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April 29, 2026

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

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

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.

Latest News

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

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

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

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

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif speaks with the media on the sidelines of a security conference in New Delhi, India, January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Alasdair Pal - RC29GE9EYNMU

Iran says Zarif met with US senator for ‘public diplomacy’

Iran’s foreign minister says his weekend meeting with a US senator in Germany was a diplomatic effort to get his nation’s voice heard by the American people.

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduces Dr. Scott Gottlieb before a Senate Health Education Labor and Pension Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC17DAB50AD0

Intel: Why Trump is calling a Democrat’s Iran meeting illegal

President Donald Trump doubled down on his accusation today that Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., violated the law by meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the annual Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

Trump-linked lobbyist turns from Gulf Arabs to more toxic clients

Robert Stryk’s Sonoran Policy Group is hemorrhaging both clients and employees.

Jordan stands firm against Trump deal despite risks to ties

There are growing concerns that Jordan’s defiance toward the US peace plan for the Middle East could affect its strategic ties with the United States.

A picture taken on August 8, 2018 during a trip in Yemen organised by the UAE's National Media Council (NMC) shows UAE-trained cadets of the Yemeni police, supporting forces loyal to the Saudi and UAE-backed government, marching during their graduation in the southeastern port city of Mukalla, the capital Hadramawt province, in the first such ceremony after the city was retaken from Al-Qaeda jihadists. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Is the time ripe for ultimate eclipse of al-Qaeda in Yemen?

The irreparable decline of al-Qaeda requires Yemen’s problems — particularly political, military and economic issues — to be fixed.

Is Turkey planning to curb radicals in Idlib under strategy shift?

In a scenario that invokes its Afrin operation in 2018, Ankara speaks of reining in radical groups and asserting field control in Idlib, hoping that Moscow will give it a nod to avoid war.

Turkish soldiers walk at the Atmeh crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, as seen from the Syrian side, in Idlib governorate, Syria May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC17B93A8C20

Turkish MPs make Washington charm offensive as Ankara-Moscow ties strain

A Turkish delegation arrives in Washington to find a way forward for US-Turkish relations.

A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling during an anti-Israel protest at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC2PPD972T6H

Egypt shows diplomatic finesse forging Gaza cease-fire

Hamas' agreement to refrain from attacks, for now, puts Gaza on the back burner for Israeli elections.

12 years later, Olmert plan discussions could resume

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in New York to discuss reviving the Olmert plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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

Pentagon tit-for-tat with Iran goes on

A Katyusha rocket strikes an Iraqi base where US troops are housed and the US Navy intercepts an apparent Iranian arms shipment for Yemeni rebels as the conflict between the United States and Iran and its proxies continues.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., February 7, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC2VVE9FH59W

Intel: Republican-held Senate sides against Trump on Iran war powers

The Republican-held Senate passed a resolution 55-45 today to constrain President Donald Trump from initiating offensive military action against Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliver joint remarks on a Middle East peace plan proposal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts? - RC27PE93LVFU

Netanyahu, Trump plant land mine within peace initiative

The Blue and White party believes the land swap idea in the deal of the century is included in Donald Trump's peace plan for one reason: to trap Benny Gantz and create a rift between him and Israeli-Arab voters.