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April 29, 2026

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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

Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada (C - L) shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig (C - L) between ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni (L) and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths at the end of a week-long meeting on a Yemen prisoner exchange agreement on September 27, 2020 in Glion, western Switzerland. - Both sides in Yemen's war have agreed to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners, the UN mediator during a week of

Yemen's Houthi rebels release two US citizens in prisoner swap

Officials from Saudi Arabia and Oman helped negotiate the release

MIRAMAR, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Wearing a face mask to reduce the risk posed by the coronavirus, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden points to supporters during a drive-in voter mobilization event at Miramar Regional Park October 13, 2020 in Miramar, Florida. With three weeks until Election Day, Biden is campaigning in Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden campaign criticizes both Azerbaijan and Armenia in statement on war

The US presidential contender also slammed Turkey's role in official remarks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, October 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 14, 2020 encouraged Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms. (Photo by Manuel Balce CENETA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANUEL BALCE CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Image

Pompeo calls on Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also raised human rights concerns during a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Saudi FM to meet with Pompeo for inaugural strategic dialogue

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud will discuss the bilateral relationship Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump (R) with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (L), Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani (2-L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) pose for pictures in the colonnade at the White House before the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirat

Israel’s Cabinet ratifies Abraham Accords

Shortly before the Cabinet approved the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke over the phone and agreed to meet "soon."

United Arab Emirates

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) participates in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in New York on September 28, 2018. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

As US elections near, GCC states chart middle course between US and China

Former Vice President and Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden's previous statement to make Saudi Arabia a 'pariah' hangs over the region.

A rocket launches from a S-400 missile system at the Ashuluk military base in Southern Russia on September 22, 2020 during the "Caucasus-2020" military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. - Up to 250 tanks and around 450 infantry combat vehicles and armoured personnel carriers will take part in the September 21 to 26 land and naval exercises that will involve 80,000 people including support staff. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (

Intel: US senators renew call for Turkey sanctions over reports of S-400 test

Reports that Turkey continues to test the Russian-built air defense system have prompted renewed objections from lawmakers.

‘A slap in the face’: 9/11 families say US-Sudan deal would torpedo two-decade lawsuit

The Trump administration has quietly reached an understanding with Sudan that some 9/11 families say puts Washington’s foreign policy objectives ahead of their quest for justice.

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US government announces seizure of 92 Iran-linked websites

The US seizure of the news sites allegedly connected to the Iranian government came before new US sanctions on Iranian banks.

Two F-35s (L and R) and two F-18s fly overhead during the "Salute to America" Fourth of July event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, July 4, 2019. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Qatar requested to buy F-35

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 07: Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence participate in the vice presidential debate moderated by Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today Susan Page (C) at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The vice presidential candidates only meet once to debate before the general election on November 3. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

US vice presidential candidates debate Iran policy

Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris took on Iran issues like the nuclear deal and the killing of Qasem Soleimani.

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers(C) of the National Security Division, FBI Director Christopher Wray(2ndR),US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia G. Zachary Terwilliger(L) and Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office James A. Dawson(R) host a press conference on a national security matter at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on October 7, 2020. - Two members of an Islamic State cell dubbed the "Beatles" accused of killing several Western hostages a

Islamic State 'Beatles' charged with hostage-taking of Americans

The charges against El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey include hostage-taking resulting in death and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.