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May 4, 2026

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Iraq's prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, at Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office on April 28, 2026.

Trump congratulates Iraq PM-designate Zaidi in call: What to know

The US President was openly critical of previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki, seen as too close to Iran, but is now welcoming the new candidate put forward by Iraq’s leading Shiite bloc.

Latest News

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via 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

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018.Tatyana Zenkovich/Pool via REUTERS?? - RC13B175F540

Turkey irate over US obstructions in Syria

Ankara's frustration with the United States continues to grow as Washington takes yet another step that Turkish officials believe was designed to hamper them from unleashing the Turkish military against the Kurdish People's Protection Units in Syria along Turkey's border.

Hafidh Abdullah al-Khawlani, who survived a Saudi-led air strike stands with his father on the wreckage of a bus destroyed by the strike in Saada, Yemen September 4, 2018. His brother was killed by the air strike. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1FB49D40C0

Congress clears key hurdle in ending support for war in Yemen

In an unprecedented move, the Senate has cleared a key procedural hurdle that paves the way to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media after a closed briefing for senators about the latest developments related to the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC151380CF00

Pompeo-Mattis briefing on Yemen to Senate bombs

Secretaries of State and Defense, Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis, urged senators to stay the course on US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, but senators said they were inclined to vote for legislation to curtail US support.

Activists, including Aimee Artigliere, center, chant as they begin to march during a demonstration calling for sanctions against Saudi Arabia and against the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, outside the White House in Washington, U.S., October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC195EEDBBA0

Trump administration launches last-ditch effort to halt anti-Saudi bills

The Donald Trump administration is briefing the Senate on Riyadh’s murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a last-ditch bid to kill a resolution intended to end US support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen.

Smoke rises from a warehouse of the World Food Programme as fire engulfs it in Hodeida, Yemen March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RC1F6A979000

Intel: Why the US opposes UN calls for a Yemen cease-fire

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 26: Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) asks EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a question as he testifies before the House Appropriations Committee during a hearing on the 2019 Fiscal Year EPA budget at the Capitol on April 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. The focus of nearly a dozen federal inquiries into his travel expenses, security practices and other issues, Pruitt was on the Hill to testify about his agency's FY2019 budget proposal. (Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

Congress amps up pressure to free Americans jailed in Egypt

House lawmakers are demanding that the Donald Trump administration to take a firmer stance on Cairo’s human rights record.

Secondary students sit for an exam in a government school in Riyadh June 15, 2008. Tens of thousands of Saudi students from elementary, middle and high schools have started their one-week mid-term exams. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1E46F1C6L01

Intel: How bigoted ‘backsliding’ in Saudi textbooks belies MBS’ reformist credentials

Syrian schoolchildren walk as U.S. troops patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC11C2532E70

Can observation posts calm Turkish-Kurdish tensions on Syria border?

Observation posts will soon dot the Syrian-Turkish border to calm the tension between the US-allied People's Protection Units and Turkish forces.

US floats idea of division in Yemen, Houthis torpedo plan

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has proposed division and self-rule areas in Yemen to end the bloody civil war, but Houthis categorically reject the proposal.

USAID money diverted to Syrian terrorist group

"Numerous instances" of diversion reported by US watchdog agency; US sanctions between Iraq and a hard place.

A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt - RC1286FBA9D0

Congress to make determination on F-35s for Turkey

Defense officials have handed lawmakers a congressionally mandated report assessing the impact of Turkey’s removal from the F-35 program.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia November 19, 2018. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1BDA877AE0

Intel: Why Congress launched federal probe of Saudi crown prince