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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

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif speaks with the media on the sidelines of a security conference in New Delhi, India, January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Alasdair Pal - RC29GE9BKE8L

Iran issues warnings after Europe triggers nuclear deal dispute mechanism

A European decision to trigger a dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal has been received with defiance, rage and threats in Tehran.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidates (L-R) billionaire activist Tom Steyer, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) participate in the seventh Democratic 2020 presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton - HP1EG1F09ANZZ

Intel: How many US troops do 2020 Democrats want to keep in the Middle East?

Democratic presidential hopefuls started Tuesday’s debate by slamming President Donald Trump’s Iran policy and articulating their own vision for the future US force posture in the Middle East.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC24FE9RIQUT

Pentagon considering reinforcing missile defenses after Iranian strikes

After Iran's Jan. 8 ballistic missile attacks on an Iraqi air base housing US forces, the Pentagon is now challenged with preventing a repeat occurrence.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, walks inside a tunnel while touring "The City of David", a Jewish heritage site in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, East Jerusalem January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2RFE9XDZ2W

Who gains if Trump publishes peace plan before Israeli election?

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be pushing for the Trump administration to publish its "deal of the century" ahead of the March elections, the candidate who might gain the most from such a situation is Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks during a joint news conference with Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2XFE9HT6N6

Pentagon doesn’t clarify ‘imminent’ threat to kill Soleimani

Statements from the Pentagon throw into question Trump's justification for the US strike on Qasem Soleimani.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Dover, New Hampshire, U.S., January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RC29DE9KKN4S

Intel: Warren threatens Trump with insider trading probe over Soleimani strike

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen urged an insider trading investigation into President Donald Trump for reportedly telling Mar-a-Lago guests about the Soleimani strike in advance, according to a joint letter sent to the chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday.

Security and police vehicles guard Cairo's Tora prison, where the trial of ousted Egyptian Islamist President Mohamed Mursi took place, in Cairo, Egypt June 17, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC19466F6CE0

Intel: Will US citizen's death result in sanctions on Egypt?

Moustafa Kassem, a US citizen detained in Egypt for more than six years, died in prison Monday after a heart attack stemming from his yearlong hunger strike in protest of his incarceration.

Rescue teams are seen on January 8, 2020 at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran. - Search-and-rescue teams were combing through the smoking wreckage of the Boeing 737 flight from Tehran to Kiev but officials said there was no hope of finding anyone alive. The vast majority of the passengers on the Ukraine International Airlines flight were non-Ukrainians, including 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians, officials said. (Photo

Iran makes arrests in plane crash probe amid public fury

Iran's judiciary says arrests have been made in connection with the crash of a Ukrainian plane last week that Tehran blamed on a "human error" by its armed forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif speaks to reporters upon his arrival at the airport in New Delhi, India, January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RC2RFE9JIN9F

Iran’s next moves depend on US

Iran is likely to choose a measured response to US actions, as long as Washington does the same in return, while at the same time trying to increase US costs of staying in the region.

Fighters in Iraq's Anbar wary of US-Iran conflict as Denmark pulls forces

Due to rising US-Iran tension in Iraq, Denmark has said it will pull most of its elite military trainers out of the country.

Hamas policemen in Gaza City stand guard during a mourning ceremony organised in honour of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani (portrait) killed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in a US air strike a day earlier, on January 4, 2020. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas-Fatah division deepens with Soleimani’s assassination

Palestinians express conflicting opinions over the US assassination of Iran's Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, while faction leaders praise him as a martyr.

REFILE - REMOVING EXTRA WORD Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) questions Defense Secretary nominee Mark Esper during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Esper's nomination in Washington, U.S. July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC15A0083B70

Senate Armed Services Chairman Inhofe endorses Iraq sanctions

Key Republican leaders are lining up behind President Donald Trump’s threats to hit Iraq with crippling sanctions.