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August 25, 2026

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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)

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

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said countries were given "defined timelines" to halt business with Iran or face US sanctions.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

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

Traders are awaiting details about new US measures sure to further disrupt Iranian oil flows.

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)

Analysis

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

Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington.

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

Latest News

Caught in the middle, Oman shrugs off Trump's latest Iran threat

Win McNamee/Getty Images

China slams Trump over economic war on Iran: What to know

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian holds a press conference on Aug. 19, 2026.

Explainer

King Abdullah visits China as region hedges against US unpredictability

King Abdullah II arrives in Beijing, Aug. 20, 2026. Photo from Xinhua/Chen Yehua.

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 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

Iraqi Ambassador to the US Lukman Faily looks on during a ceremony to repatriate more than 60 Iraqi cultural items which had been smuggled into the US at the Iraqi consulate in Washington, DC, on March 16, 2015. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi envoy quit over failure to prevent IS 'tragedies'

Ambassador Lukman Faily bemoans missed opportunities to head off the Islamic State early on and elaborates on his post-diplomatic plans in an exit interview with Al-Monitor.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval office of the White House in Washington November 9, 2015. The two leaders meet here today for the first time since the Israeli leader lost his battle against the Iran nuclear deal, with Washington seeking his re-commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTS66FE

Can Israel close US aid deal before US elections?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being pressured by his associates and the security system to conclude the US security aid deal with the current administration.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan arrives for the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 9, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - RTSH1FO

Will Turkey be expelled from NATO?

Suggestions that Ankara is endangering its membership in the Western alliance ring hollow given what is transpiring around Turkey today.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian students hold up their hands as a sign of unity as they form a human chain around the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) to show their support for Iran's nuclear program in Isfahan, 450 km (280 miles) south of Tehran November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY EDUCATION) - RTR2U1ID

Rouhani’s bet on nuke deal may cost him at the polls

One year out from their country's next presidential election, Iranians are wondering whether incumbent Hassan Rouhani will pay a price for striking a nuclear deal with the United States — and whether the US presidential battle will play a role.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTSIEMM

Erdogan's crackdown on enemies just getting started after failed coup

Is the Turkish military "infested" with Gulenists? Iran expects shift in Turkey’s Syria policies after standing by Erdogan; Turkish documents detail Islamic State operations.

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr (C) is seen during a protest against corruption at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTSI25C

Will Sadrists target US troops in Iraq?

As the United States announced it would send an extra 560 troops to Iraq to participate in the battle to liberate Mosul from Islamic State control, Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militias threatened to target them.

Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump formally accepts the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni - RTSJ4UP

US election 2016: Trump seals the deal

Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of July 18.

Iraqi security forces wait for vehicles travelling to Mosul to fight against militants of Islamic State at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad, February 21, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad/File Photo - RTSIUAD

Planning for the 'day after' Mosul

As preparations advance to retake Mosul from IS, defense and foreign ministers from some 30 nations met in Washington to plan how to provide humanitarian relief and services for hundreds of thousands of people expected to be displaced.

Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania September 24, 2013. Born in Erzurum, eastern Turkey, Gulen built up his reputation as a Muslim preacher with intense sermons that often moved him to tears. From his base in Izmir, he toured Turkey stressing the need to embrace scientific progress, shun radicalism and build bridges to the West and other faiths. The first Gulen school opened in 1982. In the following decades, the movement became a spectacular success, s

Fethullah Gulen stirs fresh tensions between Ankara, Washington

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is clamoring for the head of Fethullah Gulen, but Washington says adhering to legal procedures is paramount before Gulen can be extradited to stand trial for masterminding the coup attempt in Turkey.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSI1IW

Kerry: Critics of Obama administration's Syria policy 'completely screwed up'

US secretary of state says the terrorist attack in Nice “could just as well have come from [Jabhat al-] Nusra”; Erdogan refers to coup attempt as a "gift from God" to "cleanse" army.

Members of the New York Police Department's Counterterrorism Unit guard the entrance at the Consulate General of France in Manhattan following the Nice terror attack in New York, U.S., July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly - RTSI4QL

US election 2016: Global chaos upends US election

Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of July 11.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on what is expected to be "implementation day," the day the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifies that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal, in Vienna January 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX22N89

Channel to monitor Iranian procurement awaits real test

A new organization created by the Iran nuclear deal is waiting for foreign companies to seek approval to sell Iran nuclear-related goods and services and other items with possible military applications.