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United States

April 30, 2026

District of Columbia 9:25 am

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President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

As President Donald Trump pressures Israel to limit its strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah is taking advantage of the situation.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

With talks between Israel and Lebanon being held in Washington, Paris still insists that it must be involved to balance possible American bias and to protect Beirut’s interests.

Latest News

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo listens to a reporter's question during a press conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein at the State Department in Washington, DC on August 19, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Pompeo says US to trigger snapback sanctions on Iran 'soon'

The Donald Trump administration will "soon" act on its threat to trigger a return of international sanctions on Iran, Secretary of State Pompeo said Wednesday after the United States lost its bid to indefinitely extend an arms embargo on Tehran.

Iran’s hard-liners push legislation to exit nuclear deal

If passed, the legislation proposed by hard-liners would effectively force the government into a farewell to the fragile nuclear deal depending on UN action.

People wear facemasks as US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the economy at an airport hangar on August 17, 2020 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump says US embassy move to Jerusalem 'for the evangelicals'

At a campaign rally the day the Democratic National Convention opened, Trump said that Christian voters are more supportive of US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital than Jewish voters.

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 13: Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner listens as National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien speaks during a press briefing at the White House on August 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. Kushner appeared with President Trump earlier today as Trump announced a new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Kushner: US won’t sign off on West Bank annexation 'for some time'

Top US presidential adviser Jared Kushner has said the focus will be implementing the agreement reached last week between Israel and United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 28, 2019, US President Donald Trump speaks to the troops during a surprise Thanksgiving day visit at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. - President Donald Trump has shattered through norms and niceties on the world stage in his nearly three years in office. Entering an election year, Trump is unlikely to slow down as he seeks what has largely eluded him -- a headline-grabbing victory. The tycoon turned president closes 2019 with a new stride after what was perhaps

Intel: Iran paid bounties to Taliban for US soldiers, influencing Soleimani strike

US officials tell CNN the administration took no action against the Taliban in order to preserve its peace deal with the insurgents.

US Vice President Joe Biden (L)attends a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on the sidelines of the nuclear summit in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2016. / AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey takes aim at Biden after old comments on Erdogan resurface

Turkish politicians are expressing outrage over presumptive US presidential candidate Joe Biden calling for the Turkish president's ouster back in December, likely because Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using them to whip up nationalist fervor against the United States.

Police remove protesters blocking a main road during a demonstration against the Israeli government near the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem on August 16, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Fact vs. fiction on US-Israel police exchanges

Al-Monitor spoke to Israelis and Americans involved in police exchanges between the countries in response to far-left allegations they teach harmful practices.

UN Security Council rejects US-sought extension on Iran arms embargo

The resolution failed by a 2-2 vote with 11 abstentions.

Trump administration goes big with UAE-Israel peace deal

Other Gulf states may follow.

Palestinians express anger at UAE following US-brokered accord with Israel

Palestinians say UAE decision to normalize relations with Israel is a crime.

United Arab Emirates

Intel: FBI to join investigation into Beirut blast

The FBI will lend its expertise to the investigators probing the explosion that killed at least 172 people in Beirut last week, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale said today in the Lebanese capital.

Intel: Iran’s navy boards oil tanker near Strait of Hormuz, US says

A Liberian-flagged ship was seized by Iranian forces in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US-led maritime security coalition.