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August 4, 2026

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TOPSHOT - This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026. Iran launched attacks on US sites in the Gulf in response to American strikes on the country, state media said on June 27, after Washington accused Tehran of attacking one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The trading of fire raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that beg

Analysis

Another US-Iran truce, same Hormuz standoff: What comes next

Since February, two major diplomatic efforts have produced temporary pauses in fighting, but neither has translated into a lasting agreement.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Analysis

Lacking leverage over Trump, Israel stays quiet on US-Iran talks

Realizing it has little to no influence over President Donald Trump’s decision-making, the Israeli government has remained silent on the possibility of the United States and Iran resuming negotiations.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.

US military options narrow as Trump calls off Iran strikes: What to know

Left with few good military options that won't risk triggering major Iranian regional retaliation, American officials aim to return to the negotiating table with arguably fewer cards.

SAEED KHAN / AFP via Getty Images

Oil falls 5% after Trump calls off Iran strikes, says Hormuz deal agreed

Oil prices fell after President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had suspended planned strikes on Iran following a request from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

Latest News

Analysis

No Iran commitment, no Trump endorsement: Netanyahu leaves US empty-handed

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2026. President Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland to hold a cabinet meeting and later to Bedminster, New Jersey to spend the weekend at his golf club. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

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

China cuts deal with Houthis, adjusts for long US war with Iran

This aerial photo shows a tanker unloading imported crude oil at a terminal port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 25, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images) / China OUT

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

Hafidh Abdullah al-Khawlani, who survived a Saudi-led air strike stands with his father on the wreckage of a bus destroyed by the strike in Saada, Yemen September 4, 2018. His brother was killed by the air strike. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1FB49D40C0

Congress clears key hurdle in ending support for war in Yemen

In an unprecedented move, the Senate has cleared a key procedural hurdle that paves the way to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media after a closed briefing for senators about the latest developments related to the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC151380CF00

Pompeo-Mattis briefing on Yemen to Senate bombs

Secretaries of State and Defense, Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis, urged senators to stay the course on US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, but senators said they were inclined to vote for legislation to curtail US support.

Activists, including Aimee Artigliere, center, chant as they begin to march during a demonstration calling for sanctions against Saudi Arabia and against the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, outside the White House in Washington, U.S., October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC195EEDBBA0

Trump administration launches last-ditch effort to halt anti-Saudi bills

The Donald Trump administration is briefing the Senate on Riyadh’s murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a last-ditch bid to kill a resolution intended to end US support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen.

Smoke rises from a warehouse of the World Food Programme as fire engulfs it in Hodeida, Yemen March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RC1F6A979000

Intel: Why the US opposes UN calls for a Yemen cease-fire

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 26: Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) asks EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a question as he testifies before the House Appropriations Committee during a hearing on the 2019 Fiscal Year EPA budget at the Capitol on April 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. The focus of nearly a dozen federal inquiries into his travel expenses, security practices and other issues, Pruitt was on the Hill to testify about his agency's FY2019 budget proposal. (Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

Congress amps up pressure to free Americans jailed in Egypt

House lawmakers are demanding that the Donald Trump administration to take a firmer stance on Cairo’s human rights record.

Secondary students sit for an exam in a government school in Riyadh June 15, 2008. Tens of thousands of Saudi students from elementary, middle and high schools have started their one-week mid-term exams. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1E46F1C6L01

Intel: How bigoted ‘backsliding’ in Saudi textbooks belies MBS’ reformist credentials

Syrian schoolchildren walk as U.S. troops patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC11C2532E70

Can observation posts calm Turkish-Kurdish tensions on Syria border?

Observation posts will soon dot the Syrian-Turkish border to calm the tension between the US-allied People's Protection Units and Turkish forces.

US floats idea of division in Yemen, Houthis torpedo plan

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has proposed division and self-rule areas in Yemen to end the bloody civil war, but Houthis categorically reject the proposal.

USAID money diverted to Syrian terrorist group

"Numerous instances" of diversion reported by US watchdog agency; US sanctions between Iraq and a hard place.

A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt - RC1286FBA9D0

Congress to make determination on F-35s for Turkey

Defense officials have handed lawmakers a congressionally mandated report assessing the impact of Turkey’s removal from the F-35 program.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia November 19, 2018. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1BDA877AE0

Intel: Why Congress launched federal probe of Saudi crown prince

Did PA receive Saudi reward for its support?

Saudi Arabia has resumed aid to the Palestinian Authority in a surprising move that raises questions about the kingdom’s motives behind the decision.