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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

Palestinians wave national flags as they march in the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, calling for the cessation of divisions between Fatah and Hamas and the unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on January 12, 2019. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

US peace plan may unwittingly unite Palestinians against it

Rival Palestinian factions are expected to meet again soon to seek reconciliation so they can make a united stand against the United States' "deal of the century."

European Union delegates visit Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta - RC1CB59519D0

Can the EU resuscitate the two-state solution?

The Palestinian leadership is pressuring the European Union to take stronger stances against Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories after President Donald Trump revealed his 'deal of the century,' which threatens a two-state solution.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden talk during a commercial break during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Florida, U.S. June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar - HP1EF6S07RAKM

Trump’s Mideast peace plan puts heat on Biden, Buttigieg ahead of Iowa caucuses

Pro-Palestinian activists are urging Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg to push for a cut Israeli military aid in the crucial days before the Iowa caucuses.

A Syrian army soldier gestures in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar - RC2GQE9GEP2D

Putin’s thin red lines in Syria rattle Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still has limited options in the wake of Syria's retaking of a key town in Idlib province.

Egyptian air force planes parade during the inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal, in Ismailia, Egypt, August 6, 2015. Egypt staged a show of international support on Thursday as it inaugurated a major extension of the Suez Canal which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes will power an economic turnaround in the Arab world's most populous country. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - GF20000015690

US to boost Egyptian air defenses despite congressional anger

The Trump administration plans to provide Egypt with excess military equipment even as members of Congress seek sanctions against the country over the death of a US citizen.

US peace plan quashes hopes for Israel-Hamas cease-fire

The announcement of the US peace plan has undermined any prospect for a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas.

TOPSHOT - Israeli settlers scuffle with Israeli security forces at Netiv Haavot settlement, near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank on June 12, 2018. - Fifteen Israeli settler families are expected to evacuate their homes in this outpost after it was declared illegal by the Israeli High Court (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump’s 'peace plan' rewards settler violence

President Donald Trump's blessing of territorial annexation is nothing less than a reward for government-sanctioned 'Wild West' settler violence and appropriation as illustrated by the small percentage of indictments for criminal acts committed against Palestinians on the West Bank.

Israeli left paralyzed over Trump’s peace plan

The Israeli left has failed to challenge President Donald Trump’s "deal of the century" or to suggest alternative ideas on peace despite the plan's troubling provisions, including revoking the citizenship of Israeli Arabs.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement on Iran's missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC2TBE94VPE0

White House sends Congress mixed messages on Iran war votes

President Donald Trump told lawmakers to “vote with their hearts” on war powers legislation, but the White House is playing hardball with Republican defectors.

U.S. President Barack Obama (seated) signs H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, December 14, 2012. From L-R are: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, Obama, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - GM1E8CF053K01

Magnitsky law spawns cottage industry of sanctions lobbying

The Magnitsky Act is being used in unexpected ways, with lobbyists pushing for human rights sanctions against nations on behalf of corporate clients.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 23, 2013: Under the picture of Ayatollah Khomeini the former foreign minister of Iran and a special adviser to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, one of the favorite principalist presidential candidates in 2013 race, Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati speaks about his presidential agenda at Tehran university on May 23, 2013 in Tehran, Iran. He is one the the three candidates in 2+1 coalition. (Photo by Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Khamenei adviser calls Trump Mideast plan ‘nightmare’

Iranian officials and social media users criticized the White House plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

U.S. President Donald Trump puts his hands on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's shoulders as they deliver joint remarks on a Middle East peace plan proposal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts? - RC27PE95YQQU

Netanyahu wants/needs annexation before elections

White House advisers Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner object Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to annex settlements before the March 2 elections, but Netanyahu has no intention of giving up.