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May 6, 2026

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Lebanon, Israel eye third round of talks, but no Netanyahu-Aoun meeting in sight

The US appears to be pushing for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the Lebanese government says it won't happen while Israel continues to launch attacks on Lebanon.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

While President Donald Trump keeps pressuring Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Israel fears the American leader will decide to cut his losses and sideline the nuclear threat.

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

Latest News

Pentagon says Iran ceasefire continues despite UAE attack

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2026.

Macron casts doubt on Trump’s Hormuz operation as France-US gap grows

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L), and European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Zelensky at the White House for a bilateral meeting and an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters argue during their rally outside the White House in Washington August 9, 2014. Israel launched more than 30 air attacks in Gaza on Saturday, killing five Palestinians, and militants fired rockets at Israel as the conflict entered a second month, defying international efforts to revive a ceasefire. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - GM1EA8A09NC01

Senate’s first anti-BDS bill faces uncertain future in House

The Senate has passed its first bill clamping down on the pro-Palestinian boycott movement, but House Democrats aren’t committing to a floor vote.

U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. Central Command, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC16CAAD3ED0

Pentagon walks back Trump idea of using Iraq base to counter Iran

US officials downplayed the role of US bases in Iraq to counter Iran after the president pledged to stay in the country to "watch" Tehran’s activities.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC196AEB3320

Erdogan: Turkey to expel Kurds from Manbij if no one else does

Erdogan vows that Kurdish militia members will be removed from Manbij, one way or another; Greek prime minister visits Ankara; jailed CHP legislator ends hunger strike, but Kurdish woman continues hers despite being released.

Saudi troops walk past armoured personnel carriers at their base in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - GF10000225427

Intel: How Saudi support for Yemen extremists could dry up US arms sales

Gadhafi-linked Libyan oil tycoon enters Washington lobbying fray

Libyan oil tycoon Hassan Tatanaki has begun lobbying in the US in an effort to get the Donald Trump administration to get behind the push for fresh elections in the war-torn country.

Palestinian students stripped of US scholarships

Palestinian students studying abroad on US-sponsored scholarships have found themselves in limbo after the Palestinian Authority declined further US assistance following enactment of the US Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1926A26F60

Trump: Israel’s friend in words, not in deeds

US President Donald Trump's isolationist policies in Syria and Afghanistan, coupled with placating gestures toward the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than a push for peace with the Palestinians, are endangering Israel’s security.

Riad Darar and Ilham Ahmed co-chair's of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) are seen during the third meeting in Tabqa, Syria July16, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC150A9F38B0

Kurdish lobby struggles to slow US pullout from Syria

An upstart Syrian Kurdish delegation urging the Donald Trump administration to slow the Pentagon pullout from Syria faces significant hurdles to get its message in front of a wary US administration.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attend a news conference after an agreement-signing ceremony between Turkey and Venezuela at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero - RC149F4F7600

Intel: How Venezuela is driving US, Turkey further apart

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks after a Republican policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1EFB276880

Intel: How McConnell is forcing Democrats to side with Trump on Syria

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., managed to rebuke both President Donald Trump and Democrats with one vote.

House Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) speaks with reporters after a closed intelligence briefing with CIA Director Gina Haspel on the death of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC1BF7613400

Intel: How the latest freshman-establishment spat is laying bare Democrats’ Palestinian problem

An escalating feud between freshman Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Minn., and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is laying bare Democrats’ gaping divide over Israel.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
An Iranian employee checks the food shelves at a shopping mall in northwestern Tehran February 3, 2012. With just a month to go before a parliamentary election, Iran has been hit hard in recent months by new U.S. and European economic sanctions over its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful but the West says is aimed at making a bomb. Picture taken February 3, 2

Intel: How the Europeans’ new Iran sanctions work-around helps Trump

The European Union launched its much-anticipated Iran trade mechanism today to an audible meh from the Donald Trump administration.