United States - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

April 30, 2026

District of Columbia 2:22 pm

20°C

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

Israel’s defense minister not focused on defense

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has made several controversial decisions that evidently serve his political agenda but not Israel’s security.

Haniyeh’s visit signals Hamas seeks stronger Iranian alliance

Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh's busy schedule when he visited Iran for the funeral of Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani indicates Hamas seeks to forge a deeper alliance with Iran and obtain additional support.

Nasrallah calls for regional action against US military

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, called for expelling US troops from the region in response to the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, adding that US military assets will be targeted.

Yemen’s warring parties conflicted over Soleimani’s killing

Yemen’s warring parties had differing reactions to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, pointing to Yemen's deepening sectarian schism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (not pictured) in Budapest, Hungary November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo - RC2F6D90DV3Y

What has Erdogan learned from Soleimani's killing?

As tensions between Tehran and Washington escalate, Turkey has to make difficult choices.

Palestinian supporters of the Hamas mouvement attend a rally calling for the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state, in Gaza City on January 3, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas unfazed by Israel warnings

As Israel is making economic concessions in the Gaza Strip, sporadic rockets continue to be launched from the enclave, prompting Israel to threaten to end all concessions.

U.S. President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1B49CC86F0

Iranian missiles strike coalition installations in Iraq

Iran fired 15 ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing US and coalition troops on Tuesday night, a US Central Command spokesperson confirmed to Al-Monitor, in a possible escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran after a Pentagon drone strike killed a top Iranian military leader last week.

A drone and armored vehicles serve as a backdrop as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9HDU3K

Iraqi base housing US troops hit as Iran tensions escalate

Iran launched an attack against Iraqi bases housing American troops with over a dozen ballistic missiles.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes questions during a news conference in the Press Briefing Room at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC24BE9BAMTN

Pompeo mocks claim Soleimani was part of Iraq-brokered Iran-Saudi indirect talks

The US secretary of state discounted the Iraqi prime minister's claim that on the day Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad, he was going to pass on an Iranian message as part of indirect Iranian-Saudi communications.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, joined by fellow Democrats, speaks during a news conference about legislation the House has passed at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC2JYD99KMA3

Inside the Trump-Pelosi tug of war over Iran war powers

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are tangling over the legal authorities necessary to attack Iran.

A U.S. Army soldier from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq, mans an observation post at Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. U.S. Army/Maj. Charlie Dietz/Task Force-Iraq Public Affairs/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2P6E92P5WW

US questions whether Iraq can boot American troops

After Iraq's parliament urged US troops to leave the country Sunday, the White House and some Iraqi lawmakers are raising questions about whether Iraq's caretaker prime minister has the authority to kick out US forces.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his delegation meet with President of the Kurdistan region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani in the VIP terminal at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9C15KU

Iraq's Kurds weigh opportunities, risks in wake of Soleimani killing

Can the Kurdistan Regional Government help out the United States as it faces Iraqi anger over the Soleimani killing, and does the KRG want to risk doing so?