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May 15, 2026

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Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

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

Latest News

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

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

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)

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

Iran President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a news conference in Rome, Italy, January 27, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi - RTX246ST

Rouhani: Nuclear deal renegotiation 'meaningless'

Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iranian hard-liners found a new target to attack: Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri. Meanwhile, President Rouhani dismisses a renegotiation of the nuclear deal, a point brought up by figures close to President-elect Trump, as “meaningless.”

People dine at a coffee shop as an image of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a monitor in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSCC

For Israel, more unknowns than knowns with Trump

The Israeli right and defense establishment have found it hard to determine with any certainty what direction US President-elect Donald Trump will take on policy.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG), operating alongside with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), sits inside a vehicle as she works on a laptop in the town of Hisha after the SDF took control of the area from Islamic State militants, in the northern Raqqa countryside, Syria November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2TNGJ

Turkey, US take Syrian Kurdish battle to Twittersphere

CENTCOM retweeting Syrian Kurds' denial of affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers Party has opened a new front in the battle between Turkey and the United States over US support for Syrian Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State.

Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX2YJ08

Tillerson faces tough questions on Iran, Russia

Portraying himself as a clear-eyed realist, Rex Tillerson showed keen insight into Russia but faced tough questions from senators, both Republican and Democrat, on whether he would stand up for American values.

A Kurdish fighter stands with his weapons near a fluttering Kurdish flag in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, August 23, 2016.REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MP4F

Ankara riled by US push for Kurdish seat at Syria talks

US statements that Syrian Kurds should be included in talks on Syria's future have further agitated Turkish leaders, who are already upset about Washington's coalition with the People's Protection Units.

Pedestrians walk past the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv August 2, 2013. U.S. embassies that would normally be open this Sunday - including those in Abu Dhabi, Baghdad and Cairo - will be closed that day because of unspecified security concerns, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday. CBS News said U.S. embassies would also be closed in Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12876

Palestinians ponder possible US Embassy move to Jerusalem

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has written a letter to US President-elect Donald Trump in an attempt to convince him not to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

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

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani attends Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 8, 2011. Rafsanjani lost his position on Tuesday as head of an important state clerical body after hardliners criticised him for being too close to the reformist opposition. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2JLGP

Iran loses flawed champion of renewed ties with US

A powerful and pragmatic political figure both before and long after his term as Iranian president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has died of a heart attack at age 82, leaving the task of safeguarding the nuclear agreement and outreach to Washington to President Hassan Rouhani and others he groomed over the years.

Riot police scuffle with protesters trying to march to the Turkish Parliament as the lawmakers gather to debate the proposed constitutional changes in Ankara, Turkey, January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2Y3PK

Contentious debate opens on Turkish presidential system

Although a constitutional amendment to switch the Turkish government to a presidential system looks likely to pass parliament, the outcome of a referendum on the measure is anyone's guess.

EU wants P4+1 model on Israeli settlements

The European Union is considering establishing a P4+1 group, without the United States, dealing separately with the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the Iran file.

Should Iran worry about Putin throwing it under the bus?

Iranian officials have always had a pessimistic outlook toward Russia, which could serve them well given the apparent possibility of closer US-Russian relations under Donald Trump.

Palestinians: Kerry speech too little, too late

Palestinians welcomed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s strong position on settlements, but do not believe it will positively influence the incoming US administration.

Russia pleased with deepening US-Turkey rift over Syria

Russia is cleverly filling the void created by the estrangement between the United States and Turkey.