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April 24, 2026

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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.

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

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.

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

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

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

At least 19 Iran-linked tankers have passed through the US blockade on the strait to exit the Gulf while at least 15 have entered, according to the cargo-tracking group Vortexa.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

As US President Trump makes contradictory statements regarding his intentions toward Iran and the ongoing negotiations, Israel is preparing for the possibility of resuming military operations.

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

Latest News

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)

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Olmert

Trump says Iran deal could happen 'quickly' as Pakistan readies talks: What to know

US Vice President JD Vance (C) walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (L), and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials on April 11, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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

Members of the media work as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after holding a weekly cabinet meeting in the Jordan Valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DC97D0610

Will settlers' anger push Netanyahu into Blue and White's arms?

Yamina and settlers leaders are demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unilaterally annex West Bank territory despite the objection of the White House, but their campaign runs the risk of backfiring politically.

Following Russian expansion, roadblocks in northeast Syria delineate zones of US control

US forces have been preventing Russian patrols from advancing along the M4 highway and around al-Malikiyya in northeastern Syria near the Turkish and Iraqi borders.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan, December 20, 2019. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS - RC2YYD9DLX7A

Rouhani faces winter of Iran's discontent

Iran’s hard-liners have already secured a takeover of the parliament in elections this month; Trump says any negotiations are totally up to Iran.

Shi'ite Houthi rebels drive a patrol truck past an Ansar al-Sharia flag painted on the side of a hill, along a road in Almnash, the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, the local wing of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Rada, Yemen November 22, 2014. To match Special Report YEMEN-AQAP/ REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - GF10000374961

Trump confirms al-Qaeda’s Yemen leader killed

President Donald Trump has confirmed that a US operation killed al-Qaeda’s top leader in Yemen last week.

Kurdish and Arab protesters flash the victory sign and chants slogans against Turkish President Tayip Erdogan during a protest in front of the United Nations Headquarters in the town of Qamishli, Syria October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC1B8D106F20

Syria’s Kurds embrace resilience, beauty in wake of Turkish attack

Turkey's invasion of northeastern Syria has changed the lives of Kurdish residents in myriad ways, from a bump in confidence-boosting cosmetic surgery to pervasive anxiety over whether Turkey will strike again.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 27, 2019. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC15620896E0

Now Israel's defense minister, Bennett tones down Gaza rhetoric

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has made many belligerent statements over the years about stronger military action in Gaza, but as defense minister he seems to have adopted a policy of restraint.

What's in store for Palestinian-Jordanian ties as US rolls out peace plan?

While Jordan and Palestine are supporting each other in their rejection of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, it remains to be seen what the future holds if Washington ups the pressure on Amman.

Is the time ripe for US-Egyptian free trade agreement?

Egypt will start its negotiations with the United States next year for signing a bilateral free trade agreement as several international financial institutions praised its economic reform.

Intel: Why Russia went on counteroffensive against US criticism over Idlib

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the killing of “several Russian and Turkish military specialists” in the Idlid de-escalation zone.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Vienna, Austria December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC2TND9X2QPB

Key nuclear watchdog reassures Washington it can still monitor Iran as deal unravels

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief is making the rounds in Washington this week to stress that his agency can still monitor Iran’s nuclear program as the nuclear deal unravels.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about his acquittal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC27VE985OCV

Europe worries as Trump seems to lose interest in new Iran deal

Europeans with embassies on the ground disagree with the belief by Donald Trump administration officials that the Iranian regime is on the brink of collapse, and that the administration can wait for Iran to surrender to a long US wish list.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC23FE9R37HE

Intel: Space Force tracked Iranian missile strikes

Members of the Space Force helped track and detect the Iranian ballistic missiles that struck an Iraqi air base last month.