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Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

China understands how badly Trump wants an exit from the conflict. But timing is critical: if no agreement is reached before Trump arrives in China on Thursday, Beijing would be better positioned to set the agenda.

Joyce Karam

Latest News

Lebanon, Israel eye third round of talks, but no Netanyahu-Aoun meeting in sight

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Why Saudi Arabia is focused on tensions with Iran

The Saudis have called an Arab summit for May 30 in Mecca to likely brand Iran as a terrorist state, with the apparent hope that the United States will strike Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on military aviation in Sochi, Russia May 15, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B14947F40

Intel: How Russia is trying to help defuse US-Iran tensions

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (3rd L) meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, May 17, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/Pool - RC121FD92050

Iran should take up Trump’s offer to talk

If not directly, at first, then there might be a channel through trusted partners.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim enter a hall during a meeting in Moscow, Russia January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RC147B91D090

Has Russia begun to play a role in Iraq?

Russia seeks a presence in Iraq similar to its presence in Syria but through Russian companies and economic, industrial and commercial agreements signed between the two countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem May 5, 2019. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC11FA84D670

Why Netanyahu's so quiet on US-Iran conflict

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being cautious about engaging Israel in the US-Iran tensions, though he would surely not object to an American attack on Iran.

Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, testifies before a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on "The Dangers of Reporting on Human Rights" on Capitol Hill in Washington U.S., May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1D7A0812B0

Intel: How Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee is keeping the pressure on Saudi Arabia

Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee is determined to keep his legacy alive and well — and that starts with making sure Washington holds Saudi Arabia accountable for killing him.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks on immigration reform in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC19026CFA70

Republicans rush to extinguish Iran war talk

GOP lawmakers insist that Trump’s show of force is the best way to prevent an immediate Iranian attack, even as a long-term solution to tensions remains elusive.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a news conference in Vienna, Austria, July 4, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC1BB998E3E0

If Rouhani’s Europe outreach fails, nuclear deal could collapse

The Rouhani administration has pinned its hopes on Europe to save the nuclear deal, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committe member, Hanan Ashrawi arrives for a press conference on February 24, 2015 in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a day after a verdict of a New York court was issued finding the Palestinian leadership responsible for six deadly attacks in Jerusalem that killed Americans. In a verdict issued late on February 23, a US jury found the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and the PLO responsible for six attacks which killed 33 people and wounded more tha

The politics behind the visa denial for veteran Palestinian official

The State Department denied veteran Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi an entry visa, provoking outcry among diplomats and activists.

Masked Shi'ite fighters hold their weapons in Al Hadidiya, south of Tikrit, en route to the Islamic State-controlled al-Alam town, where they are preparing to launch an offensive on Saturday, March 6, 2015. Iraqi government forces and Iran-backed militiamen entered a town on the southern outskirts of Saddam Hussein's home city Tikrit on Friday, pressing on with the biggest offensive yet against Islamic State militants that seized the north last year. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNR

Iraqi factions a wild card in US-Iran blame game

Armed militias in Iraq will have to determine whether their loyalties lie with their neutral government or against the United States in a standoff with Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the 38th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1B12006A30

US prepares new pressure campaign on Assad

The State Department believes it can force political concessions on Damascus, in line with recent recommendations from a congressionally mandated panel of experts.

A partial view of the Iraqi capital Baghdad is reflected in the visor of a U.S. Army helicopter crew member as he looks out of a Chinook helicopter flying from the U.S. Embassy to Baghdad International airport, following the helicopter of U.S. secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Iraq, January 9, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC1A9F707880

Could Iraq play a role in easing US-Iran tensions?

Iraqi political leaders, alarmed by the escalating proxy war between Iran and the United States taking place in their country, are trying to serve as mediators between the two.