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August 11, 2026
 

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Matt Spetalnick
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2026
Trump and Netanyahu explored all Iran options including attack, Israeli official says
The two leaders discussed diplomacy, economic pressure and force at their meeting in the White House.
Most analysts agree a major escalation ?by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Iran would have little chance of being any more effective in forcing Tehran to change course than earlier phases of the war.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jul 17, 2026
Trump threatens new Iran escalation and risks repeating old mistakes
While the U.S. and Iran have so far avoided a return to full-scale conflict, increasingly ominous developments have dimmed hopes of finding an off-ramp anytime ?soon.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2026
Trump wants to leave the Iran war behind. That won¡¯t happen soon.
More than three weeks ?after a ¡°memorandum of understanding¡± between the U.S. and Iran, the flare-up highlights some of the difficulties Trump must face.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as the portrait of former U.S. President Barack Obama can be seen in the background, at the White House in Washington on June 26, 2025.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Jun 19, 2026
How Trump¡¯s deal with Iran compares to Obama¡¯s
Trump¡¯s critics say at this point he has gotten much less and given up much more to Tehran.
People walk past a sign with a picture depicting U.S. President Donald Trump in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2026
What challenges could stand in the way of a final U.S.-Iran deal?
Most analysts are skeptical the two sides can forge a final settlement within the 60-day window laid out by both sides.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 15, 2026
Trump veers toward exit in Iran war but risks loom
The deal appears short of many of the goals Trump outlined in the early days of the conflict, leaving the U.S. looking strategically worse off than it did before he went to war.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2026
Trump¡¯s room to maneuver narrows as U.S., Iran close in on framework deal
The dilemma became clear during a week of hectic diplomacy marked by word of an emerging framework deal that would extend a current ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 23, 2026
Three months in, is Trump losing the Iran war?
With Iran¡¯s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, its resistance to nuclear concessions and its government largely intact, doubts are growing that Trump can pull out a geopolitical win.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a dinner event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 11.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 16, 2026
Trump¡¯s geopolitical brinkmanship has hit a wall with Iran
The continuing impasse with Iran comes as Trump faces domestic pressure over high U.S. gasoline prices and his own low approval ratings.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the Iran war at the White House last month.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2026
Trump¡¯s feuds and tensions with allies likely to outlast Iran war
Allies from Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific are once again fearful that the U.S. might be unreliable in a future crisis.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 2, 2026
Iran standoff could leave Trump worse off than before he went to war
With both sides outwardly confident they hold the upper hand and their positions far apart, there is no obvious off-ramp in sight.
Demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's military action in Iran, outside the White House in Washington on April 7.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 26, 2026
Republicans retool midterm strategy: Trump¡¯s policies, but less Trump
The party¡¯s new strategy is to tap Trump¡¯s turnout power without making the midterms a referendum on an increasingly unpopular president.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2026
Trump¡¯s abrupt Iran reversal exposes limits of his leverage
Trump¡¯s claims of victory over Iran overlook questions about the effectiveness of mixing maximalist demands, erratic rhetoric and increasingly extreme threats.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Future Investment Initiative Summit in Miami on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 29, 2026
One month into Iran war, only hard choices for Trump
The main question is whether Trump will wind down or ramp up a war with Iran, one that has ignited the worst global energy supply shock in history.
An Iranian woman reacts as she takes part in the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran.
WORLD
Mar 14, 2026
With Iran war exit elusive, Trump aides vie to affect outcome
U.S. officials and advisors are debating when and how to declare victory even as the conflict spreads across the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 7, 2026
One week into Iran war, the dangers for the U.S. and Trump multiply
Even after devastating blows against Iranian forces, the crisis has quickly widened into a regional conflict that threatens a more prolonged U.S. military engagement.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens while monitoring Operation Epic Fury, the military operation against Iran, at an unnamed location on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2026
Trump¡¯s Iran strikes mark his biggest foreign policy gamble
The U.S. president, who came to office last year promising to avoid ¡°stupid wars,¡± has also set out a daunting objective of regime change in Tehran.
The USS Gerald aircraft carrier heads through the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 22, 2026
Trump pushes U.S. toward war with Iran as advisers urge focus on economy
The president has not laid out in detail to the American public why he might be leading the U.S. into its most aggressive action against Tehran since its 1979 revolution.
U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner (right), and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22. Some experts said the two lack the depth of knowledge and experience to go up against veteran negotiators like Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and their Russian interlocutors and that they were in over their heads in such complicated conflicts.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 18, 2026
U.S. envoys juggle two crisis talks, raising questions about prospects for success
The shuttle diplomacy by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner has raised questions about the likelihood of them resolving either of the crises, experts say.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference at Trump¡¯s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29. Netanyahu's arrival at the White House on Wednesday was lower-key than usual.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2026
Trump says no ¡®definitive¡¯ agreement with Netanyahu but U.S.-Iran talks will continue
In their seventh meeting since President Donald Trump returned to office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked to influence the next ?round of U.S. talks with Iran.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

Podcast

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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