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May 12, 2026

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

Latest News

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

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)

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

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

Israel-Hamas talks isolate Abbas

Israel negotiates with Hamas, despite its ideology of destroying the Jewish state, while ignoring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, its only security partner against terror.

US decision to cut aid could be opening for flagging Saudi approach to Syria

Syria stabilization will instead likely depend on Putin’s shuttle diplomacy with Ankara and Damascus.

Humanitarian aid is prepared to be delivered to Syria, in the town of Ramtha, Jordan, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC12927A2020

US outsources Syria aid to Gulf

In an apparent win for the Donald Trump administration, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to pick up the tab to stabilize Syria.

People walk past a house destroyed by an air strike in the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen August 8, 2018. Picture taken August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1116261260

Trump, Democrats face off over Yemen war

President Donald Trump is spurning Congress’ bipartisan bid to exert more control over the war in Yemen despite signing key oversight provisions into law.

Iran-US conflict leaves Abadi in a dilemma

By rectifying his statement on supporting US sanctions against Iran, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is balancing between the United States and Iran in Iraq to keep both sides as his supportive allies.

Reformism weakens as factional interests reign supreme in Iran

The lack of broad embrace of former Reformist President Mohammad Khatami’s call for change signifies not just continued conservative refusal to enter "national dialogue," but also the Iranian public’s increasing disregard for the pro-Reform camp.

A portrait of rights group NGO Amnesty International's chairman in Turkey Taner Kilic is hung on June 6, 2018 on the fence of the historic French stock market building "Palais Brongniart" in Paris, to protest against Kilic's custody since a year for allegedly belonging to the movement led by an US-based Muslim preacher, whom Turkey accuses of ordering the 2016 coup bid. (Photo by FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP) (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images)

Ankara frees Amnesty International chair

Amnesty International's Turkey chair Taner Kilic was finally freed today as Turkey looks to Europe for help with its financial woes.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC180FCCDBD0

Russian, Turkish officials meet, keep low profile on Idlib ideas

Moscow and Ankara seem to share some common goals regarding Syria, but don't necessarily agree on how to reach them.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump wait for a meeting at the Palace Hotel during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly September 21, 2017 in New York City. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Turkey’s 'strategic partnership' with America coming to an end?

An expert maintains that if solutions to the structural factors poisoning ties cannot be found, Turkish-American relations will continue to deteriorate.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up the National Defense Authorization Act after signing it in front of soldiers from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, U.S., August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1992081BA0

Pentagon budget leaves uncertain future for Middle East

President Donald Trump authorized on Monday the Pentagon’s 2019 budget, which will underwrite big upgrades for US weapons systems and troop numbers but leaves an uncertain future for the Pentagon’s operations in the Middle East.

Turkey wants its share of Syria’s reconstruction

Turkey is bargaining with Russia for the reconstruction of Aleppo and to promote field projects in order to get a share in the reconstruction efforts of the war-torn country.

Israel's nationality law knows no boundaries

Israel's new nationality law undermines its prospects of being a state like any other, with recognized boundaries, living in peace and security with its neighbors.