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May 6, 2026

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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.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

While President Donald Trump keeps pressuring Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Israel fears the American leader will decide to cut his losses and sideline the nuclear threat.

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

Latest News

Pentagon says Iran ceasefire continues despite UAE attack

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2026.

Macron casts doubt on Trump’s Hormuz operation as France-US gap grows

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L), and European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Zelensky at the White House for a bilateral meeting and an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/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

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif speaks with the media on the sidelines of a security conference in New Delhi, India, January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Alasdair Pal - RC29GE9BKE8L

Iran's Zarif under fire for saying he’d negotiate with US

Iranian conservatives have attacked Iran’s foreign minister for stating that Iran is open to talks with the United States.

Israeli security forces seal off a street near Jerusalem's Damascus Gate after a suspected stabbing attack, September 18, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC14B5380D30

Israel’s security system prepares for growing Palestinian frustration

Israeli security tops fear that instead of bringing peace, the plan of US President Donald Trump would escalate tensions with Palestinians and bring closer Hamas and Fatah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a ceremony to inaugurate a memorial commemorating citizens and defenders of Leningrad under siege during World War Two in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2OLE9HQ3UJ

Trump, Netanyahu reset election with annexation surprise

The unveiling of President Donald Trump’s 'deal of the century' offers Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an unprecedented opportunity to secure right-wing votes by announcing that he will annex West Bank settlements.

Trump’s plan unveiled: Netanyahu's best and worst day ever

The 'deal of the century' presented by President Donald Trump is unlikely to bring about Israeli-Palestinian peace but serves first and foremost to boost the electoral fortunes of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's indicted prime minister.

How an ultra-secularist gained clout in Turkey's Islamist government

Dogu Perincek, said to be a pillar of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent anti-West policies, has had a long history of controversial alliances and ideologies.

Qaim residents fearful following conflict between US, Iran-backed militias

Recent US attacks on positions along the Syrian border held by Iran-linked armed groups — some of whom are on the Iraqi government payroll — have led to insecurity among local residents, who had been seeing improvements in their lives.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC23FE9EJI5L

Pentagon: 34 US troops injured in Iranian strike

Dozens of US troops have left Ain al-Asad air base for medical evaluation following Iran's missile strikes earlier this month, despite the US administration claiming earlier that no service members had been injured.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC21HD9N30CL

Trump administration adjusts policies to new realities in Syria and Iraq

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazlum Kobane has suggested in an interview new confidence-building measures with Turkey. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Barham Salih have managed expectations in their meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

A general view picture shows the Israeli barrier running along the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shuafat, in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2GME9FFFI3

The electoral politics of Trump's peace and propaganda in Israel

The Trump administration peace plan ignores the Arab Peace Initiative, the Quartet, the road map for peace, and foremost a true quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr protest against what they say is U.S. presence and violations in Iraq, during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC28ME988GRG

As Iraq's protests continue, is political solution on the horizon?

As the Iraqi government feels the pressure of protests, political leaders are moving toward forming a national front to resolve the Iraqi crisis.

Palestinian demonstrators burn a crossed-out poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and reading: "no for Deal of the Century" during a protest against Bahrain's workshop for U.S. Middle East peace plan, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1478E53560

Trump 'deal of the century' still no deal for Palestinians

With the unveiling of the Donald Trump administration's peace plan, Palestinian leaders have reiterate their categorical rejection of it, certain that it fulfills none of their demands toward statehood.

Gantz caught in Trump and Netanyahu's peace plan ambush

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have been invited to the White House on the same day the Knesset is set to discuss Netanyahu’s request for immunity involving corruption charges.