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July 16, 2026

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Analysis

As Trump prioritizes Hormuz, Israel fears Iran rebuilding nuclear program while preserving ballistic missile threat

Israel is worried that the United States is centering the Strait of Hormuz, deprioritizing the threat of a nuclear Iran.

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

US President Donald Trump gestures as he steps off Air Force One to board the new Qatari-gifted Boeing plane, en route to the United States following his participation in the NATO Summit at Royal Air Force Mildenhall on July 8, 2026, in Mildenhall, England.

Trump says US to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

Satellite imagery has detected recent construction at the underground facility.

Latest News

Syria, US hold first business forum since sanctions relief: What to know

A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump at White House in Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025.

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Oil climbs after US strikes Iran, Trump vows to control Strait of Hormuz

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Trump says US to resume naval blockade of Iran's ports

U.S. President Donald Trump returns to Joint Base Andrews on July 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump, switched from the old Air Force One to the new Air Force One while stopping in the U.K. at RAF Mildenhall Air Force Base was returning from his visit to Ankara, Turkey where he attended the NATO summit. (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

US, Israel on standby as Egypt pushes Palestinian reconciliation

The United States and Israel are laying low while Egypt tries to end the rift between Fatah and Hamas, which Cairo sees as an obstacle to regional peace and security.

Uzi Arad, a senior adviser to Israel's prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tel Aviv March 12, 2009. Netanyahu will likely shelve recently revived Israeli peace talks with Syria given its territorial demands and alliance with Iran, Arad said on Thursday. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL POLITICS) - GM1E53D09JW01

Ex-Netanyahu national security adviser urges US to keep Iran deal

Former Israeli National Security Adviser Uzi Arad urges Washington to build on the 2015 Iran nuclear accord rather than abandon it.

United States Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) chairs his first Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington January 21, 2015. Top U.S. Treasury and State Department officials said on Wednesday that, despite reports, Russia had not entered into oil-for-goods deals with Iran in violation of international sanctions. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - GM1EB1M02QO01

Can Congress avoid blowing up the Iran deal?

If President Donald Trump doesn’t certify Iranian compliance with the 2015 agreement later this month, the US Senate only needs a bare majority to reinstate deal-breaking sanctions.

‘The last Iranian Americans’

The Trump administration’s "Travel Ban 3.0" runs the risk of turning current Iranian Americans into the last of their kind.

Turkey’s military options in Iraq and Syria hinge on US and Russia

Any Turkish military move into northern Iraq or northern Syria seems highly unlikely without US or Russian consent respectively.

Palestine’s admission to Interpol sparks angry response from Israel

In light of the ongoing US and Israeli stalemate to push peace talks, the Palestinians are taking matters into their own hands and recently joined Interpol.

Will Jewish archive return to Iraq?

The United States is preparing to return a Jewish archive to Iraq, but Iraq does not appear ready to receive it, and many want it to remain outside the country.

Palestinians react to opening of first US military base in Israel

The Sept. 18 announcement of the establishment of the first permanent US-Israeli military base in the Negev desert, in southern Israel, is evidence of the strategic military cooperation between the Americans and Israelis.

Fatah pressures Abbas to change strategy

After US President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations, many Palestinian leaders are advancing the idea of a binational state to pressure Israel and the United States into negotiating a two-state solution.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander: We're 'ready to engage' with Damascus

In an interview with Al-Monitor, a Syrian Kurdish commander says the United States should stay in Syria during the post-Islamic State process.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Some Turks blame US for Kurdish independence vote

Sources close to Turkey's ruling party say the United States secretly supports Iraqi Kurds' bid for independence as part of US plans for a "second Israel" in the region.

Is Trump about to reveal his Mideast peace plan?

The meeting in New York between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US President Donald Trump revived Palestinian optimism on the US Mideast peace plan.