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May 14, 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

Bullets lie next to a gun at a Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) check point, a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 30, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a leftist Kurdish organ

Sinjar on brink of major conflict between PKK, Turkey

The city of Sinjar, west of Mosul, seems close to becoming a battleground for armed confrontations between the PKK and the Turkish army, especially after Ankara called for ground intervention against PKK fighters in Sinjar to prevent them from having a new base in the north of Iraq.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech at the ruling AK Party's headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS14S9L

Can Ankara ever balance its policy in Syria?

Turkey, Iran and Russia sign an agreement to establish safe zones in Syria, but the United States voices its concerns.

Naftali Bennett, leader of far-right Jewish Home party, attends a party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSW9LJ

Bennett: We must tell Trump the 'truth' about peace process

In an interview with Al-Monitor, HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett says that "the age of maneuvering is over" as the Israeli government must be honest with US President Donald Trump about the reality of creating a Palestinian state.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman take their seats for lunch in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX30ZV5

Trump goes to Riyadh

US President Donald Trump may want to learn lessons from previous presidential encounters with Saudi kings if he wants his trip to visit King Salman to be a success.

A boy walks at a site hit yesterday by barrel bombs in a rebel-held area, south of Deraa city, Syria May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTS14NH7

Syria to get civilian safe zones

Cease-fire mediators have agreed to establish and enforce areas free from fighting in Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House in Washington D.C., U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTS14ZFG

How artful can Trump be when dealing with Palestine-Israel conflict?

Despite President Mahmoud Abbas’ much-anticipated visit to Washington, Palestinians don’t have high hopes that US President Donald Trump can achieve a breakthrough and reach a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., before his departure to New York May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTS1581R

White House sees wild-card nature as asset in Trump’s first foreign trip

Trump’s first foreign trip as president will be to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome, the holy places for Islam, Judaism and Christianity, as he tries to rally the world to unite against extremism and intolerance, aides say.

Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) inspect the damage at their headquarters after it was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS13V4D

How the US stood with Syria's Kurds

Turkish airstrikes against the YPG in Syria animated the region, but the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition is standing its ground when it comes to defending the Syrian Kurds.

What are European Union’s plans if Trump fails on Mideast peace?

If US President Donald Trump fails to advance his Middle East conference initiative, the European Union will advance its own initiative for a third Paris conference.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as they deliver an statement at the White House in Washington D.C., U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS1502B

Why Trump-Abbas meeting has rattled Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is concerned that the US president's inviting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a meeting in the White house, well before many other important world leaders, reflects a determination to advance a two-state deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTS14ZJL

Trump, Abbas vow to prove skeptics wrong on reaching peace deal

In upbeat White House visit May 3, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and US President Donald Trump expressed themselves optimistic they can reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that nobody thinks they will reach.

A part of a church is seen amid the damage in the government-controlled area of the Old City of Aleppo, Syria December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX2UEEY

Syria sanctions bill sparks renewed debate over Assad and Christians

The House Foreign Affairs panel voted for new sanctions on anyone helping Bashar al-Assad's regime.