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August 20, 2026

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian holds a press conference on Aug. 19, 2026.

China slams Trump over economic war on Iran: What to know

China’s once significant oil imports from Iran have been impacted by the war in the region and increasing US sanctions.

King Abdullah II arrives in Beijing, Aug. 20, 2026. Photo from Xinhua/Chen Yehua.

Explainer

King Abdullah visits China as region hedges against US unpredictability

With no end in sight to the war in Iran and an unchecked Israeli policy across the region, the kingdom is hedging against future uncertainty and a less predictable US policy.

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 2026.

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

In a Truth Social post, the president threatened that any country that provides a financial lifeline to Iran will face "tremendous economic consequences."

Latest News

US sanctions International Criminal Court president, top lawyer

Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Explainer

What US sanctions on Syria remain as Shibani, Barrack hold talks?

RAMI AL SAYED/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

An Israeli Defence Force (IDF) reservist from the Home Front Command wears a protective suit during an exercise, together with hospital staff, simulating a chemical warfare attack at the Wolfson Hospital in Holon near Tel Aviv March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - GF10000039107

US ramps up counter-WMD spending amid Mideast proliferation threats

The Pentagon is putting $6 million into countering weapons of mass destruction in five Middle Eastern countries, as US special operations forces take control of the fight.

Abbas' decision to ban official travel to Gaza sparks controversy

Following the bombing that targeted Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah during his visit to Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas banned PA officials from traveling to the strip.

African migrants walk behind a fence as they leave Holot detention centre in Israel's southern Negev desert August 25, 2015. Israel on Tuesday began releasing some 1,200 African migrants whom it has interned for more than a year in the detention centre. Under the terms of their release, they are banned from living or working in Tel Aviv and the southern resort city of Eilat, which both have large migrant communities. Two weeks ago, Israelís Supreme Court reduced from 20 months to 12 months the period of tim

Netanyahu clashes with left-wing US Jews over migrants, Gaza

The latest actions by Israel’s right-wing government are further straining historically bipartisan support in Congress.

U.S forces on their military vehicle drive in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC16478B0600

White House says anti-IS fight in Syria ‘coming to rapid end’

The White House signaled that its mission in Syria will be focused on the narrow task of finishing off the Islamic State and will leave it to others to fund and conduct post-IS stabilization.

Presidents Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia pose before their meeting in Ankara, Turkey April 4, 2018. Tolga Bozoglu/Pool via Reuters - RC1BFF99A690

Erdogan, Putin, Rouhani tout alliance, eye US for next move

The presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran emerged from a summit on Syria as a united front, though the image hardly indicates an alignment in their priorities.

Presidents Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Ankara, Turkey April 4, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC15EBBB9000

Turkey hosts Iran, Russia to discuss Syria’s future

Iran’s president traveled to Ankara for the second trilateral summit on Syria with Turkish and Russian counterparts.

U.S army soldier holds a gun as he stands guard next to an armoured vehicle as Brett McGurk, U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, visits the town of Tabqa, Syria June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1AEEE29680

Counter-IS officials temper Trump’s rush to pull out of Syria

US officials guiding the fight in Syria warned of a long struggle ahead to defeat the Islamic State.

Deadly Ankara-West fault line cracks open at Syria's Manbij

Confrontation with the United States and the West is a necessary ingredient in Erdogan’s quest to consolidate his nationalist base, making it more likely that Turkey and the United States will collide over Manbij.

Turkey baffled by Trump’s pledge to exit Syria as Macron vows to step in

Ankara’s enthusiasm over President Trump's promise to pull out of Syria is dampened by President Macron’s promise to increase support for Syrian Kurdish groups opposed by Turkey.

US soldiers prepare a M1 Abrams tank to offload from a train at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, February 14, 2017. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. ROMANIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ROMANIA - RC1DF190B4D0

Pentagon sends surplus tanks to Morocco

The Pentagon is sending hundreds of extra tanks to Morocco to modernize the country’s aging military.

A rebel fighter fires a mortar shell towards Syrian army soldiers, west of Manbij city, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1BFF190D80

Turkish-US Syria talks set to resume amid heightened tensions

Turkish diplomats will meet in Washington tomorrow, hoping to build on what Ankara has said are US pledges to push Syrian Kurdish fighters out of Manbij in northern Syria.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is seen during a meeting at the United Nations headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Levy - RC1FA9FE58F0

How Mohammed bin Salman unites usually divided Iranians

The Saudi crown prince’s harsh words against the Islamic Republic seem to have a unifying effect among Iranians.