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

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

May 12, 2026

Washington D.C. 3:42 pm

21°C

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

While Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington for the third time, the Israeli military faces a growing threat from Hezbollah’s cheap yet highly lethal drones.

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

Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos Hessebon meets with Marco Rubio in Washington on May 11, 2026.

Rubio hosts Ethiopia’s FM amid push to boost security ties: What to know

In response to heightening regional volatility, Ethiopia is prioritizing a strategic partnership with the Washington to secure its geopolitical standing.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

A US Navy nuclear submarine reached port in Gibraltar on Sunday in an unsubtle signal from the Pentagon.

Latest News

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

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.

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

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

Getty

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu climbs out after a visit inside the Rahav, the fifth submarine in the Israeli Navy's fleet, after it arrived in Haifa port January 12, 2016. The Dolphin-class submarines, widely believed to be capable of firing nuclear missiles, were manufactured in Germany and sold to Israel at deep discounts as part of Berlin's commitment to shoring up the security of the country set in part as a haven for Jews who survived the Holocaust. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - GF20000092316

Israel’s nuclear ambiguity policy blocks diplomatic process

There is little hope for peace in the Middle East as long as Israel insists on its ambiguous nuclear policy and refuses to sign disarmament agreements.

Demonstrators hold a placard urging the international community to take action against Israel's settlement policy in the occupied territories as left-wing Israeli and foreign peace activists join Palestinians in a protest in the Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah on November 04, 2009. According to Israeli radio, about 200 people protestested in Sheikh Jarrah against what they call the "Judaisation" of Arab east Jerusalem and the ongoing construction of Jewish settlements in the Jerusalem area

Congress seeks to hand off Israel boycott fight to Trump

Congress is taking a third stab at legislation combating boycotts of Israel and its West Bank settlements by passing the buck to the Donald Trump administration.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 27, 2018. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS - RC1B77CFA910

Bolton lays ground for Trump, Putin summit

US national security adviser John Bolton went to Moscow with a specific mission and a specific message involving a Putin-Trump meeting in July; however, the question remains whether "summit diplomacy" can resolve looming security issues in the Middle East.

The Palestinian newspaper Al Quds that published an interview with Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser, is displayed for sale in a bookshop in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, June 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC1916711990

Kushner peace push undermined by Trump's policies

Jared Kushner’s Middle East peace push is being undermined by a series of administration policy decisions that have alienated both the Palestinian leadership and people.

Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci speaks during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, June 7, 2016. To match Interview TURKEY-ECONOMY/MINISTER REUTERS/Umit Bektas - D1AETIRNZCAB

Ankara vows to ignore Iran sanctions

Turkey and the United States are entering a new stage of strained relations as newly re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, flush with power, disregards renewed sanctions on Iran.

Smoke rises above opposition held areas of Daraa during airstrikes by Syrian regime forces on June 26, 2018. - Russian-backed regime forces have for weeks been preparing an offensive to retake Syria's south, a strategic zone that borders both Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (Photo by Mohamad ABAZEED / AFP) (Photo credit should read MOHAMAD ABAZEED/AFP/Getty Images)

Syria cease-fire deal unravels as Trump, Putin prepare to meet

A southwest Syria de-escalation deal heralded by the Donald Trump administration as an example of successful US-Russian cooperation is unraveling as the US and Russian leaders prepare to meet.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas walks during a welcoming ceremony for Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela, in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC1B8EF1CC30

How Abbas can tilt Trump's deal in Palestinians' favor

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should play the US negotiation team's game and demand that the United States follow UNSC Resolution 1515 that was adopted unanimously, instead of refusing negotiations.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) speaks at the Capitol Hill National Security Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC14236FD8D0

Congress seeks uptick in North Africa operations

The House Homeland Security panel chief wants to boost funding for counterterrorism in the Sahara region.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks to the press together with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announcing the U.S.'s withdrawal from the U.N's Human Rights Council at the Department of State in Washington, U.S., June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Toya Sarno Jordan - RC1A7B0F9990

Palestinians cheer US exit from UN Human Rights Council

The US withdrawal from the UN's Human Rights Council has given some Palestinians hope for a stronger pro-Palestinian European role without the United States to hold it back.

Vehicles of the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group patrol the town of Rmelane in Syria's Hasakeh province on June 5, 2018. - The leading Syrian Kurdish militia said it would withdraw from Manbij, easing fears of a direct clash between NATO allies Washington and Ankara over the strategic northern town. Manbij is a Sunni Arab-majority town that lies just 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the Turkish border, and where US and French troops belonging to the Western coalition against IS are station

Syrian opposition has high hopes for US-Turkish road map for Manbij

The US-Turkish road map for Manbij has entered the second of three phases, leading some to believe it might spare the area further bloodshed.

Apache helicopters fly over Tahrir Square during a protest to support the army, in Cairo July 26, 2013. Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi is under investigation for an array of charges including murder, the state news agency said on Friday, stoking tensions as opposing political camps took to the streets. Confirming the potential for bloodshed, two men were killed in confrontations in Egypt's second city Alexandria and a further 19 were hurt, Mena news agency reported. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYP

Congress presses Egypt on injured US citizen

Congress wants Cairo to compensate an American citizen who was grievously injured when Egyptian security forces attacked a tourist group with US-made weapons.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he sits between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S. June 21, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC14BFB2D4F0

What's the real motivation behind Trump's Mideast peace plan?

UN sources are skeptical on the feasibility of the US Mideast peace plan, which is clearly in favor of Israel’s positions.