Photo of Isabel Coles
Isabel Coles

Chief International Correspondent

Isabel reported from the Middle East for a decade before covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Before joining The Observer in 2025, she worked for The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. She received an award from the Overseas Press Club of America for a series of articles about a Swedish man’s quest to recover his seven orphaned grandchildren from Syria, and was part of a team that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of Iraq.

Photo of Isabel Coles

Isabel Coles

Chief International Correspondent

Isabel reported from the Middle East for a decade before covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Before joining The Observer in 2025, she worked for The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. She received an award from the Overseas Press Club of America for a series of articles about a Swedish man’s quest to recover his seven orphaned grandchildren from Syria, and was part of a team that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of Iraq.

  • Isabel Coles
    Once the parachute opens the real fight for survival begins, rescued pilot says

    RAF veteran says the US pilot missing in Iran will find evading the enemy even more difficult than sticking his landing

    Sun, 5 Apr 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Trump helps Greenlanders

    When Donald Trump tried to buy Greenland, he forced Denmark to tackle longstanding grievances.    Reporter: Isabel Coles  Writer: Casey Magloire Producer: Amalie Sortland Host: Casey Magloire Episode photography: Joe Mee Executive Producer: Rebecca Moor

    11 min • S1, E1220

  • Isabel Coles
    ‘Forty-eight hours before all hell will rain down’: Trump warns Iran over Hormuz

    As the US president ups the ante, allies discuss using minesweepers to clear the strait and Tehran imposes new transit fees on shipping

    Sat, 4 Apr 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    ‘Operation Epstein Fury’: Iran employs AI propaganda as weapon of war

    The Iranian regime purports to be avenging the financier’s victims in its latest skirmish with the US, but the use of artificial intelligence further muddies the water between fact and fiction

    Thu, 2 Apr 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Strait of Hormuz closure’s deep global impact on food

    If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within weeks, the disruption could hit harvests beyond this year and leave hundreds of millions at risk of acute food insecurity

    Sun, 29 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Israeli student indicted for scamming Iranian spies

    Authorities say the money-making scheme shared sensitive information with enemy agents. Much of that information was fake

    Thu, 26 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Trump had no grounds to believe Iranian regime’s nuclear programme posed ‘imminent threat’

    The US president’s claims echo the Bush administration’s baseless case for weapons of mass destruction allegedly held by Iraq

    Mon, 23 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    UK won’t be drawn into the war, says Cooper as Iran targets Diego Garcia

    Sun, 22 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    How gamblers are trying to rewrite the record of the Iran war

    When a journalist reported on a missile strike on an Israeli forest, he was inundated by messages accusing him of an ‘inaccurate report’ causing ‘a chain of errors’. Then, he realised he was at the centre of a gambling war on Polymarket

    Thu, 19 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    How Trump brought Netanyahu’s longtime dream of Iran’s destruction within reach

    The US president’s return to office has put the Israeli leader closer to his treasured goal, Isabel Coles reports

    Sun, 15 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Inside Dimona: the secret nuclear site at the heart of Israel’s undeclared arsenal

    As efforts to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions have intensified, work on an Israeli nuclear site has gathered pace. Isabel Coles reports from the Negev desert

    Thu, 12 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Iranian missiles harden Israeli support for war

    The prime minister has long coveted war with Iran, but he knows the offensive comes with a political dimension at home

    Sun, 8 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Zelensky offers to help Gulf states shoot down Iranian drones

    The Ukrainian military has honed methods to intercept the airborne weapons, which Iran has sold to Russia for use on the battlefield

    Thu, 5 Mar 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    The Syrian prison collapse that has scattered Isis families to the wind

    An open-air camp in the desert held about 24,000 people, many with links to Islamic State, but now lies empty. Its fall is part of a broader reordering of power in Syria

    Thu, 26 Feb 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Four years and no end in sight in for Ukraine’s existential struggle

    As peace talks falter, there is little room for compromise and a widening gap between the US and Europe

    Sun, 22 Feb 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Our destinies are entwined, Rubio tells Europe after a year of turmoil

    The US secretary of state’s speech to security conference was greeted warmly but fundamental differences remain

    Sun, 15 Feb 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Norway’s crown princess apologises for Epstein friendship

    Mette-Marit has thrown the monarchy into disarray through intimate emails with Jeffrey Epstein that continued three years after she learned of the allegations against him

    Sun, 8 Feb 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Neom, MBS’s desert city dream, fades with the price of Saudi oil

    The crown prince has been forced to rein in plans for his high-tech metropolis as costs spiral to $8.8tn and the kingdom’s wealth falls

    Mon, 2 Feb 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Israeli aistrikes on Gaza leave at least 30 dead, including children

    More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire was brokered in October

    Sat, 31 Jan 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Hundreds dead after collapse of mine at the heart of DRC conflict

    Heavy rains led to tragedy in rebel-controlled zone where men, women and children dig for metallic ore used in smartphones

    Sat, 31 Jan 2026

  • Isabel Coles
    Board of peace or alternative UN? Trump moves upend world order

    The US president’s initiative to oversee the rehabilitation of Gaza may undermine other international agencies

    Sun, 25 Jan 2026

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