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April 25, 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

How an ultra-secularist gained clout in Turkey's Islamist government

Dogu Perincek, said to be a pillar of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent anti-West policies, has had a long history of controversial alliances and ideologies.

Qaim residents fearful following conflict between US, Iran-backed militias

Recent US attacks on positions along the Syrian border held by Iran-linked armed groups — some of whom are on the Iraqi government payroll — have led to insecurity among local residents, who had been seeing improvements in their lives.

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 - RC23FE9EJI5L

Pentagon: 34 US troops injured in Iranian strike

Dozens of US troops have left Ain al-Asad air base for medical evaluation following Iran's missile strikes earlier this month, despite the US administration claiming earlier that no service members had been injured.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC21HD9N30CL

Trump administration adjusts policies to new realities in Syria and Iraq

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazlum Kobane has suggested in an interview new confidence-building measures with Turkey. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Barham Salih have managed expectations in their meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

A general view picture shows the Israeli barrier running along the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shuafat, in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2GME9FFFI3

The electoral politics of Trump's peace and propaganda in Israel

The Trump administration peace plan ignores the Arab Peace Initiative, the Quartet, the road map for peace, and foremost a true quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr protest against what they say is U.S. presence and violations in Iraq, during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC28ME988GRG

As Iraq's protests continue, is political solution on the horizon?

As the Iraqi government feels the pressure of protests, political leaders are moving toward forming a national front to resolve the Iraqi crisis.

Palestinian demonstrators burn a crossed-out poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and reading: "no for Deal of the Century" during a protest against Bahrain's workshop for U.S. Middle East peace plan, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1478E53560

Trump 'deal of the century' still no deal for Palestinians

With the unveiling of the Donald Trump administration's peace plan, Palestinian leaders have reiterate their categorical rejection of it, certain that it fulfills none of their demands toward statehood.

Gantz caught in Trump and Netanyahu's peace plan ambush

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have been invited to the White House on the same day the Knesset is set to discuss Netanyahu’s request for immunity involving corruption charges.

U.S. special envoy for Syria and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Jim Jeffrey speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi - RC28BD9QFAZ9

US Syria envoy: Any talks on troop withdrawal from Iraq must include all aid

US envoy James Jeffrey says the United States wants to see its operations against the Islamic State in Iraq — which have been paused as US and coalition troops focus on protecting themselves in the wake of an escalation between US forces and Iranian-backed groups — resume as soon as possible.

U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi during the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC2RLE9UGDN3

Intel: Pelosi seeks to reassure Israel as Democrats debate military aid

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is leading a congressional delegation to Israel this week amid an intraparty debate over conditioning military aid to the close US ally and Democratic efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran.

General view of the debris of the Ukraine International Airlines, flight PS752, Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020 is seen in this screen grab obtained from a social media video via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. - RC26DE9L2K1A

Iran says plane crash investigation will be made public

Iran’s defense minister said the investigation into the Ukraine plane shooting is ongoing but will be made public.

Salwa Karoui, wife of detained Tunisian media mogul and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, speaks during an election campaign rally in Tunis, Tunisia, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC1981714B10

Defeated Tunisian presidential candidate paid ex-Israeli intelligence official $250,000

Lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe reported being paid $250,000 by Nabil Karoui's wife and a friend.