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May 13, 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

Iran's supreme leader gives Europe list of demands to salvage nuclear deal

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outlined conditions that Europe must take if Iran is to remain in the nuclear deal.

Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference after their meetings at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC182A22B640

Kuwait's careful balancing act with Iran, Saudi Arabia

The muted responses to the US withdrawal from the Iran deal among smaller Gulf Cooperation Council member states reflect careful policies designed to balance ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies at a hearing of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC195AD591D0

Pompeo calls for review of security assistance to Lebanon

The State Department and congressional hawks are taking a second look at US support for the Lebanese Armed Forces after Hezbollah and its allies won a parliamentary majority in this month’s elections.

A Syrian boy holds the Iranian flag as a truck carrying aid provided by Iran arrives in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on September 20, 2017 while Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across the province.
Two separate offensives are under way against the jihadists in the area -- one by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the other by Russian-backed government forces. The Syrian army now controls around 70 percent

Iran rejects removing forces from Syria

Iranian officials have rejected the idea of pulling forces from Syria.

Are Trump, Netanyahu trying to topple Iranian regime?

Some Israeli security experts fear that an overly tough anti-Iranian policy could backfire at attempts to topple the ayatollah regime, uniting the Iranian people behind its leadership.

U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) (L) meets with Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abbawi (C) during his visit to Baghdad July 26, 2009. REUTERS/Hadi Mizban/Pool (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS) - GM1E57Q1IOY01

Congress rebels against Trump’s Middle East war secrecy

Fed up with increased restrictions on information and less on-the-ground access, some Democrats are seeking more transparency regarding the Donald Trump administration’s military operations throughout the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the Trump administration's Iran policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC11809E60C0

How US hawks are boosting Iranian radicals

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Iran is fueling the prospects for hard-liners who have been largely sidelined by Iranian voters in recent years.

A picture taken on February 15, 2018 shows a Turkish military convoy driving through Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

/ AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KADOUR (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish army's Idlib action 'riskiest cross-border operation' to date

Experts list the possibility of confrontation between Turkey and Syria, a new influx of refugees and activity by radical groups as potential hazards of Turkey’s deployment into Idlib.

Pompeo’s speech unites Iranian media, politicians

Iranian media and officials roundly rejected and ridiculed demands made on Tehran by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a speech.

Iraq elections: Will Sadr seek a new beginning with Turkey?

Ankara is welcoming Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s stand against foreign intervention and military presence — as long as it doesn't apply to Turkey.

Iraqi politicians look to calm tensions in wake of US withdrawal from Iran deal

The US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal poses questions about the role of the Iran-backed Shiite armed factions in bringing the US-Iranian confrontation into Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the Trump administration's Iran policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1DC92DF460

Pompeo outlines ‘maximum pressure’ plan for Iran

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would rally the world to impose crippling economic pressure on Iran to persuade it to submit to a broad set of demands, or face regime change.