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July 3, 2026

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Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026, in Muscat, Oman.

Oil falls below $71 as US-Iran talks continue, Gulf exports rebound

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in an X post on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had made "positive progress."

Latest News

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Explainer

Saudi FM concludes China visit amid Trump-MBS friction: What to know

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud before a family photo for the attendees of a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on November 20, 2023. The international community must take urgent action to stop the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Novembe

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via 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

Smoke rises from al-Bab city, northern Aleppo province, Syria October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2QLVW

What's at stake in Syria

Al-Bab is the current focal point of complicated, interwoven developments unfolding in northern Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey speaks with his Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) during the 71st United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S. September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTSOLUH

Should Ankara be optimistic about relations with Trump?

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has expressed optimism about improved US-Turkish relations during a Trump administration.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Jerusalem July 10, 2016 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSH5M1

Will Trump bring Egypt, Israel closer?

Observers wait to see what role, if any, the Trump administration might play in a rapprochement between Israel and Egypt.

Saudi-Egypt crisis leaves Israel concerned

Two arms deals recently inked by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has Israel baffled and worried.

A Russian soldier walks to a military vehicle in goverment controlled Hanono housing district in Aleppo, Syria December 4, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTSULL1

Erdogan’s Syria policy hits dead end in Aleppo

Ankara anticipates worst-case scenario as Syrian government forces appear close to victory in decisive battle.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sits at a table for dinner with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) and his choice for White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (L) at Jean-Georges at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York, U.S., November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTSTX8X

Drama surrounds Trump transition

The spectacle of President-elect Donald Trump picking his Cabinet has turned into America's next reality TV program.

Syria Democratic Forces and Free Syrian Army fighters gesture on the back of pick-up trucks in a village on the outskirts of al-Shadadi town, Hasaka countryside, Syria February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX27SJG

Congress authorizes Trump to arm Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft missiles

The House passed a defense bill that conditionally allows the provision of MANPADs to anti-Syrian regime forces.

Syrians walk over rubble of damaged buildings, while carrying their belongings, as they flee clashes between government forces and rebels in Tariq al-Bab and al-Sakhour neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo towards other rebel held besieged areas of Aleppo, Syria November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTSTOFV

What would fall of Aleppo mean for US Syria policy?

If the Syrian regime’s campaign to retake eastern Aleppo succeeds, it could have a profound impact on the incoming US administration’s Syria plans.

Turkish army tanks and military personal are stationed in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2MYL0

Is Turkey all talk, or will it split from the West, NATO?

Ankara is sending out plenty of signals that it might leave the West and head east toward Russia and China.

A Syrian government soldier gestures a v-sign under the Syrian national flag near a general view of eastern Aleppo after they took control of al-Sakhour neigbourhood in Aleppo, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 28, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. - RTSTSGY

Why Aleppo’s fall will be a game-changer for Turkey

The recapture of Aleppo by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces could turn the tables on Turkey.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RTX2B9VC

Kerry urges Senate Democrats to back off Iran sanctions renewal

The US secretary of state is on a mission to protect President Barack Obama's foreign policy legacy — and his own.

Men ride motorbikes past a Turkish armored carrier in the northern Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSQWHY

Erdogan comes face to face with US, Russia in Syria

Turkey may have gone into Syria to push back Syrian Kurds, but it now finds itself confronting both Russia and the United States.