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May 4, 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

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waves his hand during a welcome ceremony at Salam Palace in Baghdad, Iraq March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC1D812E2710

Is Iran’s influence in Iraq waning?

Iran is formalizing its relationship with Baghdad as a strategic step in lessening the negative economic effects of US sanctions, but the pro-Iran PMU integrating into Iraqi armed forces leave some Iraqi leaders uneasy.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a joint statment, at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, July 19, 2018. Debbie Hill/Pool via Reuters - RC15A2D3CB00

Is Netanyahu concerned about anti-Semitic rulers?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu befriends far-right leaders, such as Hungary’s Victor Orban, and keeps silent when his close ally, President Donald Trump, invites to the White House an anti-Semitic cartoonist.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they pose on the West Wing colonnade in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC1AE2447D80

Will Trump follow suit if Israel attacks Iran?

Ahead of the 2020 US presidential elections, President Donald Trump might decide to back Israel militarily, if it decides to attack Iran.

Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz sets sail in Izmit Bay, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, off the port of Dilovasi, Turkey, June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC17D18454C0

Eastern Mediterranean crisis balloons as Turkish drill ships multiply

Disputes over oil and gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean have caused a spike in tensions between Ankara and Turkish Cypriots on the one side, and the EU and Greek Cypriots on the other.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of a meeting at the Prefecture of Caen, on the sidelines of D-Day commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the World War II Allied landings in Normandy, France, June 6, 2019. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS - RC13F1587560

Trump, Macron talk Iran as French envoy heads to Tehran to try to defuse crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron mediates to try to defuse Iran crisis.

Abbas Araqchi, Iranian deputy foreign minister for political affairs (R), Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman (L) and Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei attend a news conferenece in Tehran, Iran July 7, 2019. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC188882BBC0

Iran raises nuclear enrichment to 4.5%

Iran officially announced it has taken its second step in reducing nuclear commitments and warned that unless the others fulfill their side of the nuclear deal, Iran would take the third step as well.

A view shows a new S-400 "Triumph" surface-to-air missile system after its deployment at a military base outside the town of Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar - RC179E3FA920

Where will the S-400s be deployed?

Russian-made S-400 batteries are expected to arrive in Turkey before the end of July and be deployed in Ankara.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are seen at the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause - RC1C67E741D0

Pleasantries aside, can Trump deliver what Erdogan wants?

Turkey expects President Donald Trump to help it avoid US sanctions over the S-400 affair, but many in Turkey question whether Trump has that power.

Over ten-thousand Iranians joined in carrying 72 coffins, 07 July 1988 in Tehran, during the funeral service for those who died when an Iran Air passenger jet was shot down over the Gulf by Us navy. An Iranian commercial Airbus A300, operated by Iran Air from Bandar Abbas, Iran to Dubai, UAE, was shot down by mistake over the Southern Gulf by the US navy's guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes during confrontation with Iranian speedboats, 03 July 1988. 290 civilian passengers and crew members, including 66 c

Anniversary of Iran Air 655 tragedy offers lessons for US-Iran diplomacy today

Iran Air 655’s bitter legacy; Iraq as front line; Iran should talk … but it needs off-ramps.

Palestinian Authority woos Iraq, says Iran is no enemy

Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, traveled to Iraq to galvanize Baghdad's support for the Palestinian cause and perhaps make new connections with Iran along the way.

Russian S-400 Triumph/SA-21 Growler medium-range and long-range surface-to-air missile systems drive during the Victory Day parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015. Russia marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe on Saturday with a military parade, showcasing new military hardware at a time when relations with the West have hit lows not seen since the Cold War. REUTERS/Host Photo Agency/RIA Novosti ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS D

Intel: Why Washington still hasn’t sanctioned Turkey over Russian missile purchase

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that Turkey will receive the first shipment of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia next week.

Despite Trump's gushing at G-20, Ankara, Washington still on collision course

US President Donald Trump’s fawning over his Turkish counterpart at the Osaka summit carried little real meaning, and a Turkey-US collision is still very possible.