Trump

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Ambassador to the United States Nada Hamadeh in Beirut on Aug. 29, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency)

Meet Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon's US ambassador set to lead Israel talks

Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh is expected to lead the Lebanese delegation in talks with the Israeli side in Washington on Tuesday, the first such contact between the two parties in decades.

A woman walks past a digital screen displaying news of US-Iran peace talks along a road in Islamabad on April 10, 2026.

In Islamabad, US set to face a more defiant Iran at negotiating table

Iran's widening ambitions after the war include a bid to exercise permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz.

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in Beirut on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, the most violent attack on the Lebanese capital since the start of war. The strikes came as Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, claimed it was close to a "historic victory". (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little choice but to agree to direct talks with Beirut as it became clear that Hezbollah is unlikely to be quickly disarmed.

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

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East on April 7, 2026, in New York City. A vote on a resolution in the Security Council introduced by Bahrain focusing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz failed after opposition from Russia and China. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Analysis

Sanctions relief, Pakistan role propel China backing of Iran-US ceasefire

The US–Iran truce boosts Pakistan — one of China’s closest partners — by elevating its role as a mediator and strengthening a regional balance that favors Beijing’s allies.

Joyce Karam

By Joyce Karam , Rosaleen Carroll

Latest News

Analysis

Trump ceasefire leaves Netanyahu flustered as Iran gains politically

TOPSHOT - Iranians react after a ceasefire announcement at the Enqelab square, in Tehran, on April 8 2026. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday barely an hour before US President Donald Trump's deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

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

Trump agrees to halt war for 2 weeks if Iran reopens Hormuz

President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington.

Iran threatens energy shock, ups Gulf strikes ahead of Trump deadline: What to know

A family sits against the backdrop of a dockyard in Khor Fakkan in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah, off the coast of the Gulf of Oman, on Feb. 25, 2026.

Israel, seeking wider war, hits Iranian railways, bridges as Trump deadline nears

A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026, west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump is seated after addressing the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1E4086D740

Intel: Why Trump is putting OPEC on notice

In a speech at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump assailed OPEC for "ripping off the rest of the world" — seeking lower oil prices before the crucial 2018 mid-term elections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) attends the weekly cabinet meeting with Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (L), Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Yuval Steinitz (2nd L), Israeli Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz (3rd L) and Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman (R) at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem September 16, 2018. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via Reuters *** Local Caption *** - RC17A51E1F20

Israeli Cabinet cheers Trump, ignores IDF warnings

While IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot warns of a new wave of terrorism in the West Bank, the Security Cabinet prefers to cheer President Donald Trump on his decisions against the Palestinians.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RC134355F0C0

Iranians divided on whether their leaders should talk to Trump

Iranians are divided in their view of how to respond to President Donald Trump’s offer of direct talks. While many see it as insincere, they nonetheless welcome it as an opportunity to beat the United States at its own game.

Palestinians ponder reasons for punishing US measures

Washington keeps heaping injuries and insults onto Palestinians, who have various theories about the motivation behind the measures.

Turkey chides US for failing to honor Manbij accord

Ankara is caught between two superpowers that are pursuing their own agendas in Syria, while its efforts to implement its own agenda there only seem to be growing more difficult with time.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcome Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1A43C3C000

Trump's punishment of Palestinians boomerangs at Israel

Instead of distancing himself from decisions that will cause a backlash at Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed US President Donald Trump’s decisions to cut UNRWA funds and close the PLO office in Washington.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani exits the podium after addressing the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz - RC1ED8E50640

Pressure mounts on Iran's president to skip the UN General Assembly

The Iranian president’s planned trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly is sparking divisions among his political backers and opponents.

Palestinian flag waves at Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, U.S., November 19, 2017. U.S. State Department official said that under legislation passed by Congress, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson could not renew a certification that expired this month for the PLO office. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC181D30EBB0

US-PLO row jeopardizes consular services for Palestinians

Visas and other services may be collateral damage as the Donald Trump administration closes the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission office in Washington.

People walk outside of the Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem on September 9, 2018. - The United States plans to cut $25 million in aid to six hospitals primarily serving Palestinians in Jerusalem, a State Department official confirmed on September 8. The official said the decision followed a President Donald Trump-directed review of assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza "to ensure these funds were being spent in accordance with US national interests and were providi

Church groups outraged as US denies critical support to Jerusalem hospitals

US President Donald Trump's decision to redirect $25 million earmarked for Palestinians in East Jerusalem hospitals to "high-priority projects elsewhere" leaves seriously ill patients caught in the middle of "political blackmail."

US Rebuplican senator John McCain (R) walks with Abdul Hafiz Ghoqa, spokesman of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), during his tour to the rebel headquarters in their eastern stronghold city of Benghazi on April 22, 2011. McCain is the highest-ranking US politician to visit Libya's rebel-held east since a popular uprising began against Moamer Kadhafi's rule in mid-February. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo credit should read MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

US friends in the Middle East lose a champion in John McCain

The late senator from Arizona leaves behind a legacy as one of the Senate’s last prominent proponents of US interventionism.

Trump touts Mideast moves as Washington reels from 'Crazytown' accounts

As accounts emerge of White House aides' internal resistance to some of Trump's controversial policy decisions, the president boasts of his decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, cut off Palestinian aid and pull the plug on the Iran nuclear deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) waits for the start of an event with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2-R) and Gulf Cooperation Council leaders at their summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC17B78F1020

Trump shelves Gulf talks until next year

The White House has once again postponed a Gulf Cooperation Council summit aimed at bringing together the fragmented alliance to counter Iran.