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United States

April 29, 2026

Washington D.C. 7:18 pm

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President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

As President Donald Trump pressures Israel to limit its strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah is taking advantage of the situation.

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

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

With talks between Israel and Lebanon being held in Washington, Paris still insists that it must be involved to balance possible American bias and to protect Beirut’s interests.

Latest News

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

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

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

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

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

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

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

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 and Supporting Editor

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

Paul J. Saunders

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

Intel: New bill in Congress would push for Israel to get bunker-busting bombs

The bill was announced the same day the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran is building an underground centrifuge facility at Natanz.

Intel: Pentagon undercounting civilian casualties in Yemen, watchdog says

At least 86 civilians have been killed in US operations in Yemen since 2017, according to a new report by Airwars, a UK-based nongovernmental organization.

In New York Jewish communities, similarities to Israel's virus struggle

Israeli media are covering the conflict over coronavirus measures in New York's Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, and the issue bears resemblance to Israel's virus situation.

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives to give a press conference after the cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on September 21, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

How does Erdogan get away with it all?

The United States and European Union’s inertia may allow Turkey to threaten de-escalation efforts in Libya and South Caucasus.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh speaks during the 24th International Oil, Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Exhibition at Tehran Permanent Fairground in Tehran on May 01, 2019. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran downplays impacts of new US sanctions on oil industry

A set of new US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector was shrugged off by officials in Tehran, who have been scrambling to keep the lifeline industry up and running in the face of US pressure.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at The Mountain Top Inn & Resort in Warm Springs, Georgia on October 27, 2020. - Democrat Joe Biden was campaigning in the once reliably Republican state of Georgia on Tuesday and President Donald Trump was hopscotching across the Midwest as the US election campaign entered its final week. Biden, 77, who is leading in the polls ahead of the November 3 vote, was to hold a socially distanced drive-in car rally in Atlanta, Georgia's largest city. (Photo by JIM

Syrian opposition fears being left behind again after US election

Many leaders of the Syrian opposition prefer Donald Trump, who used military force twice against the Syrian government, over Joe Biden, who served in an administration they believe turned a blind eye to the Iranian presence in Syria and allowed the regime to use chemical weapons.

IN FLIGHT, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 08: An F-35B combat aircraft from the Royal Air Force refuels from an RAF Voyager aircraft over the North Sea on October 08, 2020 in flight, above Scotland. The first air-to-air refuelling of F-35Bs from the newly-formed Carrier Strike Group took place as part of Operation Joint Warrior. Flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth, the RAF, RN and USMC Pilots (USofA) were demonstrating the operational capabilities of NATO and the UK for current and future threats. Operation Joint Warrior t

Gantz, Netanyahu split again over US F-35 sale to UAE

Defense Minister Benny Gantz accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of withholding knowledge of US-Emirates negotiations on the sale of F-35 stealth jets.

United Arab Emirates

Would Mideast leaders prefer Trump or Biden to deal with Iran?

Whoever wins the election, a new Iran deal would require a regional consensus and some tough diplomacy with Putin.

Democratic senators demand inquiry into alleged Turkish and Azerbaijani human rights abuses

Turkey has responded to some of the recent criticisms it has received from Democrats in Washington. The recent call from the Senate focuses Turkish support for Azerbaijan in the war with Armenia.

Israel will not oppose US sale of 'certain weapon systems' to United Arab Emirates

The announcement likely refers to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

United Arab Emirates

Sudan to recognize Israel after US rescinds Khartoum’s terror designation

The White House said Sudan would be the latest country to recognize Israel after it leveraged lifting Khartoum's terror sponsor designation

Smoke billows from a reported Russian airstrike near the village of Hafsarjah, in the western countryside of Idlib province in northwestern Syria, on September 11, 2020. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: US drone strike kills at least 10 at al-Qaeda meeting in Idlib

Some of the dead were reportedly rivals of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.