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May 1, 2026

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Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

The US President was openly critical of previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki, seen as too close to Iran, but is now welcoming the new candidate put forward by Iraq’s leading Shiite bloc.

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

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.

Latest News

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

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.

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

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 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.

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

Congress sounds alarm on weaponization of Syrian aid

The US Congress is warning that Turkey and Russia could join the Syrian government in blocking humanitarian aid for the war-torn country even as lawmakers seek to redirect it from regime-held territory.

Interview

Saudi Arabia still awaiting signs of ‘goodwill’ from Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud talks about the "dramatic effect" of the September attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and says there will be no official Saudi contacts with Israel until the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US

PSAGOT, WEST BANK - JULY 24: Evangelical Christian volunteers harvest Chardonnay grapes for Psagot Winery in a vineyard on July 24, 2017 in the Israeli settlement of Psagot in the West Bank. In a trend that started in recent years, Israeli wineries have begun to harvest earlier in the season, a move winemakers attribute to record-hitting hot summer months causing their grapes to ripen sooner. Some wineries harvest at night in order to preserve the freshness of the grapes while others harvest at dawn and rus

Top Netanyahu donors’ West Bank winery seeks Trump’s help fighting EU

The Psagot winery has hired a former US ambassador to the EU to lobby against “settlement” labeling regulations.

A Sukhoi SU-35 fighter aircraft participates in a flying display during the 50th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris, June 23, 2013. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol (FRANCE - Tags: BUSINESS TRANSPORT MILITARY) - GM1E96N1SN701

Ankara in quiet negotiations to buy Russian Su-35 fighter jets

Following Ankara's expulsion from the F-35 program, Turkish officials are looking to Moscow to upgrade Turkey's aging warplane fleet with Russian-made Su-35 jets.

IDLIB, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 28: A drone photo shows an aerial view of operation area where Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in, on October 28, 2019 in northwestern Syria in Idlib, Syria . A U.S. raid that allegedly killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria lasted for some four hours, according to local sources. The operation, in which helicopters, drones, and ground units were used, took place a few kilometers away from the Tourlaha camp, where displaced civilians have taken shelter

Pentagon: Islamic State will survive leader’s death

The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will not extinguish the Islamic State’s ideology, US Central Command said, even as the Pentagon keeps up pressure to thin out the group's leadership with raids in Syria.

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen talks with Ahmad Kuzbari, co-chair for the Syrian Government, and other members ot their delegation after the first meeting of the new Syrian Constitutional Committee at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC145F453450

As Syria constitution talks kick off, is Kurdish administration 'finished'?

As representatives from Syria's government, opposition and civil society meet in Geneva to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country, Al-Monitor spoke with French academic Fabrice Balanche on prospects for the talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia May 17, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - UP1EE5H1HAAE8

Russia to mediate deal between Syrian Kurds and Damascus

With the Syrian Democratic Forces having handed over control of the Syrian-Turkish border to Damascus, the Kurds say Russia has promised to mediate a new round of negotiations between them and Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) arrives to hear testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland behind closed-doors, as part of the impeachment inquiry led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC1A8883F250

Congress hammers Turkey with sanctions and Armenian genocide votes

Still outraged by Turkey’s Syria incursion, Congress votes to sanction Turkey and recognize the Armenian genocide.

A picture taken on October 28, 2019 shows Syrians sifting through the rubble at the site of a suspected US-led operation against Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the previous day, on the edge of the small Syrian village of Barisha in the country's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province. - US President Donald Trump announced that Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the jihadist group and the world's most wanted man, was killed in the early hours of Octobe 27 in an overnight US raid near the vil

Why is Russian military skeptical about US claim of Baghdadi's killing?

The Russian military's incredulity about the US raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has some basis in practical reasons that go beyond just "great power jealousy."

Turkish soldiers patrol along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria, in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan - RC1AB07BD360

Kurds use Syria incursion to chip away at Erdogan

The Syrian Democratic Forces, after having contributed to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as well as an IS spokesman, push for a greater US condemnation of Turkey's latest incursion into Syria.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders holds a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook - RC1F1686AC20

Sanders runs to left of J Street and 2020 opponents on aid to Israel

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is calling for broad conditions on US military aid to Israel as many of his opponents come out in favor of more limited restrictions.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic speak to the Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC11B326EB00

Turkey lobby goes to bat against Armenian genocide bill

Ankara and its allies are warning that this week’s vote would "poison" the already strained bilateral relationship.