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Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L) disembarks from an airplane upon his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia pursues quiet diplomacy as Trump pushes Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in intense diplomacy in Lebanon in recent days, leading up to the extension of a ceasefire with Israel.

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 23: A police officer stands holding a flag in Valiasr Square beneath a mural of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on April 23, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an extension of the current ceasefire between his country and Iran, despite Iran declining to attend the latest proposed round of peace talks in Islamabad. The focus of the war has shifted largely to the Strait of Hormuz, where both sides are trying to assert control over the critical m

Analysis

阿拉格奇的俄罗斯及地区之行旨在试探打破美伊僵局的途径

伊朗官员表示，对话仍然开放，但国内强硬派言论的不断升级以及德黑兰在红线问题上发出的相互矛盾的信号，使谈判蒙上了阴影。

A correspondent in Tehran

由 A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Feature

加沙民众对20年来首次地方选举抱有谨慎的希望。

加沙中部城市代尔巴拉赫即将举行近二十年来的首次市政选举。

Rasha Abou Jalal

由 Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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

大都会歌剧院为何失去了与沙特阿拉伯的资助协议？

该协议于去年 9 月以不具约束力的谅解备忘录的形式宣布，根据该协议，公共投资基金将在未来八年内向该歌剧机构注资高达 2 亿美元。

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

以色列担心特朗普试图通过与黎巴嫩达成协议来抵消伊朗方面的失误。

一些以色列人担心，由于美国总统无法在伊朗问题上取得实质性成果，他可能会迫使以色列接受一项不令人满意的协议。

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

Latest News

叙利亚逮捕塔达蒙大屠杀凶手阿姆贾德·优素福：你需要了解什么

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

以色列总理内塔尼亚胡称自己曾接受前列腺癌治疗：我们目前掌握的信息

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds the hand of his wife Sara as they attend a ceremony commemorating Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on April 21, 2026. (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

土耳其Baykar公司首次测试K2集群自杀式无人机：你需要了解什么

CORLU, TURKEY- MARCH 2: A B model of Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA (Assault Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in the sky on March 2, 2022 in Corlu, Turkey. (Photo by Baykar Press Office/dia images via Getty Images)

国际能源署发布严峻的天然气供应预测，与此同时，原油价格周涨幅达15%。

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is moored at a LNG berth in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, prefecture April 8, 2026.

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US soldiers stand guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan

Taliban govt says Afghans in Qatar can return 'with full confidence'

Agence France-Presse

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Supreme Court building during proceedings in pending appeals at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 30, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

In Supreme Court fight against deportation shield, Trump says judges have no role

Reuters

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 24, 2026. REUTERS

Turkey may consider role in Hormuz demining after Iran-US deal, minister says

Reuters

USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) near what the U.S. Central Command said was a vessel attempting to sail to an Iranian port, as it enforces the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, at an unknown location, released April 24, 2026. U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS

US negotiators to go to Islamabad, but Iran says no direct talks

Reuters

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The AL-MONITOR Brief

Israel-Hezbollah clashes test US-backed Lebanon ceasefire

Elizabeth Hagedorn joins Adam Lucente

24 April, 2:41 PM ET

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hassan ahmadian

On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‘running the show’ despite public absence, says academic Hassan Ahmadian

Hassan Ahmadian joins Amberin Zaman

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What to make of Pakistan’s increased defense ties with Saudi Arabia

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21 April, 3:38 PM ET

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Interviews

Exclusive conversations with AL-MONITOR.

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Interview

阿联酋官员称开放霍尔木兹海峡是任何伊朗核协议不可或缺的一部分，并称基础设施损失“可控”。

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

Interview

部长警告称，削减对黎巴嫩的援助可能会增强真主党的力量。

Haneen Sayyed

Haneen Sayyed

Haneen Sayyed

Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs

Interview

科马拉的莫赫塔迪表示，尽管特朗普态度反复，美国仍可能支持伊朗库尔德人。

A armed Kurdish Peshmerga of the Komala party waves the Komala flag in a ceremony held in memory of Komala Martyrs' Day in Sidakan, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on March 17, 2021.

Abdulla Mohtadi

Leader of Komala

Interview

奥尔默特：只有以黎协议才能遏制真主党，占领“不可行”

Olmert

Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

以色列担心特朗普试图通过与黎巴嫩达成协议来抵消伊朗方面的失误。

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

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

Analysis

中国绕过伊朗封锁，海湾国家拉拢北京

US forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska on April 20, 2026, after firing upon the Iranian-flagged vessel. (Handout Photo by the U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Joyce Karam

由 Joyce Karam

Analysis

巴勒斯坦地方选举前夕，竞争严重不足

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Daoud Kuttab

由 Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Analysis

阿拉格奇的俄罗斯及地区之行旨在试探打破美伊僵局的途径

A correspondent in Tehran

由 A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 23: A police officer stands holding a flag in Valiasr Square beneath a mural of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on April 23, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an extension of the current ceasefire between his country and Iran, despite Iran declining to attend the latest proposed round of peace talks in Islamabad. The focus of the war has shifted largely to the Strait of Hormuz, where both sides are trying to assert control over the critical m

Joyce Karam, Randa Slim, Hamidreza Azizi, Hasan Alhasan

Iran War at One Month: Outlook and Implications

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sits across from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy capitalizes on Iran war to ink security deal with Saudi Arabia

Joe Snell appears on a street wearing a black jacket; in the frame next to it, a woman with blonde hair, glasses, and a black blazer appears on a laptop screen from a Zoom meeting.

French ISIS Member Convicted of Genocide Against Yazidis

Ezgi Akin at Turkey's Kapikoy border crossing

AL-MONITOR's Ezgi Akin at Turkey-Iran Border Crossing