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

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

July 29, 2026

Washington D.C. 12:51 pm

28°C

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Katz riles Iran, US as Netanyahu-Trump meeting raises questions

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to settle for a brief meeting with President Donald Trump, while his defense minister, Israel Katz, appeared intent on provoking Iran by publicly disclosing sensitive intelligence.

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

Trump Netanyahu

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to focus on Iran in his Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump, while the US leader is more likely to want to discuss Lebanon and Syria.

Latest News

Trump says Iran seeks talks after strikes halted

US President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a bilateral meeting with President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office of the White House on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump meeting, Netanyahu lays groundwork for Israel to rejoin Iran war

GIL COHEN-MAGEN / 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

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqa, Syria July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1F9D39A050

Looming dilemma for the US: Disarm the YPG or not?

The Trump administration has to decide whether it will disarm the Syrian Democratic Forces and the People's Protection Units to assuage Turkey.

U.S. President Donald Trump sits down to a meeting with of Gulf Cooperation Council leaders, including Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R), during their summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC19B4965AE0

Trump intensifies ‘Arab NATO’ talks after Iran strike

The Donald Trump administration is working to push forward with a military alliance of Middle Eastern states as the international community looks to respond to a suspected Iranian attack on a Saudi oil facility.

Members of the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) take part in their graduation ceremony at a military camp in Kerbala, Iraq August 30, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen - RC1D99820E90

US pushes Iraq to integrate Iran-backed PMU militias after strikes

The Donald Trump administration is calling on Iraq to demobilize Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units after renewed rocket strikes hit near the US Embassy in Baghdad.

Iraq's president Barham Salih addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - HP1EF9P126TEO

Iraqi president gives priority to job opportunities for youth, calls corruption 'political economy of conflict'

Iraqi President Barham Salih, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, says that in the present climate "talking about another war is just madness."

Russia's President Vladimir†Putin†and Iran's President†Hassan†Rouhani attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan June 14, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1D5F7AAE10

Russia’s future in Iran looks brighter as Europe, US fade

Moscow hopes its efforts to help Iran work around US sanctions will pay off in trade, finance and politics.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Lolwah Rashid Al-Khater, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, speaks at the APCO backstage studio during the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit - Day 2 at Grand Hyatt New York on September 24, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)

Interview

Qatar spokesperson: Blockade 'existential threat' to GCC

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson remains optimistic that diplomacy in Afghanistan remains possible.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon addresses the U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, U.S., December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC1AE23439C0

Interview

Israel’s UN ambassador says crisis with Iran 'brings us closer' to Arab states

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Danny Danon says Iran is "lying all the way" about its nuclear program — "We proved it to the world.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is greeted by Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa after arriving at Manama International Airport in Manama, Bahrain, January 11, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC18014FB370

Bahrain would welcome 'new JCPOA' if Iran ends 'toxic' behavior

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the foreign minister of Bahrain, says his country is "not shy" about working with the United States to support peace and prosperity in the region.

US embassy charge d'affaires Jeffrey Hovenier (L) leaves the Caglayan courthouse on May 15, 2019, in Istanbul, after US consular staffer Metin Topuz was ordered to remain in custody after the latest hearing in his trial on espionage charges -- part of a growing rift between Washington and Ankara. - Topuz was arrested in 2017 and accused of contacts with police and a prosecutor suspected of ties to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says ordered an attempted coup in 2016. (Photo by Bulent

Intel: How Congress is trying to get US prisoners out of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EF9O186P9I

Erdogan's Syria plan: Resettling the Syrian refugees or ousting Kurds from their land?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks in United Nations indicate that Turkey has dangerous intentions about the east of Euphrates.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC18F8550D40

What Sisi-Trump meeting means for US-Egyptian relations

US President Donald Trump met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss bilateral relations and Egypt’s counterterrorism efforts in New York recently.

Iran enrichment may hit 20% if impasse drags on

Iran could be on the way to upgrading its nuclear technology to industrial levels after suspending its nuclear deal obligations for the third time since May.