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May 4, 2026

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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L), and European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Zelensky at the White House for a bilateral meeting and an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Macron casts doubt on Trump’s Hormuz operation as France-US gap grows

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed President Donald Trump for launching a unilateral operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz instead of pursuing a coordinated effort with Iran.

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

Latest News

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

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

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.

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

Saudi Arabia ignores Trump administration on Yemen

US officials have called for confidence-building measures leading up to peace talks for Yemen, but the Saudis don't seem to be listening.

Middle East upheaval casts shadow over 'Arab NATO'

A regional military exercise hosted by Egypt excludes Qatar in a blow to anti-Iran unity.

An Iranian man works on an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/File Photo - S1AETIFZPAAA

US to exempt eight nations from Iran sanctions snapback

US sanctions on Iran's oil exports go into effect Nov. 5, though the United States has issued sanctions waivers for eight unidentified countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump closes his eyes in prayer along with Pastor Andrew Brunson, after his release from two years of Turkish detention, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, U.S., October 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Theiler TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC18ECD30AF0

Intel: How Turkey sanctions relief risks leaving remaining US prisoners out to dry

Iranians hail Houthi 'resistance' for bringing potential end to Yemen war

A US call for a cease-fire in Yemen has been widely interpreted in Iran as a victory for the Houthi movement.

U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer and Tree of Life Synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Myers as he arrives with (L-R) his daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and first lady Melania Trump outside the synagogue where a gunman killed eleven people and wounded six during a mass shooting Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1951277440

Trump, Netanyahu use synagogue shooting to cement alliance

President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government are using this week’s massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue to cement support for each other.

A security staff member stands at the entrance of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey October 31, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC13A0631C00

Annual US-Gulf gathering treats Khashoggi death as mere speed bump in relations

The mood at this year’s National Council on US-Arab Relations conference was defensive but upbeat.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaves after a meeting of President Vladimir Putin with U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RC1B0FF4A640

Moscow, Syrian High Negotiations Committee go down to-do list on Syria

Following the Syrian High Negotiations Committee's visit to Russia, Syrian opposition groups are faced with a choice: wait until Washington upholds its position on the country's settlement or hop on the bandwagon with Moscow.

Iranians shop at a drugstore at the Nikan hospital in Tehran on September 11, 2018. - Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague unanimously ruled Washington should remove barriers to "the free exportation to Iran of medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities" as well as airplane parts. Iran produces 96 percent of the drugs it uses, according to the Syndicate of Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries, but imports more than half the raw materials to make them. (Photo by STRING

US fails to shield humanitarian trade with Iran as sanctions loom

European governments are urging the Trump administration to identify a legal means for their companies to continue to provide food and medicine to Iranians after the Nov. 5 re-imposition of secondary sanctions begins.

An activist holds an image of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a demonstration calling for sanctions against Saudi Arabia and to protest Khashoggi's disappearance, outside the White House in Washington, U.S., October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC1F626030D0

Intel: How Khashoggi’s killing risks derailing US-Saudi nuclear talks

The U.S. flag flutters on a military vehicle in Manbej countryside, Syria May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1B2D4114E0

Northern Syria heats up as next likely US-Turkey flashpoint

Despite speculation that Turkey and the United States might repair their tense relations now that one key issue is settled, an Erdogan adviser called Turkey's shelling east of the Euphrates River “a friendly message to the US.”

Cairo bolsters bond with Moscow as US grows distant

Egypt, feeling a chill in the air in Washington, is warming up to Russia.