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August 06, 2026
 

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Samia Nakhoul
A banner with a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump next to an Iranian missile system at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 30
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2026
How Iran is widening its pressure campaign to force U.S. concessions
Tehran¡¯s goal is to convince the United States and its allies that containing the crisis is more costly than accommodating Iran¡¯s demands over the Strait of Hormuz.
A beach in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 22 with vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in the distance
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2026
Can China restrain Iran? Gulf states test Beijing¡¯s influence
The Gulf push for a bigger Chinese role is driven by growing frustration, Gulf sources say.
With the Strait of Hormuz already shut, a Houthi attack on vessels or ports in the Red Sea would leave the Middle East's two main oil export routes disrupted simultaneously.
WORLD
Jul 17, 2026
Iran tells Houthis to close Red Sea gateway if U.S. hits power network, sources say
Any threat to the Red Sea and its Bab al-Mandab gateway risks exacerbating the global energy crisis and underscores the explosive risks stemming from a new round of warfare.
Yemeni gunmen brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on July 6. A senior Yemeni official warned on Monday that the country's armed forces were prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
WORLD
Jul 15, 2026
After Hormuz, Iran turns to Red Sea gateway as new pressure point
A senior Yemeni official warned the country¡¯s armed forces were prepared to close a waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden if Saudi Arabia continued to attack Yemen.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center, back) looks on as Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter (left), State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler (center) and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh sign a framework agreement at the U.S. Department of State in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
Israel-Lebanon deal may entrench stalemate rather than end war, analysts say
The security deal between Israel and Lebanon includes something few see as workable: Hezbollah¡¯s disarmament, which no Lebanese government has the power to enforce.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an event in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 26, 2026
U.S.-Iran deal may leave Netanyahu as biggest casualty
Isolated abroad, constrained by his ally and vulnerable ahead of an autumn election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now finds his political future and legacy at risk.
A mural depicting late Iranian supreme leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left) and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on Thursday
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jun 19, 2026
U.S.-Iran deal redraws the Middle East, with Iran¡¯s gains alarming rivals
If the deal holds, Iran will see an end to the war, phased ?sanctions relief, renewed oil exports and the prospect of vast reconstruction funds.
A billboard displaying Iran's national flag at Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday. The nation remains a formidable and undefeated force.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 16, 2026
Persian Gulf recalibrates as Iran emerges intact from war
The region has emerged from one of its most dangerous crises in decades with Iran politically emboldened and Persian Gulf confidence in U.S. protection deeply shaken.
A street in Tehran on Monday. "Surrender is fundamentally incompatible with Iran's identity," one senior Iranian official said.
WORLD / Politics
May 19, 2026
Growing risk of fresh conflict in Middle East as deadlock and pain deepen
The concern among policymakers is not whether a deal is near, but how long tensions can persist before a miscalculation triggers renewed hostilities.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (right) shakes hands with Lebanon's army chief, Joseph Aoun, after he is elected as the country's president at the parliament building in Beirut, in January last year.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2026
Lebanon¡¯s internal splits over talks with Israel trip up Saudi mediation efforts
Lebanese leaders remain at odds over the negotiation format and ultimate goal.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, attends a meeting with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2026
UAE oil break exposes deepening Saudi rift as Gulf power shifts
The UAE¡¯ decision to quit OPEC has brought years of tensions with Saudi Arabia into the open, marking a rebalancing of power shaped by the Iran war.
A woman holds a poster depicting Iran¡¯s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Tehran on March 26.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
Iran¡¯s Revolutionary Guard seizes wartime power, blunts supreme leader¡¯s role
Tehran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power.
