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June 18, 2026

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a government meeting at the Presidential Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 5, 2025.

Lebanon President Joseph Aoun to visit White House this month, Trump says

The visit would be the first by a Lebanese president to the White House in over a decade.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Trump’s proposal faces resistance from Damascus, skepticism from experts and opposition across Lebanon’s political spectrum.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Latest News

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016. Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2SIOS

What Netanyahu wants from Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already started preparing his first meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in order to persuade him to embrace his two-state rejectionist position.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.FILE PHOTO: A IranAir Boeing 747SP aircraft is pictured before leaving Tehran's Mehrabad airport September 19, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File photo - RTX2GZM9

House rushes to block Boeing sales to Iran

The Rules Committee will set up floor action on the measure on Monday.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 19, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTSOIET

Why Egypt's Sisi welcomes Trump win

While Egypt's president and his supporters have welcomed the election of Donald Trump, the country's liberals and pro-democracy activists aren't as pleased.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence embrace at their election night rally in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX2SVO5

Could Trump’s victory become opportunity for Iran?

Iranian commentators and political analysts view Trump’s victory with caution and doubt in regard to its implications for the international order.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walk next to a poster of Donald Trump in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTSS53C

Middle East will quickly teach Trump rules of the game

As US president, Donald Trump will have little option but to engage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and when he does, judiciously.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes his way through the crowd after addressing a Tea Party rally against the Iran nuclear deal at the U.S. Capitol in Washington September 9, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo FROM THE FILES PACKAGE "THE CANDIDATES" - SEARCH CANDIDATES FILES FOR ALL 90 IMAGES - RTX2SFIW

Is this the beginning of the end for the Iran deal?

Proponents of the nuclear pact fear the worst under a Trump administration.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani talks to journalists after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at Interior Ministry in Tehran December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX1ZKIR

Iran weighs in on new US foreign policy post election

Iranian politicians’ reaction to Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections has chiefly focused on the potential impact of new US policies on the nuclear deal.

Members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces gather in the town of Sinjar, Iraq November 13, 2015. Kurdish peshmerga forces secured several strategic facilities in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar on Friday as part of an offensive against Islamic State militants that could provide critical momentum in efforts to defeat the jihadist group. REUTERS/Ari Jalal FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS6S32

Is it time for a national settlement in Iraq?

The predominantly Shiite National Alliance that constitutes the majority of the Iraqi parliament released a document for national reconciliation for the post-Islamic State phase, though it is far from being implemented on the ground.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan leaves after a news conference following the National Security Council and cabinet meetings at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSIXEM

Turkey's domestic policy losing its foreign friends

Turkey’s foreign relations continue to deteriorate, especially with Europe.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carry their weapons as they take positions in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 20, 2016. Picture taken August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2MEE9

A look at battle for Raqqa from a Kurdish perspective

A YPG commander told Al-Monitor in an interview that Kurdish militias will help the Syrian Democratic Forces liberate Raqqa but won’t remain in the city after the Islamic State is expelled.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) and his counterparts Walid al-Muallem (R) from Syria and Mohammad Javad Zarif from Iran attend a news conference in Moscow, Russia, October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTX2QU34

The Russian-Iranian alliance that wasn't

Collaboration between Iran and Russia on regional matters is growing, but there are still major obstacles to a true Russian-Iranian alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a concert, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, June 7, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Mikhail Klimentyev/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSGGFA

Russia emerges as a center of gravity for Israel

Given that Russia’s influence in the Middle East excluding Syria remains limited, Moscow is looking for other entry points — but can Israel offer such an opportunity?