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May 9, 2026

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Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

China understands how badly Trump wants an exit from the conflict. But timing is critical: if no agreement is reached before Trump arrives in China on Thursday, Beijing would be better positioned to set the agenda.

Joyce Karam

Latest News

Lebanon, Israel eye third round of talks, but no Netanyahu-Aoun meeting in sight

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

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

UNSPECIFIED, UNSPECIFIED - JANUARY 07: Contract workers load a Hellfire missile onto a U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), at a secret air base in the Persian Gulf region on January 7, 2016. The U.S. military and coalition forces use the base, located in an undisclosed location, to launch drone airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, as well as to distribute cargo and transport troops supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. The Predators at the base are operated and maintained by

Pentagon seeks massive boost in bomb budget for Iraq, Syria

The Defense Department wants $1.8 billion for precision-guided munitions to finish wiping out the Islamic State.

Turkish soldiers guard a position on Mount Bersaya, north of the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, on January 29, 2018.
Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground troops and air strikes. / AFP PHOTO / Nazeer al-Khatib (Photo credit should read NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Real target of Erdogan's Olive Branch could be US clout

In the third week of Turkey's frustrating fight against Syrian Kurdish forces in Afrin, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be betting on an even bigger payoff than domestic support: seeing the United States effectively pushed out of Syria.

Turkish public divided over military's alliance with FSA

Turkey’s preoccupation with military insignia helps deepen anti-Americanism while also signaling the top echelons’ obsession with the United States.

A Bombardier CRJ 1000 of French low-cost Hop! airline company takes off the Toulouse-Blagnac airport, near Toulouse, on October 19, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / PASCAL PAVANI (Photo credit should read PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Questions abound as Iranians claim US Treasury licensing plane sales to Iran

The US Treasury Department is reportedly finally moving on issuing the necessary licenses for airplane sales to Iran after a long period of inactivity.

International pressure on Israeli settlements renews push for US anti-boycott laws

Pro-Israel advocates trying to fight boycotts of Israel's settlements face a new urgency as the UN turns its spotlight on the West Bank, but legal challenges to federal and state laws are creating significant hurdles.

Trump opposes Netanyahu on annexation plans

The White House accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying, after he declared during a closed party meeting that he was discussing annexation plans with the American administration.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 17: L to R, Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and John Hannah, senior counselor at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, testify during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing titled "White House Narratives on the Iran Nuclear Deal," on Capitol Hill, May 17, 2016, in Washington, DC. Ben Rhodes, White House Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication, has been und

US expected to name former Cheney aide as Syria envoy

The Trump administration is expected to name John Hannah the next US Syria envoy.

A Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighter walks near a wall, which activists said was put up by Turkish authorities, on the Syria-Turkish border in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain, Syria January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - GF10000289206

Pentagon seeks to soothe Turkish fears over Syria border security request

The Defense Department insists that its $300 million request to train and equip Syrian forces won’t be used to create a Kurdish-dominated “border guard” on Turkey’s doorstep.

Animosity toward US uniting Turkey, Russia, Iran in Syria

A loose alliance between Turkey, Russia and Iran in Syria is fraught with tensions driven by developments on the ground, but the three remain united in their desire not to provide advantage to the United States.

Abbas turns to Moscow in search for new Mideast mediator

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has stepped up his diplomatic offensive to secure support for international sponsorship of the peace process.

U.N. peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the Lebanese-Israeli border as they drive past a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah in Adaisseh village, southern Lebanon January 29, 2015. Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed when Hezbollah fired a missile at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles at the Lebanon border. A U.N. spokesman and Spanish officials said the peacekeeper was killed as Israel responded with air strike

Trump seeks to slash funding for UN missions in Mideast

The State Department budget is seeking across-the-board cuts to international peacekeeping missions worldwide.

A U.S soldier stands on a bridge with his gun in the town of Gwer northern Iraq August 31, 2016. Picture taken August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - S1AETYVKSRAA

Pentagon budget retains same troop levels in Iraq, Syria

The Donald Trump administration’s new budget for the Pentagon leaves in place nearly 6,000 US troops in Iraq and Syria.