.

Intel: Pompeo thanks Qatar for facilitating Afghanistan peace talks

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for agreeing to host peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Intel: White House sympathizes with France in Libya row with Turkey

White House National Security adviser Robert O’Brien on Wednesday expressed sympathy for France’s account of events in a Mediterranean naval standoff with Turkey last month over a Libyan arms smuggling allegation.

Intel: Democrats advance legislation to restrict Trump’s Middle East war powers

House Democrats advanced three provisions today that would broadly curtail President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct offensive military action across the Middle East — and the world — should they become law as part of the annual defense spending bill.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 24: Israelis hold flags and signs as they protest against Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on May 24, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. The prime minister, who strongly denies the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, was recently sworn in to office at the head of a national unity government formed with his opponent Benny Gantz. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Netanyahu's annexation plan turning into fiasco

With the Americans losing interest and on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, the West Bank annexation plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to turn into his greatest diplomatic fiasco.

Intel: US CENTCOM commander meets with head of Syria’s Kurdish forces

The head of Syria’s Kurdish-led militias said he met today with the top commander of US forces in the Middle East, Gen. Frank McKenzie, in northeast Syria.

Intel: Turkey lashes out at new US support for Cyprus

Turkey is lashing out at the United States as Washington moves closer to providing Cyprus with military aid as the disputed island nation develops closer energy ties with Israel.

Intel: US lawmakers tussle over key condition on restoring Palestinian aid

Democrats and Republicans clashed today over a newly proposed restriction on Palestinian assistance in this year’s foreign aid spending bill — the latest chapter in the struggle to resume economic support for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.