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United States

April 28, 2026

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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.

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

Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

As President Donald Trump pressures Israel to limit its strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah is taking advantage of the situation.

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

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

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

With talks between Israel and Lebanon being held in Washington, Paris still insists that it must be involved to balance possible American bias and to protect Beirut’s interests.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

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

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

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

US boards Iran-linked tanker in Indian Ocean, vows pursuit of 'ghost fleet'

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 14: A US Navy Seahawk helicopter takes off from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan on July 14, 2017 in Townsville, Australia. USS Ronald Reagan is a 1,092- foot aircraft carrier which carries a crew of 4,539 around 60 aircraft. Exercise Talisman Sabre is the largest combined military exercise undertaken in Australia. The biennial exercise is the principal Australian and U.S. military training activity. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/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

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

Afghan refugees, fleeing the Afghan capital Kabul, exit an US air force plane upon their arrival at Pristina International airport near Pristina on Aug. 29, 2021.

After Afghanistan pullout, US pursues long-distance diplomacy from Qatar

Without a diplomatic presence on the ground in Kabul, the United States will engage with the Taliban from a remote mission in Doha.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Islamic State 'Beatles' member pleads guilty in US hostage-taking case

British-born Alexanda Kotey was part of an Islamic State cell that the US government has linked to the hostage-taking and deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

US Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger speaks to the press after a hearing for former British Islamic State fighters Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, dubbed the "Beatles," at the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, Oct. 9, 2020.

Member of IS 'Beatles' expected to plead guilty in US courtroom

Alexanda Kotey, a member of the brutal Islamic State cell linked to the kidnapping and killing of Westerners, is expected to plead guilty to one or more of the charges against him.

In this handout provided by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, U.S. Air Force loadmasters and pilots assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) on Aug. 24, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

How many Americans are left in Afghanistan?

As the United States facilitates the transfer of thousands of Afghanistan evacuees to Qatar and other US military installations, the State Department said Thursday that a majority of the remaining Americans have taken steps to leave.

WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Afghans, US troops killed in blasts targeting Kabul airport evacuations

US officials feared the local faction called the Islamic State-Khorasan could attack the beleaguered airfield in the Afghan capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Aug. 22, 2021.

The Takeaway: Bennett has opening to sway Biden administration on Iran nuclear deal

Also: Iran’s new foreign minister and Nasrallah; Syrian Islamist group cracks down in Idlib; TikTok finds audiences in Egypt, Gaza; Israel’s chocolate confiscation; and more … in about 1,500 words!

XVIII Airborne Corps assists with Kabul airport evacuation

Sources: Taliban move helped US keep Afghans off Kabul airfield last week

The original plan to secure Kabul airport took the presence of Afghan security forces for granted, a US official said.

The family (front) of an Afghan national working at the French Embassy queue at Hamid Karzai International Airport as they prepare to leave on a special flight to France, Kabul, Afghanistan, July 17, 2021.

Pentagon sidelines ally Turkey as US takes control of Kabul airport

Taliban fighters helped secure the southern perimeter of Kabul airport as the US Army's 82nd Airborne rushed in to take control, marking a rare moment of coordination between the years-long enemies.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Whither US policy toward Iran?

The election of Iran's new president and the Taliban's stunning takeover in Afghanistan have somewhat shaken up the Iran nuclear deal talks, but the United States and Iran clearly know reinstating the deal is in both their favor.

Afghans crowd Kabul airport tarmac on Aug. 16

Pentagon rushes more reinforcements to Kabul airport as panic disrupts evacuations

US troops regained control of the runway Monday afternoon after masses of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac hoping to escape.

Displaced Afghans in Kabul

More US troops arrive at Kabul airport to bolster Turkish mission

Pentagon says forces could potentially remain in Kabul beyond original withdrawal deadline.

Washington Pulse

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: US sanctions oil broker reportedly linked to Iran’s Quds Force