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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

Patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lie in beds at the ICU of Sasan Hospital, in Tehran, Iran March 30, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2GUF9M2YGL

How will the COVID-19 crisis impact US-Iran tensions?

If Iran can hold out long enough against COVID-19, Tehran and Washington might be able to come to terms.

A security man checks the temperature of a customer, as he enters the supermarket before curfew , following the outbreak of coronavirus, in Baghdad, Iraq March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC2RLF917B9G

Intel: US touts nearly $40 million in coronavirus aid to Middle East

The United States today touted nearly $40 million in aid to the Middle East and North Africa as part of a $274 million emergency health and humanitarian assistance package to help afflicted countries deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Iraq’s post-pandemic future depends on breaking Iran’s hold

The Trump administration tells Iraq it faces a 'decision point' in choosing America or Iran.

Intel: Trump administration to cut Yemen aid amid potential coronavirus cease-fire

The Donald Trump administration is preparing to cut most humanitarian aid to Yemen amid progress on a potential cease-fire between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels.

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Iraqi prime minister-designate faces challenges in gaining political support

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Adnan al-Zurfi is struggling to secure the needed parliamentary votes for his Cabinet.

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) arrives at Trump Tower to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in New York, U.S., November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC17792FFC10

Intel: Republicans dial up pressure on Saudis to end oil price war with Russia

Republicans are throwing their weight behind the Donald Trump administration’s push to get Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, which has increasingly squeezed American energy companies as the coronavirus runs rampant throughout the United States.

A worker pushes a wheel cart carrying food at a World Food Programme food aid distribution center in Sanaa, Yemen February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC2GYE9WBNNR

Intel: Democrats warn Trump administration against cutting Yemen aid

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin walks from a meeting during negotiations on a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief package on Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2QPF9GZ5DS

US issues fresh Iran sanctions targeting IRGC’s ‘web of front companies’

The US Treasury Department places sanctions on more companies, officials and individuals affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force and Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Intel: Timeline of CIA contractor Robert Levinson missing for 13 years in Iran

The family of Robert Levinson, a CIA contractor who disappeared on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007, confirmed Thursday that the US government informed them that the former FBI agent had died at some point prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

US coalition transfers another base to Iraqi security forces

The US-led coalition against the Islamic State has announced the transfer of another military base to Iraqi security forces as a temporary precaution against the coronavirus outbreak.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes part in a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 18, 2019. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS - RC114A0F4CE0

Intel: How the US is relying on Riyadh to reassure global markets

In a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi Arabia to “rise to the occasion” as the escalating coronavirus crisis and the kingdom’s standoff with Russia continue to hammer global markets.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., March 25, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC24RF9D1JQJ

Intel: Pompeo urges Europe to join Iran pressure campaign in G-7 teleconference

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used a teleconference of leading industrialized nations' foreign ministers to urge tougher international action on Iran and its regional proxies in line with the US maximum pressure campaign.