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May 13, 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

Zaka emergency personnel clean a bloodstain from the ground at the scene of a Palestinian stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, Israel November 19, 2015. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RTS7YAW

Congress moves bill cutting Palestinian aid over ‘martyr’ stipends

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 17-4 for the Taylor Force Act after modifications were made to get Democrats on board.

Clouds pass behind the White House in Washington, U.S., August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS1AASJ

Iran hawks, Bannon loyalists booted in White House purge

A civil war for the soul of the Donald Trump administration has emerged into the open, pitting a motley array of anti-globalists and Iran hawks against more moderate national security professionals.

TAL ABYAD, SYRIA - JUNE 19: (TURKEY OUT) A Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG fighter controls the weapons in downtown of Tal Abyad, Syria. June 19, 2015. Kurdish fighters with the YPG took full control of Tal Abyad, dealing a major blow to the Islamic State group's ability to wage war in Syria. Mopping up operations have started to make the town safe for the return of residents from Turkey, after more than a year of Islamic State militants holding control of the town. (Photo by Ahmet Sik/Getty Image

US pushes back on Turkish media claims about Syrian Kurds

US Embassy in Ankara refutes fevered claims about aid deliveries to Syrian Kurds.

Demonstrators including Israeli and Palestinian activists take part in a demonstration in support of peace near the West Bank city of Jericho October 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2PI50

Most Israelis, Palestinians are tired of fighting

Israeli right-wing legislators do all they can to keep the two-state solution at a distance, yet a majority of Israelis still support it.

Military honor guards dress an Iraqi flag as they prepare to greet Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi upon his arrival to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington April 14, 2015. Al-Abadi and Obama will discuss the fight against Islamic State on Tuesday at a White House meeting likely to be dominated by Iraqi requests for U.S. arms and tension over Iran's role on the battlefield. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTR4XARN

Cash-strapped Baghdad drops Podesta

Iraq has parted ways with its longtime Washington lobbyist.

Recovered artifacts are seen at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad July 15, 2015. The U.S. handed back to Iraq on Wednesday antiquities it said it had seized in a raid on Islamic State fighters in Syria, saying the haul was proof the militants were funding their war by smuggling ancient treasures. The Iraqi relics were captured by U.S. special forces in an operation in May against an Islamic State commander known as Abu Sayyaf. They included ancient cylindrical stamps, pottery, metallic bracelets and ot

Iraq eager to get back antiquities smuggled to US

Iraq is diligently working to recover relics from the United States that were looted from Iraqi archaeological sites.

Protesters carry Al-Qaeda flags during an anti-government protest after Friday prayers in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria, March 11, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSAD3X

Trump says al-Qaeda received US weapons intended for Syrian rebels

In a July 25 interview made public Tuesday, the president said he canceled a CIA program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels after weapons ended up in the hands of Al-Qaeda.

Brett McGurk (C), US special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS, and Rupert Jones (L), deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), arrive for a meeting with the Tabqa Civil Council in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on June 29, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey in uproar over McGurk

The Turkish media's outlandish attacks on US envoy Brett McGurk hint at the anxiety in Ankara over US relations with Syrian Kurds.

Armed followers of the Houthi movement protest against the president's announcement of an extension of the state of emergency and U.S. supporting the Arab alliance led by Saudi Arabia, what they say is a U.S. interference in Yemen's affairs in Sanaa, Yemen May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RTS16DN2

Iran outflanking Saudi Arabia in Yemen

Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen has allowed Iran more influence than ever in the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump awards the Medal of Honor to James McCloughan, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S. July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS19WJR

Trump’s options on the nuclear deal with Iran

Before settling on an Iran policy, President Trump must take a holistic view of the US footprint in the region and move forward based on pragmatism.

Syrian Democratic Forces are seen in Raqqa, Syria July 31, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS19WAY

Pentagon says US-backed forces have almost surrounded Raqqa

Pentagon officials say the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have liberated about half of the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.

Brett McGurk, U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX2S6NC

Ankara decries ‘provocative’ remarks by US anti-IS envoy

Turkey continues to be concerned about the relationship between the United States and the Syrian Kurds.