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Politics & Security

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

Israel has continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon but had not targeted Beirut since the ceasefire took effect.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Ankara comes amid rapidly expanding Turkish-Saudi coordination as the fallout from the Iran war reshapes Gulf security dynamics.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Iran, China discuss Hormuz reopening amid potential US-Iran talks

China’s foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that “persisting in negotiations is particularly important.”

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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

The US appears to be pushing for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the Lebanese government says it won't happen while Israel continues to launch attacks on Lebanon.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

Parker Song / Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the Jabal Al-Rehan area in the southern Lebanese Jezzine district on September 21, 2024.

US, UK militaries deploy troops to Cyprus in case of Lebanon evacuation

Washington has not yet authorized an evacuation, but President Joe Biden acknowledged "all-out war is possible" as Israel mobilizes two reserve brigades amid threats of a potential ground incursion to root out Hezbollah.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, attends the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on Sept. 9, 2024.

Interview

IAEA chief: Iran's nuclear program on 'turbocharge' without deal

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he expects to discuss Iran's stonewalling an investigation into its past nuclear activities when he meets with President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran next month.

Rafael Grossi

Rafael Grossi

IAEA Director General

ETIENNE TORBEY/AFP via Getty Images

US, UK send troops to Cyprus in response to Lebanon crisis: What we know

Western countries have been calling on citizens to depart Lebanon while some Lebanese residents are fleeing to Syria.

IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

More than 40,000 shelter in Lebanon schools as Israel expands airstrikes

Israeli airstrikes continued in Lebanon for the third day in a row, causing the worst wave of displacement in nearly two decades.

A cloud of smoke erupts during an Israeli airstrike on the village of Sujud in southern Lebanon on Sept. 25, 2024.

Israeli military prepares for possible ground operation in Lebanon

The Israeli military is activating two reserve soldier brigades in what could be part of the preparation for a possible ground invasion into Lebanon.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Marjayoun, near the Lebanon-Israel border, on Sept. 23, 2024.

Analysis

Could Israel's Lebanon assault force Hezbollah withdrawal beyond Litani River?

US and French mediation efforts to reach a deal between Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate tensions and implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 have failed so far.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, in the Oval Office on January 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss a range of issues, including global energy security as concerns about Russian natural gas supplies continue. (Photo by Tom Brenner-Pool/New York Times/Getty Images)

Qatar to join US visa-free travel list in first for Arab country

Qatar is set to become the second Middle Eastern country, behind Israel, to join the US Visa Waiver Program.

Passengers check their flight times at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024, amid escalations in the ongoing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. The Beirut airport did not close but some airlines, including Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways, cancelled flights. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Most airlines suspend Beirut flights as Israel ramps up Lebanon attacks

International airlines have canceled flights to the Lebanese capital and Tel Aviv due to intensifying fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon sees biggest wave of displacement since 2006, over 20,000 take shelter in schools

Lebanon is witnessing its largest wave of displacement since the 2006 war amid extensive Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in the country.

Smoke billows from the site of Israeli airstrikes in Aramti, near the Lebanon-Israel border, on Sept. 23, 2024.

On UN summit sidelines, US seeks off-ramp to Israel-Hezbollah conflict

A senior State Department official said Washington had "concrete ideas" to de-escalate the mounting crisis in Lebanon and warned against an Israeli ground offensive.

Debris lie around destroyed vehicles in a street under a residential building whose top two floors were hit by an Israeli strike in the Ghobeiri area of Beirut's southern suburbs on September 24, 2024. A Lebanese security source said on September 24 that an Israeli strike hit Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold, as the Israel army confirmed it carried out the strike in the Lebanese capital without giving further details. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel's 2 goals in Lebanon: Decouple Hezbollah-Gaza, restore deterrence

"Our aspiration is to strike Hezbollah with a force that it has not yet experienced, while remaining below the threshold of regional war or bringing Iran into direct war," a senior Israeli political source told Al-Monitor.

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

US President Joe Biden and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan walk to the Oval Office for a meeting at the White House on Sept. 23, 2024 in Washington, DC.

US declares UAE 'major defense partner,' seeking to outbid China

The move put the US-UAE military relationship on the same footing as that between the United States and India.

United Arab Emirates