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June 18, 2026

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a government meeting at the Presidential Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 5, 2025.

Lebanon President Joseph Aoun to visit White House this month, Trump says

The visit would be the first by a Lebanese president to the White House in over a decade.

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.

Latest News

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

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

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

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

Turkish soldiers patrol along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria, in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan - RC1AB07BD360

Kurds use Syria incursion to chip away at Erdogan

The Syrian Democratic Forces, after having contributed to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as well as an IS spokesman, push for a greater US condemnation of Turkey's latest incursion into Syria.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders holds a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook - RC1F1686AC20

Sanders runs to left of J Street and 2020 opponents on aid to Israel

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is calling for broad conditions on US military aid to Israel as many of his opponents come out in favor of more limited restrictions.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic speak to the Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC11B326EB00

Turkey lobby goes to bat against Armenian genocide bill

Ankara and its allies are warning that this week’s vote would "poison" the already strained bilateral relationship.

Mazloum Kobani, SDF's commander in chief, shakes hands with the advisor for the US Department of State in northern Syria William Robak, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC142AE67C90

Turkey steps up campaign against SDF's Kobane

Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazlum Kobane helped the United States track down and kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but Turkey claims he is of the same ilk.

IDLIB, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 28: A drone photo shows an aerial view of operation area where Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in, on October 28, 2019 in northwestern Syria in Idlib, Syria . A U.S. raid that allegedly killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria lasted for some four hours, according to local sources. The operation, in which helicopters, drones, and ground units were used, took place a few kilometers away from the Tourlaha camp, where displaced civilians have taken shelter

US set for risky IS mission with leader’s death in Syria

Saturday’s raid that took the life of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi offered a preview of what’s to come for the slimmed-down, US-led fight against IS, officials and experts say, which is now set to focus extensively on targeting the group’s leaders from larger US bases in Iraq and American units in Syria.

US troops leaving Syria can't stay in Iraq, Baghdad says

Despite Washington's willingness to keep its troops in Iraq after withdrawing them from Syria, Baghdad has told the United States to get them out in short order.

Kurdish leader's rising profile with US, Russia angers Turkey

The Turkish government has kicked off a campaign to demonize Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazlum Kobane after the latter's recent conversations with the US president and top Russian officials.

U.S. President Donald Trump makes a statement at the White House following reports that U.S. forces attacked Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria, in Washington, U.S., October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BB3AB3D30

Islamic State leader dead in US raid

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a raid in northwestern Syria, says President Donald Trump.

Demonstrators carry Lebanese flags during an anti-government protest in the mainly Druze town of Hasbaya, Lebanon October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC1D8675FAA0

How Lebanon is setting the standard for a new social contract in the Middle East

Sectarianism gives way to economics and governance.

A man walks away from the U.S Treasury Department in Washington, U.S., August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RC1FD03EA500

Sanctions experts say new US Treasury measure could inhibit humanitarian trade with Iran

The US Treasury's new Iran "humanitarian" mechanism is seen by experts as a tool to inform new sanctions on the country.

Mazloum Kobani, SDF commander in chief is pictured during an interview with Reuters in Ain Issa, Syria, December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC14AB5F1520

Syrian Kurdish commander sparks fresh US-Turkish row

Mazlum Kobane, the chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, may visit Washington — a move that would likely prompt Turkish calls for his extradition.

Riot police stand guard behind barbed-wire next to the Government Palace during ongoing anti-government protests in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RC1E491C2D70

US military aid to Lebanon continues amid protests

The Pentagon is not cutting off military aid to Lebanon amid countrywide protests.