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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

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags wave next to a drilling tower 25 km (16 miles) from Famagusta April 26, 2012. Turkish Cypriot Leader Dervis Eroglu and Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz attended a ceremony marking the start of joint gas and oil exploration works in northern Cyprus between Turkey's state-owned energy company TPAO and the Turkish-Cypriot administration. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - GM1E84Q1HIQ01

Congress sides with Cyprus against Turkey as eastern Mediterranean heats up

Congress just passed two bills siding with Cyprus in its territorial and natural gas dispute with Turkey.

FORDOW FACILITY, IRAN-JANUARY 30,2013: This is a satellite image of the Fordow facility in Iran. (Photo DigitalGlobe via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Russia exits nuclear conversion project, but stands by Iran

Russia has halted its conversion operations at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, but this doesn't signal a crack in Moscow-Tehran relations.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper holds a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., August 28, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC1DF8655450

Intel: Pentagon renews calls for US allies to join Syria fight

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters traveling in Europe on Monday that the United States needs to continue to grow the 81-nation counter-Islamic State coalition in Syria to ensure the defeat of the militant group.

TEHRAN, June 13, 2019 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe L and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a joint press conference in Tehran, Iran, June 12, 2019. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the Islamic republic welcomes Japan's efforts for the development of mutual ties as well as regional and international cooperation. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz via Getty Images)

Rouhani heads to Japan as Abe seeks US-Iran deal

Iran's president has embarked on a trip that will take him to Japan, a host that has been scrambling to mediate some Tehran-Washington rapprochement at a critical time for the Iranian economy.

Protesters rally outside the Turkish Consulate in commemoration of the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake - RC14B754A0D0

Intel: Trump administration distances itself from Congress’ recognition of Armenian genocide

The State Department is distancing itself from Congress’ vote to recognize the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of more than a million, mostly Christian Armenians as a genocide.

Targeting of US bases in Iraq a harsh Iranian message to Washington

The rise of attacks against US military bases in Iraq in conjunction with the ongoing protests may be a warning message from Iran to Washington.

A returnee sits in a bus next to a picture of Syrian President Bashar al Assad in Qusayr, Syria July 7, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC16FEE06D50

Congress on verge of passing long-stalled Assad sanctions package

Congress is on the brink of sanctioning Syria’s Bashar al-Assad government after three years of struggling to get the legislation approved.

Electricity pylons, Oman. (Photo by Jason Larkin/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)

Intel: Why US is likely to raise concerns about China’s investment in Oman

A Chinese state-owned company has inked a deal to take over nearly half of Oman’s power transmission firm, which is valued at $2 billion.

Intel: How Iranian influence operations are receiving new scrutiny in Washington

The Senate is poised to follow the House lead in passing legislation to create a center to monitor Iranian, Russian, Chinese and North Korean efforts to sway US public opinion.

Will Libya become Turkey’s next Syria?

The recently signed Turkey-Libya military cooperation deal and maritime delimitation agreement threatened to raise tensions not only in Libya but throughout the Eastern Mediterranean with Turkey asserting the right to intervene militarily in Libya if requested and to drill for oil and gas.

Is proposed site in Gaza really a hospital, or spy station?

Some Palestinian authorities have pledged to obstruct plans to build what they fear could be a US-Israeli military intelligence camp, while Hamas says the facility will be a field hospital in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during an event at the Concert Noble in Brussels, Belgium October 24, 2019. Francisco Seco/Pool via REUTERS - RC1B74F188D0

Intel: Pentagon worried Turkey ‘spinning out’ of NATO orbit

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told an audience at a New York think tank he was worried that Turkey is “spinning out” of the NATO orbit.