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July 21, 2026

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Middle East Airlines aircraft sit on the tarmac at Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport on April 10, 2026. Smoke from an Israeli strike still lingered in the air as a plane from Lebanon's national carrier took off from Beirut airport, which has stayed open despite the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah. The country's only international passenger facility, whose departure boards are now largely red with cancellations, is located on the Mediterranean coast at the edge of Beirut's southern suburbs. (Photo by Anw

Breaking | Last Updated: July 21, 2026, 4:11 pm

Trump authorizes direct US flights to Lebanon after 4-decade halt

Direct flights between the United States and Lebanon have not been operational since 1985.

FILE PHOTO: A satellite view shows tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain, of the Natanz nuclear facility, near Natanz, Iran, June 30, 2026. Vantor/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Analysis

Israel draws line on Houthi attacks, hopes for Trump strike on Pickaxe Mountain

From the perspective of the Israeli military and some politicians, the current situation of the US striking at Iran and Israel staying out of the conflict is ideal.

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

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) greets President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun as he arrives at the White House on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. Aoun is visiting the White House on the final day of a four-day trip to Washington to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah as the Israeli military begins its first limited withdrawal from Lebanon following last month’s U.S.-brokered agreement. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Trump hosts Lebanon's Aoun, pledges 'concrete plans' toward Israeli withdrawal

President Joseph Aoun arrived in Washington over the weekend and is holding the first Oval Office meeting for a Lebanese head of state since 2009.

Latest News

Israel to withdraw from Lebanon’s pilot zones ahead of Aoun-Trump meeting

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, DC, July 19, 2026.

Oil tops $90 as Iran warns Hormuz 'will not be safe'

Amir Hossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As Turkey eyes US naval revival, here is why big warship deals are unlikely

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, greets Donald Trump, president of United States, during a welcome ceremony of allied heads of state and government, on July 8, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

What Zaidi's Washington visit means for US investment in Iraq

US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister of Iraq Ali al-Zaidi during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, July 14, 2026.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

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

People search among the rubble of a destroyed building at the site of a Saudi-led air strike on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RTX2RUJI

Democrats urged Obama to cease Yemen war role before Trump took over

Twenty-five House Democrats wrote to Barack Obama earlier this month to ask him to stop supporting the Saudi-led coalition.

U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (R), looks up while signing an executive order on the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTSWZZR

Is Trump hoping for another Ahmadinejad in Tehran?

Iranian media paid less than expected attention to President Trump’s inauguration as it was busy covering the aftermath of the deadly collapse of a high-rise in Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 22, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSWSD2

Israeli security establishment to Netanyahu: Don't touch Iran deal

Contrary to the opinion of Israel’s security establishment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers asking President Donald Trump to abandon the nuke agreement with Iran.

People inspect a site hit by airstrikes at a parking garage in the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTSW2U6

Is Turkey’s shift on Assad beginning of the end of Syria’s war?

Turkish deputy prime minister says "we just have to work with what we have"; no sectarian divide in Aleppo; the Syrian Kurdish fault line.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, the interior minister, arrives to a military parade in preparation for the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah. - RTX2O8NJ

How Washington, Riyadh can work together to counter terrorism

It would behoove Washington and Riyadh to take steps to reassure each other in the fight against terrorism.

A member of Libyan forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar holds a weapon as he sits on a car in front of the gate at Zueitina oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi, Libya September 14, 2016. Picture taken September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori - RTSNU2U

US strike rekindles debate over Trump plans for Libya

Barack Obama made a show of battling the Islamic State in conjunction with Tripoli's UN-backed unity government. Will the new president drop the GNA for an anti-Islamist strongman?

(First row From L) Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, French President Francois Hollande, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir pose for a family picture during the Mideast peace conference in Paris, France, January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/POOL TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSVNHB

After Paris — a Moscow conference on Mideast peace?

Palestinians are now developing a follow-up strategy to the Paris II conference, and are hoping for a Moscow conference in the near future.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAJX

US pastor in Turkish jail while Gulen dominates talks

Turkey’s prime minister has asked the US president-elect to hand over exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen in the interest of furthering US-Turkey relations even as Ankara continues to hold American pastor Andrew Brunson on terror charges.

Confusion over US presence at Astana Syria talks

A Russian invitation to the Trump transition team to send a representative to Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana Jan. 23 has caused confusion and revealed limited interactions between the incoming and outgoing US administrations.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on her nomination to be to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSW3K1

Trump's UN nominee reassures advocates of Iran deal, two-state solution

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley offered a measured counterpoint to Donald Trump's inflamed rhetoric during her confirmation hearing Jan. 18.

Turkish military vehicles drive in the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, as they head towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2Y60D

US backs Turkish offensive with airstrikes around al-Bab

After repeated appeals from Turkey for the United States to help Turkish troops and their rebel proxies to capture al-Bab, US airstrikes are resuming in a move that could help diffuse growing tensions between the NATO allies.

A man walks past the Trump Towers building in Istanbul on July 30, 2015. US billionaire Donald Trump handily leads all fellow Republicans in the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats trump him in head-to-head matchups, a poll said July 30. AFP PHOTO/ OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Why Ankara’s honeymoon with Trump may be short-lived

By blasting the Obama administration over Gulen and the Syrian Kurds, the Turkish government is signaling to the incoming Trump administration its demands for improved ties.