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

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

May 13, 2026

District of Columbia 12:26 pm

23°C

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

Russia's Russian S-400 Triumph air defence missile system rides through Red Square in Moscow during the Victory Day military parade night training on May 3, 2017.
Russia celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 / AFP PHOTO / VASILY MAXIMOV (Photo credit should read VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images)

US, NATO wait to see if Russia-Turkey defense deal goes through

Turkey’s recent move to acquire a Russian S-400 missile defense system has raised eyebrows in the United States, as Moscow looks on with a smile.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS19V60

Trump’s plan for Mideast peace fades

Israelis and Palestinians both feel that President Donald Trump and his administration have abandoned his ambitious peace initiative with his focus more on internal affairs.

U.S. President Donald trump speaks during a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans to discuss healthcare at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX3C3ZR

Trump risks fallout from Iran deal assault

US President Donald Trump, in seeking options to exit the Iran nuclear deal, may jeopardize his administration’s goal of containing Iran’s other troubling behaviors.

On US tour, Israeli finance minister keeps distance from trouble at home

Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon's heavily publicized visit to the United States suggests he is already preparing for the next elections.

The EU, headed by France and Germany, could replace US on Mideast

With US President Donald Trump largely working solo on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the EU is preparing its own initiative, which might be launched next fall.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A security official talks to journalists in front of Bushehr main nuclear reactor, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

Iranians support restarting nuclear program if US backs out of deal

A growing percentage of Iranians also support their country’s military intervention in Syria in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Tehran, according to a new poll.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX3CVT2

Visiting Lebanon PM seeks to temper Washington’s anti-Hezbollah zeal

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is fighting back against aid cuts and new sanctions.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani takes part in a press conference near the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTSP0V5

Rouhani: US House bill repetition of past sanctions

Iranian leaders indicate they are readying a response to the US House of Representatives passing fresh sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country’s ballistic missile program.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - APRIL 02: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi during a meeting on April 2, 2013 in Moscow, Russia. Yemen's President is in Russia for his first state visit to the country since his election in 2012. (Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

Moscow's shifting strategy in Yemen

With the recent appointment of Ahmed Salem al-Wahishi as Yemen's ambassador to Russia, Moscow finds itself in a strong position to lead a political solution to the Yemen conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump (3rd R), Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R), Russian President Vladimir Putin (3rd L) and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) attend a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX3AIRY

New congressional sanctions tie Trump’s hands on cooperation with Russia

The House passed legislation today that could impact US-Russia cooperation on Syria and curb Russian arms sales to the Middle East.

FILE PHOTO: Iranian-made Emad missile is displayed during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo - RTX37KIM

Congress closes in on first new Iran sanctions since nuclear deal

Tehran has vowed to retaliate if a US bill imposing additional sanctions on Iran becomes law.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo arrives for a closed briefing before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RTX364MJ

Turkey needs new Syria plan as CIA ends rebel support

The US decision to pull the plug from the CIA’s training and equipment program for the Syrian opposition will affect Turkey’s plans for Idlib in northern Syria.