Israeli-Gulf relations

US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, May 12, 2025.

Analysis

Netanyahu scrambles as Trump skips Israel visit, gap widens on Gaza, Iran

Despite pleas on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s part, President Donald Trump will not pass through Israel during his Gulf tour.

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

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Leesburg Executive Airport on April 24, 2025 in Leesburg, Virginia. Trump is attending the MAGA Inc. fundraiser dinner at Trump National Golf Club. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump willing to meet Iran's Khamenei but 'will be leading' war pack if no deal

In an interview with Time Magazine, President Donald Trump says he believes a deal with Iran can be reached via negotiations while expressing readiness for war in the event that it doesn't.

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on April 17, 2025 shows Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major-General Mohammed Bagheri (L) receiving Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (C) in Tehran on April 17, 2025.

Saudi defense chief meets Khamenei in historic Iran visit: What to know

Prince Khalid’s visit marks a further step in Iran and Saudi Arabia’s political reconciliation, but it comes at a tense time in the region, with the second round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations just two days away.

US President Donald Trump, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Trump, Netanyahu is driving Israel into judicial crisis

Empowered by moves in Washington, Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and is pushing for the sacking of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

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

Latest News

Interview

Amid Israel's rightward shift, left struggles for relevance

Yair Golan in Tel Aviv on Feb. 2, 2025.

Yair Golan

Yair Golan

Chair of the Democrats Party

Rubio heads to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Israel on first Mideast visit

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio talks to the media during a joint news conference with Guatemala's President Bernardo Arevalo at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City on Feb. 5, 2025.

Analysis

Will Trump's Gaza plan scuttle fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire?

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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

From Saudi Arabia to Australia and China, world leaders denounce Trump’s plan to 'take over' Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

A general view shows office buildings at al-Raidah Digital City of the Saudi capital Riaydh on Feb. 28, 2022.

Israelis begin doing deals in Saudi Arabia

Following a change in Saudi Arabia’s entry requirements, dozens of Israeli businesspeople arrived recently to Riyadh and even closed deals there.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli companies offer solutions for global wheat crisis

Israeli agritech companies are finding solutions for the growing global wheat crisis and others.

The Israeli Firkat Alnoor orchestra at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, May 21, 2022.

Israel seeks to double trade with Egypt

The visit to Egypt of the Israeli Firqat Alnoor Orchestra reflects a clear trend in the past year and a half of cultural, environmental and economic ties warming up between the two countries.

Moroccan Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Minister Abdellatif Miraoui and Israeli Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen.

Israeli, Moroccan ministers of science and technology sign cooperation agreement

Israel’s Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen and Morocco’s Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Minister Abdellatif Miraoui made history today, concluding a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in a vast field.

US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla arrives to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

New CENTCOM chief visits Israel as Iran nuclear talks drag on

Gen. Michael Kurilla's visit comes as Israel seeks a Plan B in case the Vienna talks fail.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Tehran, May 12, 2022.

Iran's supreme leader warns Qatari emir about Israel

The Iranian state media coverage of the meeting made no mention of the Iran nuclear deal, which was widely speculated to have topped the agenda of the emir's visit to Tehran.

Adhering to Jewish tradition, Rabbi Levi Duchman burns willow branches.

Jews celebrate end of Passover in UAE

Muslims and Christians gathered inside the Jewish Council of the Emirates in Dubai upon the invitation of Rabbi Eliyahu Abadi to celebrate together the Mimouna — a Jewish feast that comes seven days after Passover.

A police officer stands guard at the Palestinian Authority side of the Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Gaza rocket won't stop Israel's policy efforts

Defense Minister Benny Gantz has for several months been advancing policies to better the lives of Palestinians, and last Friday's rocket won't derail them.

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, after the menorah lighting ceremony in celebration of Hanukkah in the East Room of the White House, Washington, Dec. 1, 2021.

Analysis

Israel wants to see improved US-Saudi relations in sign of changed Middle East

Israel's ambassador to the United States also addresses Palestinian political process; violence escalates at Jerusalem holy sites; Hamas focuses on West Bank and resistance dramas; Christian population of Jerusalem dwindles further.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Herzog

Delisting IRGC as terror group would send 'terribly wrong message,' says Israel's US ambassador

Michael Herzog, Israel's ambassador to the United States, discussed the looming Iranian nuclear accord, chances of a Palestinian political process, the war in Ukraine, Arab-Israeli normalization and more, at a breakfast hosted by Al-Monitor.

Israel biomed

Israeli innovations in medical tech embraced worldwide

In Europe, the US, Africa, and now also in Gulf states, hospitals and healthcare systems are adopting Israeli med-tech companies' new products.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (L) welcomes the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan upon his arrival for the Negev summit, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert, Israel, March 27, 2022.

Free trade agreement opens new horizons for Israel, UAE

The economy and trade ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates concluded last week negotiations on a ground-breaking agreement for a free trade zone, the first of its kind Israel has ever reached with an Arab country.