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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

Intel: Why Russia went on counteroffensive against US criticism over Idlib

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the killing of “several Russian and Turkish military specialists” in the Idlid de-escalation zone.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Vienna, Austria December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC2TND9X2QPB

Key nuclear watchdog reassures Washington it can still monitor Iran as deal unravels

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief is making the rounds in Washington this week to stress that his agency can still monitor Iran’s nuclear program as the nuclear deal unravels.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about his acquittal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC27VE985OCV

Europe worries as Trump seems to lose interest in new Iran deal

Europeans with embassies on the ground disagree with the belief by Donald Trump administration officials that the Iranian regime is on the brink of collapse, and that the administration can wait for Iran to surrender to a long US wish list.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC23FE9R37HE

Intel: Space Force tracked Iranian missile strikes

Members of the Space Force helped track and detect the Iranian ballistic missiles that struck an Iraqi air base last month.

Iranian Kurdish rebels hire law firm to lobby Trump administration

The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan now has lobbyists covering both the executive and legislative branches.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/POOL - HP1EG250AZ4DM

Intel: Trump touts eliminating Soleimani, Baghdadi at State of the Union

President Donald Trump focused on his removal of Iran’s Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from the Iraqi and Syrian battlefields during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the California Air National Guard's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California in this January 7, 2012 USAF handout photo obtained by Reuters February 6, 2013. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLI

Intel: Pentagon pauses program that helps Turkey target PKK

The United States has suspended providing real-time intelligence to Ankara that helped it target militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

PMU factions reluctant to target US interests in Iraq directly

Following the assassinations of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Shiite armed factions are reluctant to engage in direct war with the United States due to the lack of military balance between them and their fear of US reactions.

When will Europe propose genuine peace plan for Israel, Palestinians?

If the European Union wants to stay relevant in the Middle East, it must make up its mind over the Trump administration's peace plan and advance with an alternative, viable proposal.

The Polisario Front soldiers drive a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon during sunset in Bir Lahlou, Western Sahara, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra SEARCH ìPOLISARIOî FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - S1BEUKRIISAA

Intel: Morocco played up Iran rhetoric as it eyed US-Israel deal on Western Sahara

Israel, Morocco and the United States have been pursuing back channel negotiations on the disputed Western Sahara for more than a year.

Leader of Israeli Blue and White party Benny Gantz is seen during the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern - RC2UPE96ATUR

Israel's Gantz choosing wrong battles against Netanyahu

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz should continue focusing his campaign on the charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, instead of falling into the trap of a diplomatic battle.

Netanyahu’s Africa blitz includes photo ops, pleasing US

Israeli diplomats fear that the drive for cooperation projects with African countries is being replaced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire for photo-ops and by hints that relations with Jerusalem would open the door to Washington.