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May 2, 2026

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

The US President was openly critical of previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki, seen as too close to Iran, but is now welcoming the new candidate put forward by Iraq’s leading Shiite bloc.

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

Latest News

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

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

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

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.

Analysis

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

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

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

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

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

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

Rabbi Israel Meir Lau Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council speaks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the World Holocaust Forum marking 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz, at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre in Jerusalem January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool - RC2RLE9EVQ76

Intel: Why Russia’s warming ties with Israel may lead Moscow to embrace Trump’s peace plan

Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned a young Israeli accused of drug charges ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. The release of Naama Issachar, who had been sentenced to 7½ years in prison, ends a bitter controversy that had plagued relations between the two countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump departs after delivering joint remarks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a new Middle East peace plan proposal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC27PE9R8PMZ

Iran slams Trump’s vision for Mideast peace

The Islamic Republic is fiercely opposed to Trump's "deal of the century," stating that Muslims will never allow it to happen.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a campaign town hall meeting at La Poste in Perry, Iowa, U.S., January 26, 2020. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado - RC2UNE9MEP21

Intel: Pro-Israel super PAC attacks Sanders with $700,000 Iowa ad buy

A pro-Israel super PAC has launched a $700,000 television ad campaign targeting presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he rises in the polls in the crucial days before the Iowa caucuses next week.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in an announcement of Trump's Middle East peace plan in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 28, 2020. - Trump declared that Israel was taking a "big step towards peace" as he unveiled a plan aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Today, Israel takes a big step towards peace," Trump said, standing alongside Netanyahu as he revealed details of the plan already emphatically rejected by the P

Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ fails to resonate among Egyptians

While the Egyptian government treaded cautiously in its response to the rollout of the US administration’s long-awaited peace deal, expressing Cairo’s “appreciation” of US efforts, analysts and the public widely condemned the plan.

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat (R) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (L), as U.S. President Bill Clinton stands between them, after the signing of the Israeli-PLO peace accord, at the White House in Washington September 13, 1993. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - GM1E99D1UCD01

Trump’s Israeli-US deal is not a peace plan

Donald Trump's 'deal of the century' may have started out as a peace plan, but his administration's conflict with the Palestinian leadership turned it into a plan to give Israel the green light to annex one-third of the West Bank.

A demonstrator holds up a cane and a Palestinian flag during a protest against the U.S. president Donald Trumpís Middle East peace plan, in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta - RC2OPE9BEIP8

Trump’s peace plan: platform for Israeli unity government?

The peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump could serve as a platform and incentive for Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to accept the formation of a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian demonstrators gesture in front of Israeli forces during a protest against the U.S. president Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta - RC2PPE9PRZMB

How long can Abbas hold firm on security coordination with Israel?

Israel's security establishment is well aware of the pressure being exerted on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to halt security coordination with Israel, which is why Israel must exert intense efforts to assist him.

Jordan fears long-term threat to its national security following Trump’s peace plan

No sooner had President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan than Jordan reacted, warning against the dangerous repercussions such deal will have on the kingdom and on the region as a whole.

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi discusses the Trump administration Middle East peace plan proposal during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC27PE9N3OF6

Democratic leaders hold fire on Trump’s Mideast peace plan

Pro-Israel Democrats are holding their fire on President Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal despite some reservations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech following the announcement by the U.S. President Donald Trump of the Mideast peace plan, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta - RC27PE95MPTR

Abbas caught between rock and hard place as Trump unveils Mideast plan

A strong Palestinian response to the Mideast peace plan requires national unity, which is currently lacking among Palestinian factions.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul, Turkey, January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2EME9CRYDD

Intel: Turkey downplays Erdogan’s phone call with Trump

The White House disclosed Jan. 28 details of a call between President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

TOPSHOT - This picture taken on January 27, 2020 in Iran's southwestern city of Bandar-e Mahshahr shows a Caspian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft which landed on a highway after it overshot the highway during its approach. No casualties were reported according to state television. - The jet was flying from Tehran's Mehrabad Airport with 135 passengers plus the plane's crew. A state TV reporter travelling on the plane told the broadcaster that the aircraft's "back wheel had broken off, as we saw it

Iran’s air safety questioned after multiple flight incidents

Panicked Iranians are nervously debating safety onboard domestic airliners after three airplanes nearly crashed in three consecutive days.