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April 30, 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. special envoy for Syria and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Jim Jeffrey speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi - RC28BD9QFAZ9

US Syria envoy: Any talks on troop withdrawal from Iraq must include all aid

US envoy James Jeffrey says the United States wants to see its operations against the Islamic State in Iraq — which have been paused as US and coalition troops focus on protecting themselves in the wake of an escalation between US forces and Iranian-backed groups — resume as soon as possible.

U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi during the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC2RLE9UGDN3

Intel: Pelosi seeks to reassure Israel as Democrats debate military aid

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is leading a congressional delegation to Israel this week amid an intraparty debate over conditioning military aid to the close US ally and Democratic efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran.

General view of the debris of the Ukraine International Airlines, flight PS752, Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020 is seen in this screen grab obtained from a social media video via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. - RC26DE9L2K1A

Iran says plane crash investigation will be made public

Iran’s defense minister said the investigation into the Ukraine plane shooting is ongoing but will be made public.

Salwa Karoui, wife of detained Tunisian media mogul and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, speaks during an election campaign rally in Tunis, Tunisia, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC1981714B10

Defeated Tunisian presidential candidate paid ex-Israeli intelligence official $250,000

Lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe reported being paid $250,000 by Nabil Karoui's wife and a friend.

Interview

SDF commander says Kurds ready for dialogue if Ankara is sincere

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor in northeast Syria, Gen. Mazlum Kobane speaks on a range of issues including prospects for reviving dialogue with Turkey, US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and the impact of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani's killing in Iraq.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq, man a defensive position at Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Desmond Cassell/Task Force-Iraq Public Affairs/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2P6E96MAPN

Pentagon steers away from brain trauma diagnoses after Iranian strike

Donald Trump downplayed the injuries of US troops stemming from an Iranian missile strike.

A general view of Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, is pictured from Iraqi side of Shatt al-Arab in Al-Faw south of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC156ACB6840

Intel: Iraq bank set to halt Iran gas transfers as US sanctions waiver expires

The Trade Bank of Iraq is expected to stop processing payments to Iran if US sanction exemptions expire next month.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Iraq's President Barham Salih during the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2020. The Presidency of the Republic of Iraq Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC20LE9BTG35

Iraq president calls for restraint after meeting Trump in Davos

Stressing the need for reforms to address youth unemployment and security, Iraqi President Barham Salih said "this is not time for another conflict" after meeting with his US counterpart in Davos.

A view shows a new S-400 "Triumph" surface-to-air missile system after its deployment at a military base outside the town of Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar - RC11938EDE40

Will Russia provide missiles to 'close the entire sky' over Iran?

Given the recent escalation in tension between Tehran and Washington, Moscow is examining ways to possibly beef up Iranian military capabilities.

‘Pro bono’ lobbyists bet on regime change payday

Unpaid lobbying contracts can lead to lucrative connections by helping the right people get into power.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shows off his company's new smartphone, the Fire Phone, at a news conference in Seattle, Washington June 18, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Redmond (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1EA6J06CN02

UN fingers Israeli spyware firm in Bezos hack

UN investigators say Saudi use of NSO Group software was the “most likely explanation” for the hacking attack against the Amazon CEO.

A man holds a picture of late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, as people celebrate in the street after Iran launched missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq, in Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2JBE917CLC

Donald Trump, the 'divine gift' to Iranian hard-liners

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who had advocated diplomacy with the West, has lost public support after the United States' assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, giving hard-liners an opening they can easily exploit.