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April 25, 2026

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A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

Some Israelis worry the US president might force them to accept an unsatisfactory agreement driven by his inability to secure a tangible achievement in Iran.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

At least 19 Iran-linked tankers have passed through the US blockade on the strait to exit the Gulf while at least 15 have entered, according to the cargo-tracking group Vortexa.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

As US President Trump makes contradictory statements regarding his intentions toward Iran and the ongoing negotiations, Israel is preparing for the possibility of resuming military operations.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

US boards Iran-linked tanker in Indian Ocean, vows pursuit of 'ghost fleet'

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 14: A US Navy Seahawk helicopter takes off from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan on July 14, 2017 in Townsville, Australia. USS Ronald Reagan is a 1,092- foot aircraft carrier which carries a crew of 4,539 around 60 aircraft. Exercise Talisman Sabre is the largest combined military exercise undertaken in Australia. The biennial exercise is the principal Australian and U.S. military training activity. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Olmert

Trump says Iran deal could happen 'quickly' as Pakistan readies talks: What to know

US Vice President JD Vance (C) walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (L), and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials on April 11, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

Hezbollah marchers

US sanctions 7 over Hezbollah finances

The sanctions indicate continued US pressure on the Lebanese organization under US President Joe Biden.

The US Department of State is seen on Jan. 6, 2020, in Washington, DC.

US appoints Ambassador Richard Norland as Libya special envoy

Norland, who has served as chief of mission to Libya since August 2019, will lead US diplomatic efforts to promote a political solution to the conflict.

A US Navy personnel mans a heavy machine gun as he watches a Riverine Command Boat (C) cruising past the USS Ponci in the Arabian Sea, on the first day of the the biggest mine countermeasures exercise in the Arabian Gulf, May 13, 2013.

US Navy seizes massive shipment of weapons in Arabian Sea

A video released by the Navy onboard the USS Monterey showed a massive cache of arms seized from a stateless vessel in the Arabian Sea.

Israeli police officers clash with Palestinians during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan on April 24, 2021 in Jerusalem.

US expresses 'serious concerns' to Israel over Jerusalem violence

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States had "serious concerns" over the Jerusalem clashes and the potential evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

US Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaks during a news conference with members of the Democratic Women's Caucus prior to State of the Union at the US Capitol on Feb. 4, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Top Democrats urge Biden to lift sanctions on Tehran in good faith

Prominent Democratic National Committee members urged President Joe Biden to relieve sanctions on Iran as the window closes for a return to the nuclear deal.

Lenderking and Griffths

State Department: Yemen's Houthis passed up opportunity for peace

The State Department slammed Houthi rebels for turning down the chance to meet with the UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths.

Yemeni women wait with their malnourished children ahead of treatment sessions at a medical center in Yemen's war-ravaged western province of Hodeida, on April 24, 2021.

US senators urge Biden administration to back another Yemen donor conference

The bipartisan group called on the administration to mobilize the international community to support Yemen's humanitarian needs.

John Kerry

House Republicans call for review of John Kerry's security clearance

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee responded to a report that Kerry provided Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif information on Israel's operations in Syria, but Kerry has denied this ever happened.

Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images

US Navy fires warning shots in encounter with Iranian patrol boats

A US Navy patrol ship fired warning shots to ward off Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf on Monday, marking the second run-in between the two countries’ naval forces this month.

fighters near Marib

Congress presses Biden administration for answers on Yemen war

Pressure is building on Capitol Hill as lawmakers await clarity about US support for Saudi Arabia in an upcoming briefing.

Washington Pulse

Palestinian students gather in front of a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, on the first day of school after local authorities eased some of the restrictions that were imposed in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, on Aug. 8, 2020.

Senate Republicans: condition aid to Palestinian refugee agency on reforms

A group of 21 senators called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to tie funding to UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, to "much-needed and meaningful reforms."

JOSHUA ROBERTS/AFP via Getty Images

Senator praises report that Biden will recognize Armenian Genocide

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez has been a longtime supporter of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.