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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

The building of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is pictured in The Hague, Netherlands, October 4, 2018. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw - RC122CAC18C0

Intel: State Department backs up watchdog report on Syria chemical weapons use

The United States agrees with the recent assessment of a global chemical weapons watchdog that found the Syrian regime used banned weapons against its own people, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.

The sun sets behind a crude oil pump jack on a drill pad in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S. November 24, 2019. Picture taken November 24, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant - RC23NF9H59Z2

Amid Saudi-Russia price war, US on track to become net oil importer: Report

The coronavirus and the Saudi-Russia oil price war are contributing to a fall in US oil production and the United States is expected to become a net oil importer again in the fall.

Iran's Rouhani pushes for IMF loan, slams US 'medical terrorism'

US points to medical and humanitarian exceptions to sanctions policies, blames Iran's mismanagement of economy.

Intel: Saudis to discuss oil price war with new Republican detractors

Saudi officials will hold a phone call to discuss the kingdom’s record high oil output with two Republican senators that have become the ringleaders in conservative efforts to pressure Riyadh into ending the price war.

Islamic State seeks comeback under cover of coronavirus

Iraqi authorities are worried the Islamic State will rear its head again now that the US-led coalition's anti-terror efforts have been put on hold, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An airline employee walks through Reagan National Airport during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Washington, U.S., April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2KYF955PLJ

‘All hands on deck:’ Middle East embassies inundated with citizens stranded in US

Middle East embassies are overwhelmed with calls from citizens trying to return home as COVID-19 spreads in the United States.

Chairman of the House Armed Forces Committee Adam Smith (D-WA) awaits the arrival of Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford to testify on the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Budget Request from the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BF79E5F30

Intel: Key Democrat says Yemen war restrictions 'on the table' in major defense bill

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., told Al-Monitor today that Democrats are considering renewing last year’s push to cut off US support to the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as part of Congress’ annual defense authorization bill.

A woman wears a protective face mask and gloves, amid fear of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as she sells the masks in Tajrish square in Tehran, Iran April 2, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2DWF9I0AKY

Intel: US comes out against emergency COVID-19 IMF loan for Iran

The United States opposes Iran’s request for a $5 billion emergency loan request from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it cope with the coronavirus pandemic, Al-Monitor has learned.

A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces stands amidst the ruins of buildings near the Clock Square in Raqqa, Syria October 18, 2017. Picture taken October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - RC1E4E003870

US-led coalition ally targets State Department-funded Syrian Arab activists

Syrian civil society activists in the country's largely Kurdish northeast are being arrested and held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, possibly as part of a campaign of intimidation.

Intel: US, Iraq to meet on American troop presence

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that the United States and Iraq will convene next month to hammer out several thorny issues, including the status of US troops who remain stationed in Iraq.

Houses in the Israeli settlement of settlement of Kedumim are seen in the foreground as part of the Palestinian city of Nablus is seen in the background (far left) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2R7F9HN66O

Intel: Netanyahu, Gantz strike West Bank annexation deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, struck a deal today to annex parts of the West Bank as part of their bid to form a unity government.

A volunteer from Basij forces wearing a protective suit and face mask sprays disinfectant as he sanitizes a bus station, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) fears, in Tehran, Iran April 3, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2YWF9PA44V

Intel: Iran accuses US of blocking IMF loan request to fight coronavirus

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council publicly accused the United States on Sunday of blocking Iran’s request for a $5 million emergency loan request from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the country.