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April 28, 2026

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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.

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

Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

As President Donald Trump pressures Israel to limit its strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah is taking advantage of the situation.

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

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

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

With talks between Israel and Lebanon being held in Washington, Paris still insists that it must be involved to balance possible American bias and to protect Beirut’s interests.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

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

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

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

US boards Iran-linked tanker in Indian Ocean, vows pursuit of 'ghost fleet'

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 14: A US Navy Seahawk helicopter takes off from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan on July 14, 2017 in Townsville, Australia. USS Ronald Reagan is a 1,092- foot aircraft carrier which carries a crew of 4,539 around 60 aircraft. Exercise Talisman Sabre is the largest combined military exercise undertaken in Australia. The biennial exercise is the principal Australian and U.S. military training activity. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

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

Iraqi soldiers search for IS along Tigris River

Iraqi army soldiers look for IS fighters in Samarra, where IS has been active during the coronavirus lockdown in the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the ministry of foreign affairs in Cairo, Egypt, January 10, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC1A495CFE00

Intel: Egypt’s medical aid to US fails to stem outrage over American prisoners

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry by phone on Thursday to discuss “continued collaboration on key regional issues and bilateral COVID-19 assistance."

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC2HIF91AUNH

Intel: Biden vows to back Armenian genocide resolution as president

Former Vice President Joe Biden marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on Friday with a pledge to back a resolution recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of more than 1 million mostly Christian Armenians as a genocide.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a speech at his Jerusalem office, regarding the new measures that will be taken to fight the coronavirus, March 14, 2020. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC2WJF9BHL7Z

Netanyahu looks to boost image with COVID-19 talks with world leaders

Advancing the WHO videoconference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in another videoconference with six other world leaders on fighting the coronavirus.

An Iranian warship and speed boats take part in a naval war game in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran April 22, 2010. Iran's Revolutionary Guards successfully deployed a new speed boat capable of destroying enemy ships as war games began on Thursday in a waterway crucial for global oil supplies, Iranian media reported. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) QUALITY FROM SOURCE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - GM1E64M1H8101

Do US and Iranian navies need a hotline in the Gulf?

In the absence of direct US-Iran diplomacy, a navy-to-navy communication channel might prevent an unwanted confrontation.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC20AG905752

Iran claims US started latest Persian Gulf confrontation

In today's Iran media review, the IRGC alleges the United States started the latest incident in the Persian Gulf and threatens to target US ships if Washington targets Iran's.

A health worker disinfects a market amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen April 13, 2020. Picture taken April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC2Z4G9VELS3

New US restrictions on WHO, Houthis lead to COVID-19 puzzle in Yemen

While the Donald Trump administration is considering increasing its COVID-19 support for Yemen after slashing millions in aid, its new restrictions on the World Health Organization poses significant logistical challenges.

Intel: Trump calls on Qatar to work toward resolving Gulf dispute

President Donald Trump has asked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to take steps to resolve the ongoing dispute with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, which blockaded Qatar in 2017.

ANKARA, TURKEY - SEPTEMBER 15: (---EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "TURKISH NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) The final parts of the second battery of Russian S-400 missile defense system arrive at Murted Airbase in Ankara, Turkey on September 15, 2019. (Photo by TURKISH NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTRY / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey’s S-400 delay is about more than just the economy and COVID-19

Turkey’s deepening economic woes are widely seen as the prime reason behind its decision to delay the activation of the Russian S-400 systems. But an array of other factors have been at play that are forcing Ankara to think twice.

A Palestinian carries food supplies at an aid distribution center run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC16E05A7E10

Intel: Trump administration claims Palestinian aid not reaching people who need it

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, explaining the Donald Trump administration’s decision to provide $5 million in COVID-19 assistance to the Palestinians in place of $75 million appropriated overall, said US economic and humanitarian aid for the West Bank and Gaza is being cut in general because it was not reaching the people.

A healthcare worker dons personal protective equipment (PPE) at a One Medical testing facility built to help with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RC289G9Z2EGA

Intel: Erdogan reportedly agrees to ship ventilator parts, PPE to United States

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is approving an export permit that will allow Turkey to sell personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilator parts to the United States.

ANKARA, TURKEY - NOVEMBER 25: The S-400 air defence system from Russia is activated for testing at Turkish Air Force's Murdet Air Base on November 25, 2019 in Ankara, Turkey. Turkey purchased the anti-aircraft weapons system from Russia over the objections of the United States, which has threatened to sanction Turkey and exclude it from its F-35 fighter jet program. The U.S. fears that the F-35, which is designed to evade such anti-aircraft systems, will be compromised if Turkey deploys both. (Photo by Gett

Delayed S-400 activation could offer chance for Turkey-US ties to warm

Citing complications amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ankara has postponed the activation of its Russian-made S-400 missile systems, possibly opening an avenue to ease US-Turkey tensions.