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April 30, 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

A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014. The offshoot of al Qaeda which has captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria has declared itself an Islamic "Caliphate" and called on factions worldwide to pledge their allegiance, a statement posted on jihadist websites said on Sunday. The group, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, has renamed itself "Islamic State" and proclaimed its leader

Intel: US doubles reward for information on Islamic State leader

The US government is offering $10 million for information leading to the location of Islamic State leader Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla.

RAMADI, IRAQ: US soldiers take part in a shooting training in the restive city of Ramadi, 100 kms west of Baghdad, 02 December 2004. The United States announced plans to increase its forces in Iraq to their highest levels since last year's invasion, as the country's interim government engaged in a flurry of contacts to rally support for January 30 elections. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

US soldier helped neo-Nazis plan 'mass casualty' attack on own unit in Turkey, feds say

Prosecutors say Ethan Phelan Melzer fed sensitive information about his unit to members of an occult white supremacist organization whose founder once pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

General Electric helps increase electricity generation in Iraq

Power stations that General Electric helped develop and improved exploitation of natural gas boost Iraq's energy infrastructure as the country seeks alternatives to imported energy from Iran.

A labourer puts up banners depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, part of a new campaign by the umbrella Yesha Jewish settler council bearing the words in Hebrew, "No to a Palestinian State" and "Sovereignty Do it right!", in Jerusalem June 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2B6H9W3TZP

Israel-Iran conflict enters tense waiting period until US election in November

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is praying for US President Donald Trump to win reelection, but security experts worry that he might lose interest in the Iran conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump is depicted as border barrier opener for Turkey's President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, who sits on a tank, during a sneak preview for the upcoming Rose Monday carnival parade in Cologne, Germany, February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay - RC213F97TGLM

Bolton memoir paints Erdogan, Trump as kindred spirits

In his new memoir, former national security adviser John Bolton reveals just how tangled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policies are with US President Donald Trump.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) greets campaign volunteers for Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC2ARE9735J8

How the Engel, Omar primaries became proxy wars over Israel

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel and freshman Ilhan Omar are fending off Democratic primary challengers backed by the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel wings of the party.

A Palestinian man walks past a mural depicting George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, in Gaza City June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC2PBH9PNMI4

US protests inspire activists across Middle East

In Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Tunisia protesters take up calls for reform in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

Turkish NBA player Enes Kanter stands for a portrait holding his jersey during half time after watching his team, the New York Knicks, play the Washington Wizards at the O2 Arena in London on television in White Plains, New York, U.S., January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs - RC1DBFA4CF40

Turkish NBA player's father acquitted of terrorism charges in Turkey

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is an outspoken critic of the Turkish government, which has led to trouble for his family back home.

Michael White, a freed U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018, poses with U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook while on his return to the United States at Zurich Airport in Zurich, Switzerland June 4, 2020. U.S. State Department/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS IMAGE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY, AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY. - RC2K2H90N3HH

Can Trump secure release of all US hostages in Iran?

Another prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States seems possible after two in just six months, but the previous exchanges have not generated any mutual trust.

Intel: Democrats condemn US broadcasting CEO’s Middle East purges after expanding office’s powers

President Donald Trump’s new CEO of the US Agency for Global Media on Wednesday fired the heads of at least three of its outlets who collectively oversaw its Middle East and Iran coverage. The move sparked immediate condemnation from key Democrats despite their previous bipartisan support for expanding the CEO’s powers.

New National Security Adviser John Bolton listens as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC19BD172000

Intel: Bolton says Trump sought to drop charges against Turkish bank at Erdogan’s behest

President Donald Trump allegedly sought to convince the Justice Department to drop charges against Turkey’s Halkbank at the request of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, The Wall Street Journal reported in an overview of former national security adviser John Bolton’s tell-all book.

Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone again

A series of such attacks is happening as the United States and Iraq discuss the future of the US military presence in the country.