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April 29, 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

Fall of Blue and White party leaves opening on Israeli political map

With Blue and White splitting and the Labor party declining, there is an opening for a new political alignment on the social-liberal side of the Israeli political map.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - HP1EG3G048LEH

Intel: J Street endorsement sets up battle with AIPAC for Biden’s ear

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, accepted a major endorsement from the lobbying group J Street today, setting up a battle for the former vice president’s ear with the left-leaning organization’s main rival, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

How US dumping duties will affect Egypt’s aluminum industry

The United States, one of Egypt’s key target markets, intends to impose customs duties on Egyptian aluminum sheets imports, which could hamper expansion and production increase.

GAZA CITY, GAZA - MARCH 19: Palestinians gather for a demonstration to demand coronavirus (COVID-19) protection for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, in Gaza City, Gaza on March 19, 2020. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Saving Palestinian prisoners’ lives requires releasing the elderly and sick

As Palestinians commemorate Prisoners' Day on April 17, the biggest demand appears to be how to safeguard prisoners from the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC13159EFD90

Trump administration doubles down on Iran nuclear treaty allegations

The Donald Trump administration is using a new arms control report to build upon its case that Iran could potentially be in violation of a key nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

Iraqi PM designate readies cabinet to present to parliament

As Intelligence Chief Mustafa Al-Kadhimi prepares his cabinet, he appears to have broad support, and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units aren't blocking his way.

$SYRIA - FEBRUARY 20, 2019: A humanitarian corridor for refugees leaving the Rukban refugee camp and 55-kilometre US-controlled Al-Tanf security zone in the settlement of Jabal al-Ghurab. Syria's law enforcement authorities and military police units of the Russian Armed Forces provide security at the two humanitarian corridors, Jleb and Jabal al-Ghurab. Konstantin Machulsky/TASS (Photo by Konstantin Machulsky\TASS via Getty Images)$

‘Nobody cares about us’: Syrians stuck at Rukban camp decry lack of testing

Syrians in the Rukban camp near the Jordanian border hope the coronavirus does not reach their isolated area as they have no coronavirus test kits; they also cannot cross the border into Jordan for any other type of medical care unless they have taken such a test and have proven negative.

Intel: Trump administration vows to expedite review of COVID-19 equipment for Iran

The US Treasury Department vowed today to prioritize and expedite the review of humanitarian license requests to send medical equipment to Iran to treat COVID-19 patients.

Intel: US holds virtual anti-IS meeting amid COVID-19 pandemic

The US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State convened a virtual meeting today to discuss the fight against the remnants of the terrorist group.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, with sailors manning the rails, leaves port on deployment to the western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf from San Diego, California, U.S., October 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake - RC14B47C0D50

Intel: 11 Iranian ships harass US vessels in Persian Gulf

The US 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf said today that 11 Iranian vessels “repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches against multiple US naval ships operating in international waters.”

Worst-case report: 75% of Iranians may contract coronavirus

A state-funded Iranian research center predicted that in a worst-case scenario, some three-fourths of the country’s population could ultimately contract the coronavirus.

Iran condemns Trump’s halt of WHO funding

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the United States in a tweet April 15, condemning the US president for suspending funding to the World Health Organization.