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United States

April 29, 2026

Washington D.C. 7:34 pm

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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

A united response to Trump’s Mideast deal in a divided Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized government have both rejected the US Middle East peace plan.

This picture taken on February 3, 2020 shows smoke plumes billowing in the Syrian village of al-Nayrab, about 14 kilometres southeast of the city of Idlib in the northwestern Idlib province, during bombardment by Syrian government forces and its allies. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

What brought Iranian forces to Idlib front?

A number of developments, including Turkey's greater involvement in Syria and the US assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, may be driving Iran's move to get more involved in Idlib battlefield operations.

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RC2NND9K1C9B

Intel: Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee to attend Trump’s State of the Union address

Jamal Khashoggi’s widow will be watching President Donald Trump as he discusses his record in the Middle East at his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Iran's Zarif says Swiss humanitarian channel 'small step'

Iran has welcomed the new channel with Switzerland, which will allow the delivery of medicine. But it expects more from Europe in fulfilling its end of the nuclear deal.

Palestinians wave national flags as they march in the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, calling for the cessation of divisions between Fatah and Hamas and the unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on January 12, 2019. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

US peace plan may unwittingly unite Palestinians against it

Rival Palestinian factions are expected to meet again soon to seek reconciliation so they can make a united stand against the United States' "deal of the century."

European Union delegates visit Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta - RC1CB59519D0

Can the EU resuscitate the two-state solution?

The Palestinian leadership is pressuring the European Union to take stronger stances against Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories after President Donald Trump revealed his 'deal of the century,' which threatens a two-state solution.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden talk during a commercial break during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Florida, U.S. June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar - HP1EF6S07RAKM

Trump’s Mideast peace plan puts heat on Biden, Buttigieg ahead of Iowa caucuses

Pro-Palestinian activists are urging Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg to push for a cut Israeli military aid in the crucial days before the Iowa caucuses.

A Syrian army soldier gestures in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar - RC2GQE9GEP2D

Putin’s thin red lines in Syria rattle Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still has limited options in the wake of Syria's retaking of a key town in Idlib province.

Egyptian air force planes parade during the inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal, in Ismailia, Egypt, August 6, 2015. Egypt staged a show of international support on Thursday as it inaugurated a major extension of the Suez Canal which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes will power an economic turnaround in the Arab world's most populous country. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - GF20000015690

US to boost Egyptian air defenses despite congressional anger

The Trump administration plans to provide Egypt with excess military equipment even as members of Congress seek sanctions against the country over the death of a US citizen.

US peace plan quashes hopes for Israel-Hamas cease-fire

The announcement of the US peace plan has undermined any prospect for a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas.

TOPSHOT - Israeli settlers scuffle with Israeli security forces at Netiv Haavot settlement, near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank on June 12, 2018. - Fifteen Israeli settler families are expected to evacuate their homes in this outpost after it was declared illegal by the Israeli High Court (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump’s 'peace plan' rewards settler violence

President Donald Trump's blessing of territorial annexation is nothing less than a reward for government-sanctioned 'Wild West' settler violence and appropriation as illustrated by the small percentage of indictments for criminal acts committed against Palestinians on the West Bank.

Israeli left paralyzed over Trump’s peace plan

The Israeli left has failed to challenge President Donald Trump’s "deal of the century" or to suggest alternative ideas on peace despite the plan's troubling provisions, including revoking the citizenship of Israeli Arabs.