United States - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

June 16, 2026

District of Columbia 6:56 pm

26°C

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Trump’s proposal faces resistance from Damascus, skepticism from experts and opposition across Lebanon’s political spectrum.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

President Donald Trump insisted he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but criticized the scale of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon.

Latest News

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Squeezed by Trump and Iran war, how vulnerable is Netanyahu in polls?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House, Washington, DC, July 7, 2025.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

US strikes on Indian-crewed tankers spark tensions with New Delhi

Punit PARANJPE / AFP via 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 and Supporting Editor

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

Paul J. Saunders

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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds a map while speaking during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York, U.S., February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton - RC2FYE9OX8R2

Abbas at UN gives muted rejection to Trump ‘annexation’ plan

The White House declares victory as the UN Security Council holds off on issuing a resolution reiterating old parameters for a two-state solution.

Iranians gahter during the commemoration of the 41st anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Tehran, Iran February 11, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC29YE9HSIHC

Iran marks revolution anniversary amid multiple challenges

The Islamic Republic marked the 41st anniversary of its founding as well as the 40th day after the US killing of its top general with state-organized rallies reflecting all-time-high anti-American sentiments.

Masked Palestinians prepare to attach balloons to a gas canister before releasing it near Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, along the Israel-Gaza border fence, on February 10, 2020. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

The power Hamas holds over Israel’s elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that terror attacks by Hamas right before the March 2 elections could cost him his job.

U.S. President Donald Trump makes remarks during the White House Business Session with the nation's governors in the State Dining Room of the White House, Washington, DC, U.S., February 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Theiler - RC2TXE9F4HJ0

Trump budget holds Palestinian aid hostage to progress on peace plan

The Donald Trump administration is doubling down on its bid to cut Palestinian aid by tying it to congressional funding for the president’s Middle East peace plan.

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - JUNE 17: Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud (L), Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia and US President Barack Obama meet at White House in Washington, D.C, USA on June 17, 2016. (Photo by Pool/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia turns to Democrat-tied lobbyists for Capitol Hill relationship advice

The Williams Group is the 10th firm hired by Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Washington and the ministry of foreign affairs.

A general view of Nahr Al-Umran gas refinery in Al-Dier District, northern Basra July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ CONFLICT ENERGY) - GM1E57H1M0K01

Intel: Iraq likely to continue importing Iranian natural gas under US waiver renewal

Iraqi officials have indicated that the United States is likely to renew a key Iran sanctions waiver that will allow Baghdad to continue importing Iranian natural gas to fuel its electricity needs.

A boy holding a placard with pictures of (L-R) President Hassan Rouhani, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, poses for camera in front of a model of Simorgh satellite-carrier rocket during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - GF10000304511

Iran vows to continue space program after satellite launch failure

Iranian officials have been adamant that the country’s space program will continue despite failures to launch satellites into orbit.

Pentagon slashes funding for Islamic State fight

The United States would see a diminished budget in its ability to fight Islamic State militants in 2021 if the new budget revealed by the Trump administration is approved.

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.