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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

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement on Iran's missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC2TBE94VPE0

White House sends Congress mixed messages on Iran war votes

President Donald Trump told lawmakers to “vote with their hearts” on war powers legislation, but the White House is playing hardball with Republican defectors.

U.S. President Barack Obama (seated) signs H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, December 14, 2012. From L-R are: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, Obama, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - GM1E8CF053K01

Magnitsky law spawns cottage industry of sanctions lobbying

The Magnitsky Act is being used in unexpected ways, with lobbyists pushing for human rights sanctions against nations on behalf of corporate clients.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 23, 2013: Under the picture of Ayatollah Khomeini the former foreign minister of Iran and a special adviser to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, one of the favorite principalist presidential candidates in 2013 race, Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati speaks about his presidential agenda at Tehran university on May 23, 2013 in Tehran, Iran. He is one the the three candidates in 2+1 coalition. (Photo by Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Khamenei adviser calls Trump Mideast plan ‘nightmare’

Iranian officials and social media users criticized the White House plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

U.S. President Donald Trump puts his hands on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's shoulders as they 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? - RC27PE95YQQU

Netanyahu wants/needs annexation before elections

White House advisers Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner object Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to annex settlements before the March 2 elections, but Netanyahu has no intention of giving up.

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman attends the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia May 30, 2019. Picture taken May 30, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC182A708080

Intel: Democrats push Trump administration to crack down on Saudi prince

Emboldened by the latest United Nations report implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in hacking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ phone, Democrats are pushing the Donald Trump administration to toughen up on the Saudi heir.

Smoke rises during a fight between members of the Libyan internationally recognised government forces and Eastern forces, in southern Tripoli, Libya June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Yosri al-Jamal - RC1D2EB356B0

Pentagon: Turkey’s deployment to Libya threatens escalation

The United States' top military officer in Africa has warned that Ankara's decision to send troops to Libya "risks a significant escalation."

Rival Palestinian factions unite against US 'deal of century'

Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials attended an emergency Palestinian leadership meeting in Ramallah to discuss how to respond to the US administration's peace plan, and another meeting is planned this week in the Gaza Strip.

TOPSHOT - Israeli nationalist settlers wave their national flag as they celebrate the Jerusalem Day at the Old City's Damascus gate in Jerusalem on May 13, 2018. - For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the "reunification" of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu's land of the settlers

Did Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu really think that he could fool US President Donald Trump and announce annexation of the West Bank without an angry response from the Americans?

Rabbi Israel Meir Lau Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council speaks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the World Holocaust Forum marking 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz, at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre in Jerusalem January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool - RC2RLE9EVQ76

Intel: Why Russia’s warming ties with Israel may lead Moscow to embrace Trump’s peace plan

Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned a young Israeli accused of drug charges ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. The release of Naama Issachar, who had been sentenced to 7½ years in prison, ends a bitter controversy that had plagued relations between the two countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump departs after delivering joint remarks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a new Middle East peace plan proposal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC27PE9R8PMZ

Iran slams Trump’s vision for Mideast peace

The Islamic Republic is fiercely opposed to Trump's "deal of the century," stating that Muslims will never allow it to happen.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a campaign town hall meeting at La Poste in Perry, Iowa, U.S., January 26, 2020. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado - RC2UNE9MEP21

Intel: Pro-Israel super PAC attacks Sanders with $700,000 Iowa ad buy

A pro-Israel super PAC has launched a $700,000 television ad campaign targeting presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he rises in the polls in the crucial days before the Iowa caucuses next week.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in an announcement of Trump's Middle East peace plan in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 28, 2020. - Trump declared that Israel was taking a "big step towards peace" as he unveiled a plan aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Today, Israel takes a big step towards peace," Trump said, standing alongside Netanyahu as he revealed details of the plan already emphatically rejected by the P

Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ fails to resonate among Egyptians

While the Egyptian government treaded cautiously in its response to the rollout of the US administration’s long-awaited peace deal, expressing Cairo’s “appreciation” of US efforts, analysts and the public widely condemned the plan.