Middle East, Foreign Policy | featured news

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Iran would be on the brink of nuclear weapons capability in six to seven months, adding new urgency to his demand that President Barack Obama set a clear "red line" for Tehran in what could deepen the worst U.S.-Israeli rift in decades.

President Obama, seeking to quell a storm of criticism from Republicans and pro-Israel groups, directed the Democratic Party on Wednesday to amend its platform to restore language declaring Jerusalem the Israeli capital.

Mitt Romney tried to explain his remarks about the Palestinian economy, which were called "racist" by an aide to Mahmoud Abbas.

Mitt Romney reportedly has angered Palestinians with his comments about their economy and his pledge to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem... "Yesterday, he destroyed negotiations by saying Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and today he is saying Israeli culture is more advanced than Palestinian culture. Isn't this racism?" Erekat said.

Mitt Romney made an unannounced trip to one of the holiest sites in Judaism, the Western Wall, on Sunday as the presumptive GOP nominee continued his week-long overseas trip.

Mitt Romney would support a unilateral military strike by Israel against Iran to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapon capability, a senior foreign policy adviser said Sunday. The presumptive Republican nominee began a series of meetings with top Israeli officials here Sunday and plans to deliver a muscular defense of Israel in a formal speech delivered near Jerusalem’s Old City. Previewing the candidate’s remarks, adviser Dan Senor told reporters that Romney would back Israeli military action against Iran.

Foreign policy analysts explain why Americans should care about what happens in Syria beyond the human suffering in the conflict.

Republican presidential contenders jousted over Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East on Tuesday night in a tense national security debate that laid out sharply contrasting views on how to keep America safe from attack.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he "can't stand" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has called him a "liar."

Wading into a tense foreign policy dispute, Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney on Tuesday criticized the Palestinian Authority's effort to seek a formal recognition of statehood by the U.N. General Assembly. The GOP rivals also used the jockeying at the U.S. to assail President Barack Obama's policy toward Israel.