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May 2, 2026

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

The US President was openly critical of previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki, seen as too close to Iran, but is now welcoming the new candidate put forward by Iraq’s leading Shiite bloc.

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

Latest News

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

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

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

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

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25 : The President of Iran Hassan Rouhani shakes hands with UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations on September 25, 2019 in New York City. The United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA, is expected to attract over 90 heads of state in New York City for a week of speeches, talks and high level diplomacy concerning global issues (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Biden administration's textbook approach to Iran may be paying off

The United States builds consensus with European Union partners first, while bolstering deterrence; Rezai says Iran willing to talk if US sends 'clear signal' on sanctions; Rouhani’s missing coattails in Iran’s June elections.

Republicans challenge Biden's Pentagon policy nominee on Iran

Colin Kahl said he supports the Abraham Accords and continued pressure on Tehran.

International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (C) and deputy prosecutor James Stewart (R) attend the initial appearance before judges of member of the board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona of the Central African Republic, at the ICC in The Hague on January 25, 2019, following his extradition from France on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. - Ngaissona is charged with coordinating so-called anti-Balaka militia which emerged after

Biden faces calls to lift Trump's controversial ICC sanctions

The International Criminal Court’s investigation into potential war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas is looming over the Biden administration’s review of sanctions on the Hague-based tribunal.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh gestures during a press conference in Tehran on February 22, 2021. - Iran hailed as a "significant achievement" a temporary agreement Tehran reached with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog on site inspections. That deal effectively bought time as the United States, European powers and Tehran try to salvage the 2015 nuclear agreement that has been on the brink of collapse since Donald Trump withdrew from it. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KEN

Iran says 'time not ripe' for negotiations with US

Tehran has said Washington's proposed inclusion in negotiations over reviving the Iran nuclear deal cannot work unless the United States lifts sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

TOPSHOT - Armed Yemeni tribesmen loyal to the Shiite Huthi rebels sit in the back of an armed vehicle during a gathering to mobilise more fighters into several battlefronts on November 1, 2016 on the outskirts of the capital Sanaa.
The war in Yemen escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign to push back the Huthi rebels, after they seized the capital in 2014 and then advanced on other parts of Yemen.

/ AFP / MOHAMMED HUWAIS (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED

US sanctions two Houthi military leaders after attacks on Saudi Arabia

The administration's revocation of the Houthis' terrorist designation has been met with further missile strikes.

Displaced Yemenis wait for their turn at a health clinic of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) in Yemen's war-ravaged western province of Hodeida, on February 24, 2021. (Photo by Khaled Ziad / AFP) (Photo by KHALED ZIAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden under pressure to reverse Trump's aid cuts in Yemen

The Joe Biden administration faces growing calls from Democratic lawmakers and aid groups to reinstate funding to Houthi-held northern Yemen.

WATCH: Pentagon releases video of Iran ballistic missile attack on Iraq air base

More than a dozen ballistic missiles rained down on Ain al-Asad and Erbil air bases in Iraq last year after the United States killed Qasem Soleimani.

Turkey silent as US Khashoggi report emerges

Ankara's silence following the declassification of a US intelligence report implicating the Saudi crown prince in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing speaks to its own contradictions on the issue.

Iran rejects EU invitation to talks with US on nuclear deal

Tehran's rejection may be posturing, but the clock is ticking on chances to limit its nuclear capabilities.

US President Joe Biden signs an executive order on securing critical supply chains, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 24, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden approves airstrike on Iran-backed militias in Syria following Iraq attacks

Officials suggested the late-night precision bombing was designed to minimize casualties while avoiding backlash from the Iraqi government.

CENTCOM chief warns Iran over strikes on Erbil, Saudi Arabia

Gen. Kenneth "'Frank" McKenzie warned Iran in the boldest statement yet from the Biden administration over the attacks.

Russian soldiers examine the S-400 Triumph rocket systems in Elektrostal, 06 August 2007. Russia's long-delayed Triumph anti-aircraft missile system was activated around Moscow today in an upgrade of the capital's air defences, Russian military officials said. In mid-July Russia successfully tested the long-delayed S-400 missiles, also known by their NATO designation SA-21 Growler. The director of the Almaz plant that designed the rockets, Igor Ashurbeily, told the Interfax news agency that the company expe

As Erdogan finesses Turkey-US ties, Pentagon reiterates stance on S-400s

A Pentagon official urged Ankara to take action over its Russian-made S-400 missile acquisition after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed interest in restoring bilateral ties.