United States - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

May 11, 2026

Washington D.C. 9:01 am

11°C

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

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

Joyce Karam

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

Andrew Harnik/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

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate the first anniversary of Raqqa province liberation from ISIS, in Raqqa, Syria Ocotber 27, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1C0393FB70

Intel: How the return of the Kurds changes the Syria fight

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump chat as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner is seen in between them, during their meeting at the King David hotel in Jerusalem May 22, 2017. Kobi Gideon/Courtesy of Government Press Office/Handout via Reuters THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. ISRAEL OUT. NO SALES IN ISRAEL - RC1C12FE5EC0

Three changes that advance Trump’s Mideast peace plan

Changes over the last few months in Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority make it all the more realistic for the Trump administration to submit its Palestinian-Israeli peace plan soon.

A view of a part of the presidential compound after it was hit by air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen May 7, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1A54A70AE0

Intel: Why the US will stop supporting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands at a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC16134E6CB0

Putin pivots to Europe for next play on Syria

Russian president intensifies diplomatic push; Erdogan goes "big" to leverage the Khashoggi murder with the Trump administration; Oman emerges as Israeli-Palestinian broker.

Houthi followers demonstrate to show rejection to an offer by the Saudi-led coalition to pay compensations for victims of an air strike in Saada, Yemen September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1B734F6900

Intel: Why the US thinks designating Houthis as terrorists could help peace in Yemen

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammon, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (L to R) pose for a grou

Iranians and the nuclear deal

President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal is not merely undermining his moderate Iranian counterpart but also the longer-term prospect of US engagement with Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a bilateral meeting during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1720F3A620

Israel pins hopes on American sanctions against Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman pin their hopes on the American sanctions against Iran to destabilize the Tehran regime and force it to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

Will Iraqis get green light to enter restricted Green Zone?

Iraq's new prime minister wants to lift at least some limits on entering Baghdad's Green Zone, but he is likely to face strong opposition from politicians and foreign diplomats there.

Abdullah al-Khawlani stands with his son, Hafidh, who survived a Saudi-led air strike stand on the wreckage of a bus destroyed by the strike in Saada, Yemen September 4, 2018. Another son of al-Khawlani was killed by the strike. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1F0E3F8DD0

UN pushes back Yemen peace talks

With UN talks on Yemen delayed amid escalating fighting, veteran diplomats say Pompeo should work with the UK to revive the Friends of Yemen and give UN efforts to end the conflict more sustained, high-level attention.

An A-10 thunderbolt is parked on the tarmac at the Namest air force base near Brno where it is taking part in joint NATO military exercises called Ramstein Rover. The exercise is organized and managed by the Air Force Component Command HQ AC Ramstein. It is the largest military exercise in Europe this year with the participation of 16 countries and the objective of increasing coordination between pilots and forward operating air controllers.
AFP PHOTO/ RADEK MICA (Photo credit should read RADEK MICA

Pentagon braces for leaner Mideast war budget after Democrats win House

The Defense Department is preparing for another era of lean budgets after Democrats took control of the House in Tuesday’s elections.

Saudi Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer Al-Sabhan (L) speaks with Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev during a Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 22, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC19F177B570

Russia braces for new diplomatic push on Syria

Russia's frenzy of diplomatic and military activity around Syria in recent days suggests Moscow is pushing its own initiatives before a new UN envoy on Syria takes the reins and before Democrats take control of the House in the United States.

Turkey tests waters for new offensive against YPG

Turkey is itching to go on the offensive against Kurdish forces in areas east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, but the US role in the area continues to act as a deterrence.