United States - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

July 2, 2026

District of Columbia 9:08 am

31°C

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Kiros has taken a hard stance against Israel and opposes all aid to the country as pro-Palestinian candidates make further inroads in the party.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud before a family photo for the attendees of a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on November 20, 2023. The international community must take urgent action to stop the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Novembe

Explainer

Saudi FM concludes China visit amid Trump-MBS friction: What to know

Saudi Arabia is still absorbing the war’s security fallout and is widening its circle by leaning more on Beijing as a diplomatic counterweight to Washington and as a partner that can engage Tehran.

Latest News

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

AFP via Getty Images

Syria slams Israeli 'violations' in south as ground clashes intensify: What to know

A car drives past an United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) outpost in the village of Khan Arnabah, Quneitra, southern Syria, April 29, 2026.

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

Members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) inspect the damage at their headquarters after it was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS13V4H

White House still quiet on Turkish airstrike in run-up to Erdogan visit

The general US reactions to Turkish airstrikes in Syria have been loud, but the White House has yet to utter a single rebuke as Turkey's president packs for Washington.

Kurdish fighters fire shells towards what they said were Islamic State strongholds in Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate after they said they took control of the area June 15, 2015. Syrian Kurdish-led forces said they had captured a town at the Turkish border from Islamic State on Monday, driving it away from the frontier in an advance backed by U.S.-led air strikes that has thrust deep into the jihadists' Syria stronghold. The capture of Tel Abyad by the Kurdish YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Sy

Trump's generals wonder: What comes after Raqqa?

A senior US official says Turkish bombing of Syrian Kurdish forces is adding a new level of complexity to US efforts to defeat the Islamic State and retake Raqqa.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defense Minister Mohammed Al-Ayesh meets U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (R) next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (L) during a meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Virginia Mayo/Pool - RTSYZVU

Saudis seek renewed relations with US under Trump

The Saudis want US President Donald Trump to reconsider policies made during the Obama administration, especially regarding Iran, which they say has not changed its conduct since the nuclear deal.

Director of the movie Bill Condon and composer Alan Menken pose with cast members Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Emma Watson, Josh Gad, Audra McDonald and Gugu Mbatha-Raw at the premiere of "Beauty and the Beast" in Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni - RTS118KT

'Beauty and the Beast' romances Egypt despite controversial content

Some in Egypt criticized the state censors for allowing "Beauty and the Beast" to be screened in local movie theaters, as the movie contains scenes suggesting homosexuality.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Maryland, attends the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, December 5, 2015. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTX1XC9L

Is lack of direction from Trump hampering Congress on Iran?

Democrats complain they have no idea what the president thinks of Congress' sanctions proposals.

A Turkish soldier on an armoured military vehicle surveys the border line between Turkey and Syria, near the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS115OV

Is Turkey trying to disrupt Raqqa operation?

In the lead-up to President Erdogan's Washington visit next month, Turkey's recent air attacks in Syria and Iraq might be a message that Turkey intends to play a more involved role in those countries.

How North Korea nuke crisis affects Israel

Israeli intelligence believes that North Korea, Syria and Iran are collaborating on the development of missile systems and nuclear programs.

Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism hearing about Russian election interference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RTX316TR

Egypt ripped at Senate foreign aid hearing

Senators urged to rethink $1.5 billion annual US aid package to Egypt as the country fails to progress in human rights.

Members of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), stand in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 29, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a leftist Kurdish organisation, and Abdulkhal

Kurds call on US to set up no-fly zone after Turkish attacks

Expect US-Turkey tensions to rise after the Turkish air force attacked Kurdish militants in Iraq’s Sinjar region and northeastern Syria just as the US-led coalition presses its offensive against IS in Raqqa.

Can Erdogan juggle Trump and Putin at the same time?

Erdogan’s expectations from the United States and Russia are high, but his hopes may be misplaced again.

Abbas versus Barghouti, Round 2

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is furious at Fatah activists who called for a Day of Rage five days before he is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump.

A worshipper holds crosses inside the Church of Holy Sepulchre during a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem's Old City April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX35J9I

Congress-mandated panel accused of whitewashing Israeli discrimination against Christians

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is under fire from one of its own.