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. Lebanon
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. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
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. Israel
Analysis Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps Some Israelis worry the US president might force them to accept an unsatisfactory agreement driven by his inability to secure a tangible achievement in Iran. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Analysis As Iran's power struggle deepens, US talks stall, who’s calling the shots in Tehran? By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
EU, Iran try to stand ground against Trump’s sanctions The countries working to save the Iranian nuclear deal have various reasons for doing so, and one could be concern that US President Donald Trump’s unilateral decisions won’t stop with Tehran. United States
Ilhan Omar seizes spotlight to push pro-BDS resolution Rep. Ilhan Omar plans to introduce a pro-BDS resolution days after President Donald Trump invoked Israel to defend his racist tweets that put her in the national spotlight. Israel
EU says Iran deal parties trying to salvage deal, not ready to trigger dispute mechanism The remaining parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are not yet prepared to trigger the accord’s dispute-resolution mechanism over Iran’s decision to reduce its compliance to protest crippling US economic sanctions. United States
How Turkey is planning to handle US blowback over S-400s Some parts of the Russian made S-400 missile system arrived in Ankara in the last several days, but none of the shipment included missiles. Turkey
Are Trump team’s overtures to Palestinians serious? After the failure of the Bahraini workhop, the Trump team is making overtures to the Palestinian president and suggesting the reopening of the Palestinian mission in Washington — but can this be taken serious? Palestine
Rouhani out of time, support for revised nuclear deal US sanctions and Europe's failure to come up with a satisfactory substitute for the nuclear deal are weakening the moderates in Iran's government while inflaming the hawks. United States
Turkish-US talks on northern Syria stall as S-400 crisis peaks US envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey tells the German Marshall Fund that a residual force of US troops will be staying in northeastern Syria for an "indeterminate time"; this decision appears to have been made in part to protect the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units from Turkey. Syria
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. Turkey
US envoy to Israel demolishes American Bahrain conference achievements The participation of American Ambassador David Friedman in the tunnel-opening ceremony in Jerusalem undermines all his country's efforts at the Bahrain economic workshop. Palestine
House panel advances bipartisan Saudi sanctions bill over Khashoggi murder The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously advances a bill that would sanction Saudis involved in the Jamal Khashoggi slaying. Saudi Arabia
2020 Democrats bash Trump for Iran crisis While one Democratic presidential candidate calls Trump's Iran policy reckless and another says the only reason there is a crisis is because of Trump, there are questions as to whether the issue will resonate with voters if no war takes place. United States
