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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. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduces Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., December 13, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RC2IUD9ZZ02U

Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar push Democrats left on Iran war powers

The Congressional Progressive Caucus has been instrumental in setting the Democratic agenda to push back against President Donald Trump’s Iran policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran flanked by U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence and military leaders in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2SBE92V1RE

Dueling Middle East lobbyists rush to praise Trump for Soleimani killing

Foreign agents seeking to sway the president on behalf of both warring factions in Libya are among the cheer squad.

Iraqi demonstrators carry Iraqi flags during ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC21DE9AHHEQ

Iraqi protests got caught in an Iranian-American war

The escalation between US and Iran left Iraqis trapped with many nightmares threatening their protests, economy and country’s unity.

General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, speaks at Tehran's Islamic Revolution and Holy Defence museum, during the unveiling of an exhibition of what Iran says are US and other drones captured in its territory, in the capital Tehran on September 21, 2019. - Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander today warned any country that attacks the Islamic republic will see its territory become the "main battlefield" as he opened an exhibition of captured drones. (Photo by AT

IRGC general claims Iran did not target troops in attack

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force commander has said that Iran targeted a command center in its missile attack in Iraq.

Saudi defence ministry spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Malik displays remains of the missiles which Saudi government says were used to attack an Aramco oil facility, during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RC152BBF8970

Intel: How a new report bolsters US case that Iran attacked Saudi Arabia

A confidential United Nations report rebutted claims from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels that they were responsible for a missile attack on two Saudi oil facilities in September.

Ankara struggles to adapt to new geopolitical reality after Soleimani’s killing

After a brief wait-and-see period in the wake of Qasem Soleimani’s killing, Turkey appears inclined to try a mediator’s role between the United States, Iran and Iraq.

Jordan feels Soleimani side effects

The assassination of Iran’s top commander, Qasem Soleimani, has raised concerns in Jordan, with analysts fearing retaliation against US military assets in the kingdom.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at a U.S. military facility at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC22HD9OIH8O

Intel: Why Iraqi Kurdistan may be wary of hosting US troops

Torn between Iran and the United States, former Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani appeared to distance himself on Tuesday from Republican proposals to station US troops in Kurdish territory should Baghdad move forward with threats to expel the Americans in the aftermath of Washington’s assassination of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran flanked by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Army Chief of Staff General James McConville, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley and Vice President Mike Pence in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC2TBE9UDOX3

Trump floats Iran as anti-terror partner after strikes

In an address at the White House this morning, President Donald Trump alternated between using carrot and stick with Tehran.

ERBIL, IRAQ - JANUARY 08: Iraqi security forces find and collect the pieces of missiles as they gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces, at Bardarash district of Erbil in Iraq on January 08, 2020. (Photo by Azad Muhammed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

As Khamenei boasts of 'slap' at US, Zarif says revenge 'concluded'

Tehran-Washington tensions are reaching all-time highs after Iran hit US military bases in neighboring Iraq with ballistic missiles.

Residents look at a crater caused by a missile launched by Iran on U.S.-led coalition forces on the outskirts of Duhok ,Iraq, January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC2KBE9RW1T9

Did Iran missiles carry message for Kurds?

Iran's ballistic missile attack on US military targets in Iraq may have been a warning to the Kurds not to stand with the United States.

Has the time come for US-Iran negotiations?

Iran's attack on a US military base in Iraq resulted in no casualties, possibly opening space for US-Iran negotiations.