Iranians ride past a large billboard depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on a street in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Apr 21, 2026
Gulf worries U.S.-Iran talks may cement Tehran¡¯s ¡®golden¡¯ grip on Hormuz
Diplomacy appears now centered less on rolling back Iran¡¯s missile program and more on enrichment levels and tacitly accepting Tehran¡¯s leverage over Hormuz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel¡¯s parliament, in Jerusalem in January. His approval ratings have slipped and, with legislative elections due by late October, the political risks he faces are rising.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2026
Despite Israeli firepower, Netanyahu struggles for political gains in Iran war
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is paying ?a political price for a military campaign launched with U.S. President Donald Trump that has not delivered a decisive outcome.
Pro-government supporters react in Tehran on Wednesday after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was announced on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 9, 2026
As Trump claims victory, Iran emerges bruised but powerful with leverage over Hormuz
Iran has absorbed blows from the U.S. and Israel while retaining ¡ª and in some cases strengthening ¡ª its core instruments of power.
A man walks along Dubai's Creek Harbor, with the Burj Khalifa visible in the background, on April 3.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
UAE says the use of Hormuz must be guaranteed in any U.S.-Iran deal
About ?a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz per day, but Iran has reduced ?traffic, triggering a ?global energy crisis.
People attend a funeral ceremony for the Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri in Tehran on Monday. Regional analysts say the assumption that removing top Iranian leaders would cause the system to fracture ignored the country's record of resilience, with the result not of surrender but radicalization.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2026
U.S.-Israeli war, intended to break Iran, could leave Tehran stronger
A premature end to the war without security guarantees would leave Gulf states exposed to an Iran that was supposed to surrender but instead has been radicalized.
Smoke rises from Dubai International Airport on March 16 as Iran kept up its Gulf attacks.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2026
Gulf states tell U.S. ending war isn¡¯t enough: Iran¡¯s capabilities must be degraded
The big question confronting Gulf policymakers is no longer how the Iran war ends, but what kind of regional order follows.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Dayr Seryan on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2026
Iran wants Lebanon included in any ceasefire, sources say
A ?senior Iranian official said?that Tehran was still reviewing a U.S. proposal ?to end the regional war, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.
A mother and son walk near a building destroyed in a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran on March 21.
WORLD
Mar 25, 2026
Gulf warnings and fears of miscalculation preceded Trump¡¯s pause in Iran showdown
Gulf Arab states warned U.S. President Donald Trump that strikes on Iran¡¯s power plants would trigger Iranian retaliation on their own vital energy and desalination facilities.
Japan to add five-year stay period for Type 2 foreign workers
Holders of the Type 2 specified skilled foreign worker status are currently granted periods of stay for six months, one year, two years or three years.
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
U.S. to close consulates in Canada, Japan and Indonesia, sources say
The U.S. State Department said in a notice ?sent to some congressional committees last week that it plans to close ?its posts ?in St. George's, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. ?
Support for accepting more foreign workers in Japan drops below 60%
The results of a public opinion poll conducted in May suggests that a growing number of people are becoming cautious about accepting more foreign workers.
Japan defense report says China challenge must be met with ¡®overall national strength¡¯
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers walk in front of a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile launcher, during the Balikatan annual joint military exercises at Culili Point Sand Dunes, in Paoay, Philippines, on May 6.
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Disinformation abounds online in aftermath of Kumamoto quake
Television screens in Tokyo show news coverage of a powerful earthquake hitting Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28. Some social media accounts have claimed that shaky footage of the quake was fake.
Japan defense report says China challenge must be met with ¡®overall national strength¡¯
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers walk in front of a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile launcher, during the Balikatan annual joint military exercises at Culili Point Sand Dunes, in Paoay, Philippines, on May 6.
A pressing question on the front lines in Kumamoto: Who cares for the caregivers?
Tomoko Sato, the chief of emergency medicine at Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, brought her two children to the hospital so she could continue treating patients following the Kumamoto earthquake.
For Japan¡¯s aging homeless population, brutal summers are dangerously inescapable
A homeless person near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Authorities have warned the public to avoid unnecessary outings and advised people to stay in air-conditioned spaces, but for people who are homeless this is often not an option.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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