Trump

US President Donald Trump (L) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud gesture during a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh on May 20, 2017. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE May 13-16: White House

Trump's first foreign trip in his second term is aimed at reassuring Gulf partners over the Iranian threat and attracting new investments.

This picture shows a portrait of late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini next to the Saint Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Tehran, on April 21, 2025.

Analysis

In shift, Iran's IRGC backs nuclear talks as Araghchi courts US investment

Iran’s previously anti-engagement camp, which relentlessly dismissed talks with the US as “humiliating,” has pivoted and is demonstrating alignment with the negotiating team after Khamenei’s U-turn toward diplomacy.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

: A mural depicting a revolver painted with the colours of the US flag is seen painted on the outer walls of the former US embassy in Tehran, colloquially-referred to as the Spy Den, on April 19, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Talks between the United States and Iran over the fate of the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment program continue at the Omani embassy in Rome today. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Analysis

Netanyahu's influence over Trump wanes as US-Iran talks progress

Fear is growing in Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is incapable of shaping the nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.

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

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on April 3, 2025, in Washington.

White House denies staffer Merav Ceren’s ties to Israeli defense ministry: What to know

Ceren previously worked for the US Senate, and the administration downplayed reports of her past connection to the Israeli government.

Latest News

Analysis

US-Iran gaps seen as bridgeable as Israeli strike leak undermines Netanyahu

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is meeting with Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to release Israeli hostages from Gaza and newly imposed U.S. tariffs. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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

Exclusive

Syria's Kurds say Trump aid cuts are feeding radicalism in ISIS camps

Women are seen walking at the Roj Camp in northeast Syria, on April 8, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In Paris, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Witkoff’s enrichment U-turn sows confusion over Trump’s Iran strategy

This combination of file photos created on April 9, 2025, shows US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaking to reporters.

Israel’s Ben-Gvir visits US Monday, set to meet Trump officials: What to know

Israeli far-right Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a gathering by right-wing activists near the border with Gaza, on Oct. 21, 2024, calling to establish a new Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: U.S. President Donald Trump bids farewell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the White House after a meeting on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump was meeting with Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to release Israeli hostages from Gaza and newly imposed U.S. tariffs. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Analysis

As Witkoff hints US won't dismantle Iran nuclear program, Israel fears Trump may settle for 'bad deal'

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu cannot go openly against the nuclear talks with Iran initiated by US President Trump, but he can hope for Tehran to anger him enough to break the negotiations.

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

US President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on April 14, 2025.

Ahead of Rome meeting, Trump says Iran dragging out nuclear talks

President Donald Trump said Iranian negotiators were “tapping us along” and threatened military action if a deal is not reached.

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street on April 11, 2025, in New York City.

Where Middle East’s top investors stand as tariffs roil US bond market

GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

China courts Gulf, BRICS allies as trade war with US escalates

Since US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on more than 180 countries on April 2, Beijing has stepped up engagement with Riyadh.

An aerial view of the Cheniere Energy liquefied natural gas plant, on Feb. 10, 2025, in Port Arthur, Texas.

UAE's Mubadala makes first US gas play in wave of Gulf LNG investment

Other Gulf energy majors such as Saudi Aramco and ADNOC have already made significant investments in US LNG.

United Arab Emirates

oil field

After steep fall, oil prices slightly recover following Trump tariff pause

Over the last week, oil prices have plummeted amid the escalating trade war between the United States and China.

A woman walks along Karim Khan Zand Avenue in Tehran, on April 8, 2025.

From 2008 to today: Expectations and timeline of US-Iran talks

The upcoming talks will be the most significant since negotiations broke down in 2022 and come in the wake of President Donald Trump threatening to bomb Iran if it does not agree to a new deal on its nuclear program.

Wright

US energy secretary to tour Gulf amid oil market pressure, Iran talks

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to meet with several Gulf leaders during his trip as the region grapples with lower oil prices after President Donald Trump imposed universal tariffs last week.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is meeting with Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to release Israeli hostages from Gaza and newly imposed U.S. tariffs. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Analysis

Netanyahu unsettled by Trump-Iran talks but Israel maintains military option

Despite President Donald Trump’s announcement of direct talks with Iran, sources describe the chances of a deal as "slim" and predict a tense summer ahead.

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

President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a "Make America Wealthy Again" trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Trump says US, Iran in 'direct talks' over nuclear program

President Donald Trump said the two sides will hold a "very big meeting" on Saturday.

A trader walks by beneath a stock display board at the Dubai Stock Exchange in the United Arab Emirates, on March 8, 2020. - Saudi's stock exchange fell 6.5 percent and other Gulf markets tumbled to multi-year lows at the start of trading after OPEC and its allies failed to clinch a deal over oil production cuts. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Oil prices fall as Gulf economies grapple with Trump’s tariffs: What to know

Falling oil prices could negatively impact the budgets of Gulf states and are coinciding with losses in the region’s stock markets.

Turkey's Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek takes part in a panel discussion during the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital on December 7, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Simsek says economy will ride out Trump tariffs without lasting scars

Mehmet Simsek stressed that his government’s economic program has made the economy more resilient against internal and external shocks, highlighting that inflation has fallen and continues to drop.