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May 3, 2026

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

The US President was openly critical of previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki, seen as too close to Iran, but is now welcoming the new candidate put forward by Iraq’s leading Shiite bloc.

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

Latest News

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

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

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

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

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) listens to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians during a meeting at The Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul on November 17, 2020. (Photo by Patrick Semansky / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK SEMANSKY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo skips Ankara, meets with Christian leader in final Turkey visit

In his final visit to Turkey as US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo met with the Orthodox Christian spiritual leader in Istanbul Tuesday, forgoing meetings with state officials in a possible message to conservative American voters.

National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien attends a briefing on Enhanced Narcotics Operations at the US Southern Command in Doral, Florida, on July 10, 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump's national security adviser says ending Gulf rift 'priority'

Qatar has been under a land, sea and air blockade by four regional states since 2017.

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times)

With Trump on way out, Netanyahu nails together settlement legacy

With US President-elect Joe Biden preparing to take office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rushing to set his settlement achievements in stone.

This picture taken December 12, 2019 shows (L) a view of the exchange board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh displaying Aramco shares on the second day of their trading, along with a poster depicting Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz ibn Saud (C), his son and current King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R), and the latter's son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) on display. - Energy giant Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion as its share price surged again on its second da

Gulf oil exporters look past Biden’s green energy platform

The possible return of Iranian crude to global markets is a short-term concern for Gulf oil producers, which expect to be the last man standing in a decarbonizing world.

An eagle statue is seen placed on a Menorah sculpture donated by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP) dedicated to US President Donald Trump by the entrance to Trump Heights, an Israeli settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on September 21, 2020. - Twenty Jewish families are due to move to the remote spot by the end of November, with the aim of 20 families arriving each year for the next decade. Trump Heights, or "Ramat Trump" in Hebrew, was inaugurated in June 2019 by Pr

Netanyahu goes for broke in Trump's last two months

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still hoping to squeeze last-minute favors from outgoing US President Donald Trump at the expense of his relationship with the incoming administration.

The influential head of Lebanon's General Security apparatus, Abbas Ibrahim, is pictured during an interview at his office in the capital Beirut on July 22, 2020. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s intelligence chief visited Damascus amid efforts to free Austin Tice

Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim suggested efforts to secure the American journalist's release continued after Ibrahim visited Washington last month.

Intel: US to activate air defense batteries to test Israel's Iron Dome

Both Iron Domes are expected to arrive at Fort Bliss by January

US Vice President Joe Biden meets with General Lloyd Austin, the commander of United States Forces - Iraq (USF-I), and US ambassador in Iraq James Jeffrey at the US embassy upon the former's arrival at Baghdad on a surprise visit on November 29, 2011, during which he is due to meet top Iraqi officials, as American troops depart Iraq ahead of a year-end deadline. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden unlikely to turn back in Iraq

Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says Biden knows Iraq "as well or better than just about anyone."

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 22: James Jeffrey, State Department special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, waits for the beginning of a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 22, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on "Assessing the Impact of Turkey's Offensive in Northeast Syria." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

US threat to shutter Baghdad embassy 'ongoing,' says Syria envoy

Outgoing US Syria envoy James Jeffrey says the State Department's threats to close the US Embassy in Iraq is "very serious."

A picture taken on October 14, 2020 shows a general view of the Israeli settlement of Psagot on the eastern outskirts of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. - Israel approved 2,166 new homes in settlements across the occupied West Bank, official figures sent to AFP showed, ending an eight-month lull in settlement expansion. The approvals came less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel, which in return pledged to freeze its plans to annex

Pompeo reportedly to visit Israeli West Bank settlement

The US secretary of state is expected to make an unprecedented visit to Psagot, an Israeli settlement in what is globally recognized as Palestinian territory, on his current trip to the Middle East.

With Biden’s election, Israeli left relevant again

Now that Joe Biden has been elected as the next president of the United States, Israel’s political left feels revived.

How will US removal of Turkestan Islamic Party from terrorism list affect Syrian file?

The Turkestan Islamic Party, which is mainly made up of fighters from the Uighur minority in China and is one the largest non-Syrian fighting group in Idlib, has been removed from the US terrorist exclusion list.