Middle East

Trump says US will not return to war against Iran unless American troops are killed - report

The report came just after Netanyahu told CNBC that the US and Israel would resume military action against Iran if needed

|BySHIR PERETS, CORINNE BAUM
A US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet climbs after taking off from the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after the U.S. struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 4, 2026.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give thumbs-up at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2025.

Trump-Netanyahu call, restraint on Beirut strike signals 'Iranian victory,’ INSS researcher warns

"Hezbollah has suddenly recovered, and they have also created a split between Israel and the United States. This is a kind of enormous Iranian achievement,” INSS researcher Beni Sabti said.

|By103FM
Bitcoins are seen on the background of the Iranian flag (illustrative)

US sanctions Iran's largest crypto exchange over IRGC links

The US Treasury announced on Tuesday that two brothers had also been individually sanctioned, along with the exchange’s chief executive officer.

|ByREUTERS
A man is seen carrying a cardboard cutout of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Iran’s ring of fire collapses: Why Oct. 7 was Tehran’s greatest strategic miscalculation - opinion

Tehran hoped the conflict would freeze regional integration and restore fear as the organizing principle of Middle Eastern politics. Instead, the war exposed the fragility of Iran's system.

|ByKAMYAR BEHRANG

Israel and the Middle East are one election away from peace - opinion

Under a different Israeli government, many things that appear impossible today could suddenly become politically possible.

MAY 23, 2026ByGERSHON BASKIN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara cast their vote during the elections for the Likud Central Committee, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, November 25, 2025

Iraq’s 1,200-km. trade route could redraw the Middle East - analysis

Iraq has some reticence, in part because Iranian-backed militias in Iraq oppose the new government in Damascus. However, trade may prove more important than sectarian ideology.

MAY 23, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters gather during an intensive security deployment after Islamic State militants took it over the previous day in Luhaiban village in Kirkuk, Iraq December 6, 2021.

Why does the West ignore Iran hanging a child marriage victim? - opinion

The world should have been outraged by her execution, yet they were deathly silent, preferring to focus on other issues, as if it did not matter.

MAY 23, 2026ByRACHEL AVRAHAM
A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest against the Iranian government held by supporters of the Iranian royal family in exile, who marched through central London past the Iranian embassy to the Israeli embassy, in London, Britain, March 8, 2026

INTERPOL arrests 201 suspects in largest cybercrime operation to date

Operation Ramz, focused on neutralizing phishing and malware threats while tackling cyber scams that have imposed significant financial burdens in the region.

MAY 23, 2026BySHOSHANA BAKER
The Interpol logo

Iran's intensified closure of Strait of Hormuz piles misery on stranded sailors

Sailors interviewed by Reuters in recent weeks have described the hardships and anxieties of their experience, and a federation representing them warns of dire conditions.

MAY 22, 2026ByREUTERS
Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula on May 17, 2026.

Shavuot’s lesson for Israel: Sovereignty without purpose cannot survive - opinion

The future of Israel will not be determined only by where its borders are drawn but by whether the nation remembers what made it a nation in the first place.

MAY 22, 2026ByJEFFREY KAHN
An AI-generated cartoon illustration of Moses presenting the Ten Commandments to the Israelites and linking it to sovereignty over Israel.

Will Trump strike Iran or choose diplomacy at the last minute? - opinion

Rising Iran tensions leave Trump weighing military action while allies watch closely.

MAY 21, 2026ByYAAKOV KATZ
US President Donald Trump gestures at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.

Iran war pulls some Gulf states toward Israel, while pushing others away

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: The Iran war is pushing the UAE and Israel into unprecedented cooperation, while Saudi Arabia looks elsewhere to counter Tehran without empowering Jerusalem.

MAY 21, 2026ByHERB KEINON
US President Donald Trump attends a GCC summit photo session in Riyadh, alongside Qatari, Saudi, and Bahraini leaders, May 2025.

Khamenei reportedly says enriched uranium must stay in Iran, Israel deports all flotilla activists

Twenty Iranian sailors returned home after capture by US • Two wounded soldiers see improvement after surgeries • US says removal of UN expert Albanese from sanctions list is not a policy change

MAY 21, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf meets with Pakistan army chief Asim Munir, in Tehran, Iran, April 16, 2026.

Syria’s Kurds confront defeat after decades of resistance - opinion

Abandoned by allies and pressured by Turkey, Syria’s Kurds were forced to surrender autonomy to Damascus.

MAY 20, 2026ByDAVID L. PHILLIPS
Armed members of the Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) military police take part in a demonstration under the banner “With our will, we will protect our revolution.” in Qamishli, Syria, September 17, 2025.