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May 12, 2026

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

While Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington for the third time, the Israeli military faces a growing threat from Hezbollah’s cheap yet highly lethal drones.

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

Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos Hessebon meets with Marco Rubio in Washington on May 11, 2026.

Rubio hosts Ethiopia’s FM amid push to boost security ties: What to know

In response to heightening regional volatility, Ethiopia is prioritizing a strategic partnership with the Washington to secure its geopolitical standing.

Latest News

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. 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

Can Netanyahu say 'no' to Trump?

Israeli right-wing ministers forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject a Palestinian reconciliation, even though the Trump administration is determined to support it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a signing ceremony following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - LR1ED3S15XREP

Are Russia, Iran outflanking the US in Iraq?

Russia deftly manages potentially choppy ties with Iran, while the United States claims Iran "subverting Iraq."

To counter Iranian sway, US promotes Iraqi-Saudi ties

Top Trump administration officials say they see countering Iranian influence in Iraq as important to strengthening Baghdad and preventing destabilizing fissures that helped make way for the Islamic State.

Egypt key to Palestinian reconciliation

The future of Palestinian reconciliation depends more on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi than it does on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas or Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

A car drives through a damaged street on the outskirts of Deir Ezzor on September 24, 2017, as Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across the province. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Following Islamic State ouster, tribes key to stability in eastern Syria

After the ouster of the Islamic State from the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, several issues are expected to complicate efforts to stabilize the region.

The Polisario Front soldiers drive a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon during sunset in Bir Lahlou, Western Sahara, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra SEARCH ìPOLISARIOî FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - S1BEUKRIISAA

Senate challenges House on Western Sahara dispute

Senate appropriators want to tighten restrictions on US aid to Morocco-occupied Western Sahara one year after the House first made assistance available.

‘Arabian Gulf’ ruckus rallies Iranians around the flag

While President Trump’s reference to the ‘Arabian Gulf’ rallies Iranians around the flag, Tehran is closely paying attention to how Europe is moving on other points of contention — including its ballistic missile program.

Netanyahu's strategy to avoid negotiations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploits the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation in order to set impossible conditions for resuming talks with the Palestinians.

TEHRAN, IRAN - FEBRUARY 26: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei casts the first ballot in key elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts in Tehran, Iran, on February 26, 2016. Mr. Khamenei called on Iranians to vote en masse to "ruin the hopes of the enemies." The vote is essentially a referendum on the agenda of centrist President Hassan Rouhani, whose allies are trying to ease the grip of hardliners over many levers of government. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

Khamenei: Iran won’t be first to abandon nuclear deal

Despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to kill the nuclear deal, Iran’s supreme leader said that Tehran won’t abandon the deal before the other side does so.

Trump’s new Iran policy seeks perennial conflict

The Trump administration’s new Iran strategy not only shuts the door to diplomacy with Iran but also alienates ordinary Iranians.

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces ride atop of an armoured vehicle after Raqqa was liberated from the Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, Syria October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - RC16D09535E0

Raqqa win pulls US deeper into Syria conflict

The fall of the Islamic State capital could put the US military on a collision course with Assad.

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah party parade to mark the last day of Ashura ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC1894733A70

Saudi Arabia’s call for international coalition against Hezbollah faces obstacles

A Saudi politician called for the establishment of an international coalition to confront Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a suggestion that did not garner much support, namely in Europe.