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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

Trump risks repeating Obama's Mideast mistakes

Like his predecessors, President Donald Trump is about to discover that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the only possible deal to end the conflict with the Palestinians.

(Front R-L) Jordan's King Abdullah II, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo during Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36UAJ

Trump visits Saudi Arabia, Kremlin shrugs

Russia may be keeping quiet publicly about Donald Trump’s relations with Saudi Arabia, but Trump’s recent trip to the kingdom raises some interesting questions for Moscow.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) stands with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a welcoming ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 23, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTS13IR3

Egypt-Saudi ties could be key to Trump’s Mideast 'ultimate deal'

Egypt's disputed transfer of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia may be one part of an overall peace deal involving Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) embraces Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his remarks at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX3773R

Israeli right convinced Netanyahu will soon swerve left

The Israeli right-wing camp suspects that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already closed a deal with President Donald Trump over talks with the Palestinians.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani gestures during a news conference in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX372F9

Iran questions US pivot back to region as Europe embraces Rouhani

While the United States is increasingly engaged in a war of words with Iran, the bigger story may be the impact Washington’s more hawkish line may have on Europe’s approach toward Tehran and the consequences of a suggested US pivot back to the Middle East not materializing.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PAUL HANDLEY Saudi former al-Qaeda Islamists play volleyball at a rehabilitation center for militants in Riyadh on April 15, 2009. Saudi Arabia set up the pioneering rehabilitation facility three years ago for returnees from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and for militants arrested inside the country. The care centre is Saudi Arabia's front line for ensuring that Al-Qaeda does not rear its head again, after a series of lethal domestic attacks between 2003 and 2006 forced Riy

Saudis hope to halt extremism with ‘terrorist rehab’

Saudis seek to modify the thoughts and behaviors of former members of terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State via rehabilitation programs, but some worry it isn't working.

US ambassador to Iraq Stuart E. Jones (R) delivers a speech in the presence of Iraqi Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Adel Fahad Shershab, at Iraq's National Museum during a ceremony where looted artefacts recovered by the US military during a recent raid in Syria are handed back to the Iraqi authorities, in the capital Baghdad, on July 15, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SABAH ARAR.
(Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

US mulls how best to control pro-Iran factions in Mideast

The United States and the Gulf states seem to agree that Tehran and its allies need to be contained to keep Iran from aggressively expanding once the Islamic State is driven out of the region.

Egypt hopes new residency-for-deposits system will boost investments

Kamal Amer, the head of the Egyptian parliament's National Defense and Security Committee speaks to Al-Monitor about the residency-for-deposits system in Egypt and explains Egypt’s official stance toward the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (R) kisses Hamas Gaza Chief Yehya Al-Sinwar during a ceremony announcing a new policy document, in Gaza City May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTS14OXA

Boosting ties with Moscow will come at a cost for Hamas

Establishing a relationship with a superpower such as Russia bodes well for Hamas, but Moscow will expect flexibility on the movement's part in return.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech during Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX36UI6

Russia remains unconcerned by Trump's anti-Iran rhetoric

US President Donald Trump tells the Saudis what they want to hear, but Russian experts don't expect him to renege on the Iran deal.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to reports at the U.S. Capitol in Washington April 21, 2015. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan - RTX19PE3

Senate tones down Iran sanctions bill after input from Obama team

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee insists the bill it cleared May 25 doesn’t violate the nuclear deal.

'Fake news' sparks real crisis in the Gulf

Controversial statements reported by Qatar's state news agency and later attributed to a hack have revealed deep tension among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.