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June 18, 2026
 

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Samia Nakhoul
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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in December last year. For Netanyahu, analysts say, the war has redrawn Israel's political map on his terms.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 20, 2026
Iran war boosts Netanyahu while bruising Trump and Gulf states
For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the war has pivoted attention away from Gaza, but it has trapped U.S. President Donald Trump in a conflict with no clear exit.
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. Tehran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz ¡ª the artery that carries about a fifth of global oil.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2026
Gulf states press U.S. to neutralize Iran for good as Hormuz crisis deepens
They don¡¯t want Tehran to hold the region¡¯s energy lifeline hostage again whenever tensions rise.
A High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) conducts live-fire missions during "Operation Epic Fury" at an undisclosed location earlier this month in this U.S. Army image released on Friday.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2026
Iran unleashes oil shock to blunt U.S. firepower
With the Gulf¡¯s main export artery in the crosshairs, Tehran has turned the region¡¯s greatest economic asset into its most powerful deterrent.
Fire and smoke rise in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after a drone was intercepted by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2026
U.S. ignited Iran war but Gulf Arab states paying the price, Gulf sources say
Behind the scenes, resentment is mounting in Gulf Arab capitals at being drawn into a war they neither initiated nor endorsed but are now paying for economically and militarily.
A plume of smoke rises in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2026
Iran bets on endurance and energy disruption to outlast foes in conflict
By driving up energy prices and spreading financial pain across Western economies, Tehran hopes the pressure will force a U.S. retreat.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has long opposed reformist groups advocating for engagement with the West.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2026
In unequivocal message to Trump, Iran elevates Khamenei son as successor
Mojtaba Khamenei¡¯s appointment locks hard-liners firmly in control in Tehran, which could reshape Iran¡¯s war with the U.S. and Israel and reverberate far beyond the Middle East.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Feb. 13
WORLD
Mar 8, 2026
Saudi Arabia has told Iran not to attack it and warns of possible retaliation
The sources said the kingdom had remained in regular contact with Tehran through its ambassador since the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran began.
¡®Customer harassment¡¯ continues in Japan despite moves to end it
A "customer harassment" prevention awareness poster at the entrance of an Aoki Super supermarket in Aichi Prefecture
Magnitude 5.5 quake jolts Tokyo area
Seismic intensity information about Tuesday evenning's earthquake
Five fall ill from E. coli outbreak at Nagoya Costco store
At least five people, including a child in serious condition, fell ill after eating ¡°high rollers¡± deli wraps sold a Costco store in Nagoya, according to media reports.
Chinese bombers put Japan¡¯s defense strategy in jeopardy, report finds
Chinese H-6N bombers fly in formation during a rehearsal in Beijing last August, ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
As his centennial nears, Osamu Tezuka gets a global reintroduction
Seen here in an archival shot, Osamu Tezuka's influence on Japanese anime has been monumental.
Why more bears are entering urban areas
Hikers walk past a bear warning sign in the Okutama area in western Tokyo on Sunday as local authorities urge visitors to take precautions following increased reports of bear sightings in the region.
In Tokyo¡¯s Mitaka, a search for traces of Osamu Dazai
Cafe Phosphorescence, owned by Osamu Dazai fan Miyuki Daba, is located about 15 minutes away from where the novelist used to live.
How Kojima made a destination out of denim
Across Kojima, production facilities handle different stages of denim-making, from sewing and washing to finishing and quality control.
Chinese bombers put Japan¡¯s defense strategy in jeopardy, report finds
Chinese H-6N bombers fly in formation during a rehearsal in Beijing last August, ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Podcast

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

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
By Tomoko Otake

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