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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

President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Biden eyes Qatar as major non-NATO ally

The upgrade in ties comes as the United States is seeking Doha's help in supplying natural gas to Europe.

US President Joe Biden meets with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, in the White House on Jan. 31, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Iran on the agenda as Qatar emir meets Biden

There is potential Doha could play a role in brokering a US-Iran prisoner exchanging following press reports of Iran-Qatar talks on the topic.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stands for the national anthem at the Pentagon on Oct. 6, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia.

Intel: Pentagon chief orders reform to civilian harm policies

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's initiative follows pressure from lawmakers and fruitless attempts at reform under the prior administration.

Washington Pulse

Meeks Blinken

House Democrats press Blinken on military aid to Egypt

In a letter to the US secretary of state, lawmakers described Egypt's "pervasive and systemic violations of human rights."

MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images

UAE intercepts Houthi ballistic missiles in latest attack

The second Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi in just a week marks a new escalation in Yemen's civil war.

Blinken Lavrov

Blinken: Iran nuclear talks reach 'decisive moment'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the window is closing for negotiators in Vienna to reach a deal.

Those displaced by conflict receive food aid in the Tuhayta district of Yemen's war-ravaged Hodeidah province, on June 30, 2021.

Aid agencies sound alarm as US considers relisting Houthis as terror group

The US State Department says it would have to "fully consider the humanitarian implications" of the Houthis' redesignation as a terrorist group.

AFP via Getty Images

US says no more funds for Sudan until civilian government restored

Top US officials met with Sudanese military leaders in Khartoum and said financial aid would remain frozen.

Biden

Biden and the Middle East: Year one review

It's been one year since Joe Biden was sworn in as US president. We take a look at his statements on the Middle East and see where things stand today.

Tom Dulat/Getty Images

UAE seeks Pentagon’s support following drone attack on Abu Dhabi

The UAE has asked the Biden administration to reinstate a prior terrorist designation for Yemen's Houthi rebels.

ANDREW HARNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Biden's Yemen envoy to visit Gulf after Houthi-claimed UAE attack

In the wake of aerial attacks on United Arab Emirates claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the US special envoy for Yemen will travel to the Gulf this week.

Sudanese protesters raise a national flag as they rally against the October 2021 military coup, in Khartoum on Jan. 13, 2022.

US diplomats head to Saudi Arabia, Sudan to push UN post-coup dialogue