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September 23, 2026

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US President Donald Trump (C) attends a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) multilateral meeting alongside alongside (L/R) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026.

Trump tells Middle East leaders US-Iran talks have ‘momentum’

Trump hosted top officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq on the sidelines of UN General Assembly.

construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

Turkey, US sign $2M grant deal for small nuclear reactors: What to know

The new cooperation deal comes as Ankara seeks to expand nuclear power and reduce reliance on Russia.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

No meeting has been announced between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York.

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

Latest News

Exclusive

Turkey, US resume F-16 talks ahead of expected Trump-Erdogan meeting

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

Interview

Waltz: ‘Door open’ to Iran talks, more countries eye Abraham Accords

Waltz

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / 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

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint U.S.-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1CFC59FD70

Confusion reigns as Trump authorizes troop withdrawal from Turkish-Syrian border towns

US President Donald Trump's announcement catches Pentagon, State Department and Syrian Kurds off guard as Turkey assumes a primacy of sorts in the president's thinking despite the S-400 fiasco.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) holds a news conference to discuss immigration legislation and the U.S.-Mexico border on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC14E481C700

Trump allies in Congress assail decision to let Turkey attack Syrian Kurds

Lawmakers and presidential candidates are lambasting President Donald Trump for greenlighting Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish-held areas in northeastern Syria.

Turkish soldiers stand guard in a border village on the Turkish-Syrian border near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC17F8587730

Pentagon pushes back on Turkish incursion in Syria

The Pentagon opposed the Donald Trump administration’s decision to allow a Turkish operation in Syria, a senior administration official told Al-Monitor.

U.S. and Turkish military forces conduct a joint ground patrol inside the security mechanism area in northeast, Syria, October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Andrew Goedl/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC11BB335F30

Turkish incursion threatens to unleash Islamic State in Syria, US officials warn

The Donald Trump administration’s decision Sunday to allow a Turkish incursion into northeast Syria threatens to let loose thousands of Islamic State prisoners onto the battlefield, US officials are warning.

Iraqi security forces stand guard as demonstrators take part in a protest over unemployment, corruption and poor public services, in Baghdad, Iraq October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC1CC9BEC6E0

Iraqi government seems powerless against protesters even as 'unknown' snipers take toll

For the seventh day in a row, protesters challenge the Iraqi government across Baghdad and the south; the death toll rises to nearly 120 as unidentified snipers pick off demonstrators.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RC1FCD450420

Netanyahu’s strategic failures on Iran, Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had gambled on US President Donald Trump to spearhead the struggle against the "Iranian threat," in what now emerges to be a colossal strategic failure.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani departs after addressing 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/Yana Paskova - HP1EF9P18T8GA

Have Iran, US slammed door on nuclear negotiations?

Iran and the United States both have upcoming elections and other urgent domestic issues to focus on, and neither seems interested in cooperating on nuclear talks.

Demonstrators gather at a protest during a curfew, two days after the nationwide anti-government protests turned violent, in Baghdad, Iraq October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC17F2432F10

Iraqi youth to government: We’re not going to take it

As young Iraqis vent against their government, Iran is already positioning itself for the fallout, as its proxies hit the streets.

A views shows an election campaign billboard of presidential candidate, Tunisian media mogul Nabil Karoui, in Tunis, Tunisia, September 11, 2019. Picture taken September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC158B0C7260

US lobbying revelations upend Tunisia’s presidential race

A $1 million lobbying contract first revealed by Al-Monitor has sparked a criminal complaint against a leading presidential candidate.

Presidents Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia arrive for a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1D1AF89BB0

The Takeaway: October 9, 2019

Egypt, US combine efforts to boost family planning programs

Egyptian parliament recently approved amendments to a deal signed with USAID that would provide $10 million for Egypt’s family planning program.

U.S. President Donald Trump shows maps of Syria and Iraq depicting the size of the "ISIS physical caliphate" as he speaks to workers while touring the Lima Army Tank Plant (LATP) Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, the country's only remaining tank manufacturing plant, in Lima, Ohio, U.S., March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC139DF142F0

Congress pushes Trump to get tough on Idlib

Congress is calling on the State Department to get tougher on calling out reported Syrian war crimes as forces loyal to the Bashar al-Assad regime attempt to advance deeper into Idlib, one of the opposition’s last holdouts in the war-torn country.