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August 9, 2026

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Analysis

As pro-Palestinian candidates gain ground, will AIPAC's influence wane?

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s influence has weakened in the Democratic Party and may also be at risk among Republicans.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Uncertain how to interpret the American regional redeployment, Israel is focusing on efforts to destabilize the Iranian regime and stop its nuclear program.

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

Latest News

AIPAC to oppose El-Sayed after major Michigan primary victory

Michigan Democratic Senate primary winner Abdul El-Sayed

Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday

Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah (Western Zawtar) on August 2, 2026. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed in June, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy. The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East with rocket fire at Israel in suppo

US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC: What to know

A memorial depicting Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of the "Quds Force" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was killed by a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020, is pictured at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 6, 2026. Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic on April 6 defied threats from the US President to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Ima

Abdul el-Sayed becomes first Muslim-American to win Michigan Senate primary

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 01: Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks after a radio appearance on Dr. Horace Sheffield's GOTV Community Rally on August 01, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. El-Sayed currently holds a 15-point lead against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) according to a recent poll. (Photo by Finn Gomez/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

A picture taken July 9, 2017, shows workers at Syria's Arak gas field.

Biden administration to announce sanctions waivers for Syrian Kurds, Sunni opposition-held areas

Sanctions exemptions are aimed at expediting humanitarian aid and diminishing the economic damage in certain areas.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers urge US action on Syria's crisis-hit Rukban camp

The Biden administration faces congressional pressure to help desperate civilians stranded in the Syrian camp near Jordan.

Romanowski

Biden nominees for ambassadors to Iraq, Yemen appear before Senate

Steven Fagin, nominee for ambassador to Yemen, faced questions about whether to designate the Houthi movement as a terrorist organization, while Alina Romanowski, nominee for ambassador to Iraq, said she will work with the nation's elected officials.

The Freedom Initiative photo.

Rights group adds lobbying help to spotlight Egypt, Saudi abuses

Political prisoner advocacy group Freedom Initiative is deploying Washington lobbyists to amplify its message on the Hill.

Yemen Houthi

US sanctions smuggling network backing Yemen's Houthis

The latest Houthi-related sanctions come as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia push the Biden administration to designate the Iran-supported group as a terrorist organization.

Majd Kamalmaz

US talks directly with Syria on missing American but White House a ‘holdup,’ family says

The family of Majd Kamalmaz is pleading with the White House to build on previous engagement with Damascus, saying the Syrians have demanded to speak with a high-level US official.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

US F-22 squadron arrives to help UAE ward off Houthi attacks

France is also lending military support while it remains unclear how proactively US fighter pilots will allowed to engage Houthi targets.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on Feb. 9, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Republicans vow to hinder Biden on Iran

Netanyahu and Pegasus; Ukraine and Turkey; Idlib; Gaza’s Sufis; Egypt’s pickled mummy fetus; and more…in less than 1,100 words.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani speaks to the press in front of the Palais Coburg, venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) meeting that aims at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, in Vienna on Dec. 27, 2021.

Iran nuclear deal will be a tough sell in Congress

Unless the US and Iran reach an agreement that imposes meaningful, long-term restrictions on Tehran's nuclear activities, any deal reached in Vienna is unlikely to prove politically durable.

This picture taken on Nov. 14, 2021, shows a view of a missile on display at the booth of EDGE advanced technology group for defense, at the 2021 Dubai Airshow in the Gulf emirate.

US approves $4.2 billion F-16 sale to Jordan, air defense systems to Gulf

Lockheed Martin's THAAD air defense system marked its first successful combat shoot-downs during ballistic missile attacks on the UAE in recent weeks.

Navy Persian Gulf

US to deploy fighter jets, Navy destroyer to UAE after missile attacks

Houthi barrages on the UAE are stress-testing Biden’s commitment to end US involvement in Yemen’s civil war.

STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

FBI admits to obtaining Israeli-made Pegasus spyware

The FBI said it bought the controversial spyware tool for “product testing and evaluation only” and never deployed it.