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May 14, 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

Trump opposes Netanyahu on annexation plans

The White House accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying, after he declared during a closed party meeting that he was discussing annexation plans with the American administration.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 17: L to R, Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and John Hannah, senior counselor at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, testify during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing titled "White House Narratives on the Iran Nuclear Deal," on Capitol Hill, May 17, 2016, in Washington, DC. Ben Rhodes, White House Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication, has been und

US expected to name former Cheney aide as Syria envoy

The Trump administration is expected to name John Hannah the next US Syria envoy.

A Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighter walks near a wall, which activists said was put up by Turkish authorities, on the Syria-Turkish border in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain, Syria January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - GF10000289206

Pentagon seeks to soothe Turkish fears over Syria border security request

The Defense Department insists that its $300 million request to train and equip Syrian forces won’t be used to create a Kurdish-dominated “border guard” on Turkey’s doorstep.

Animosity toward US uniting Turkey, Russia, Iran in Syria

A loose alliance between Turkey, Russia and Iran in Syria is fraught with tensions driven by developments on the ground, but the three remain united in their desire not to provide advantage to the United States.

Abbas turns to Moscow in search for new Mideast mediator

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has stepped up his diplomatic offensive to secure support for international sponsorship of the peace process.

U.N. peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the Lebanese-Israeli border as they drive past a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah in Adaisseh village, southern Lebanon January 29, 2015. Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed when Hezbollah fired a missile at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles at the Lebanon border. A U.N. spokesman and Spanish officials said the peacekeeper was killed as Israel responded with air strike

Trump seeks to slash funding for UN missions in Mideast

The State Department budget is seeking across-the-board cuts to international peacekeeping missions worldwide.

A U.S soldier stands on a bridge with his gun in the town of Gwer northern Iraq August 31, 2016. Picture taken August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - S1AETYVKSRAA

Pentagon budget retains same troop levels in Iraq, Syria

The Donald Trump administration’s new budget for the Pentagon leaves in place nearly 6,000 US troops in Iraq and Syria.

TOPSHOT - A convoy of US forces armoured vehicles drives near the village of Yalanli, on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Manbij, on March 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US, Turkey could be on collision course in Syria

Neither side is backing down as Ankara and Washington exchange tough talk over potential confrontations in Syria.

A man walks on rubble at a damaged site after an airstrike in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh - RC18866F2CF0

Despite defeat of IS, Syria war risks major power conflict

The United States and Russia should abandon "proxy wars" and back a new UN Security Council resolution for a regional peace conference.

Israel, Syria, Iran clash in the skies

Israel reacted strongly to the Iranian drone that penetrated its territory and to Syrian fire targeting an Israel Defense Forces jet.

Democrat hawk says he’s sticking by Iran deal after reclaiming top panel spot

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., took back the top spot on the Senate Foreign Relations panel this week after prosecutors dropped corruption charges against him.

Syrian Army soldiers walk along a street in Deir al Zor, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 11, 2017. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. - RC17E35CAF70

Pentagon plays down Russian influence in Syria after clash with US-backed forces

Secretary of Defense James Mattis insisted that Moscow had little control over Syrian troops that attacked US allies; Mattis also dismissed fears that the United States is getting dragged into another Middle East war.