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June 26, 2026

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One of the first three US-made F-35 aircraft in Polish Air Force colors taxis along the runway at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, while fire-fighting vehicles perform a water salute on May 22, 2026.

Trump hints at F-35 breakthrough with Turkey ahead of NATO summit

The administration is moving ahead with planned jet engine sales to Ankara ahead of next month’s NATO summit despite congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey's defense industry.

Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne on June 21, 2026.

Iran rejects Trump's claim frozen funds will buy US soybeans: What to know

Trump said Wednesday that the US would release “some” Iranian frozen funds and would use them to purchase corn, wheat and soybeans from American farmers.

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.

Explainer

Pro-Palestine Democrats win in NYC elections: What it means

According to a recent survey, 80% of Democrats expressed an unfavorable view of Israel, yet party leadership in the House and Senate has remained largely aligned with longstanding US support for Israel.

Latest News

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

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

Analysis

As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, on June 9, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

Supporters of Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), attend a rally in Villepinte, near Paris, France, June 30, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC17E035C2B0

Iranians respond to MEK troll farm: #YouAreBots

The exiled Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq is allegedly pumping out tweets in support of overthrowing the Islamic Republic and amplifying them with bots, while legitimate Iranian accounts are suspended.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah attends a session of the International Donor Group for Palestine at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RC130F84DC10

Who will save Gaza?

Despite celebrating the Trump administration cutting off assistance to UNRWA, Israel knows that without US funding the organization will be paralyzed, making a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip a matter of time.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1567EA50A0

Would Netanyahu be better off without Trump?

The overly pro-Israeli policies of President Donald Trump, especially his decision to cut funding for the Palestinians, poses a threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to continue using the Oslo Accords as a permanent status solution and for the international community to pay for Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the building of settlements.

Syrian fighters attend a mock battle in anticipation of an attack by the regime on Idlib province and the surrounding countryside, during a graduation of new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members at a camp in the countryside of the northern Idlib province on August 14, 2018. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Al-Qaeda, foreign fighters have nowhere to go from Idlib

Erdogan appeals for support to "moderate rebels," but what may ultimately matter is US-Russia common ground; Al-Monitor's award-winning lobbying series and archive now available.

Russia, Germany at loggerheads over Idlib

Germany has recently engaged with the United States, the UK and France to take a stronger stance on Syria. But as Chancellor Merkel encounters strong domestic opposition on potential military action in Syria, the significance of engaging with Russia increases.

A boy drives a bicycle with an Iraqi flag in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RC1DD9EF0F10

Iraqi Kurds stuck between Iran, US

The Iraqi Kurds are worried about the US-Iran rivalry in Iraq, as it will weaken their position in the country more than ever before.

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura attends a meeting during consultations on Syria at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland September 11, 2018. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS - RC11EE43CD10

Washington ramps up diplomatic efforts to stave off Idlib operation

The new US Syria diplomatic team ramps up diplomacy as it tries to bolster Turkish and European efforts to avert assault on Idlib.

Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga members of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDPI) check the damage after a rocket attack inside their headquarters in Koysinjaq, 100 kilometres east of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of eastern Iraq, on September 8, 2018. - At least a dozen members of the Iranian Kurdish rebel group were killed on September 8 in the a rocket attack on their headquarters carried out by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) has carried

Iran missile strike opens door to escalation with Kurdish armed groups

An Iranian missile attack on Iranian Kurdish fighters in Iraqi Kurdistan has raised the risk of intensified fighting in western Iran while heightening the chances of localized confrontations taking on an international dimension.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Ankara oddly quiet on China's alleged torture of Uighurs

The Turkish public used to speak out loudly and often against suppressive Chinese policies against Uighur Turks, but now the media, the public and the government are keeping mum.

More international artists join Israel boycott

As Israeli politicians do their best to ignore international condemnation of the occupation, perhaps Israelis will hear the voices of artists like Lana Del Rey as the cultural boycott builds.

An oil tanker is being loaded at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. Picture taken May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RC1974EF8830

Saudi Arabia hires star lawyer to fight anti-oil cartel bill

Former Republican Solicitor General Ted Olson is being paid to push back against bipartisan legislation challenging OPEC’s dominance.

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

Pompeo guarantees fail to assuage Congress on Yemen war

With bipartisan opposition to the Yemen war steadily growing, a Democratic wave in November could force the Donald Trump administration to end support for the Saudi coalition.