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Israeli officials have told the Trump administration they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear program and Israel could act alone before the deadline is up, two sources said, amid a continuing debate on Trump's team about whether the U.S. should get involved. The two sources familiar with the matter said Israel had communicated their concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what they described as a tense phone call. The Israeli officials said they do not want to wait the two weeks that U.S. President...

U.S. President Donald Trump's senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will travel to Istanbul for potential talks on Thursday on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the plans said on Tuesday. However, a senior U.S. official said it was unclear whether anyone from the Russian government would show up. The White House, State Department, National Security Council and a spokesperson for Witkoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will only attend the talks this week if Russia's Vladimir Putin is also there, an aide to the Ukrainian leader...

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance has led to chaos in the aid and development field, leaving hundreds of contractors in a severe financial crunch with some already having to lay off staff and others facing millions of dollars in unpaid invoices. Hours after coming into office on Jan. 20, Trump ordered a sweeping review of almost all U.S. foreign aid and tasked billionaire Elon Musk, who has falsely accused USAID of being a "criminal" organization, with scaling down the agency. Since then, dozens of USAID staff has been put on leave, hundreds...

Israel on Tuesday confirmed it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the heir apparent to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed last month in an Israeli attack targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group. The military said Safieddine was killed in a strike carried out three weeks ago in Beirut's southern suburbs, its first confirmation of his death. Earlier this month, Israel said he had probably been eliminated. There was no immediate response from Hezbollah to Israel's statement that it had killed Safieddine. "We have reached Nasrallah, his replacement and most of Hezbollah's senior leadership. We will reach anyone who threatens...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia's defense minister reshuffle was a further indication of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "desperation to sustain" his invasion of Ukraine, U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Monday. Putin tapped a civilian economist as his surprise new defense minister on Sunday in an attempt to gird Russia for economic war by trying to better utilize the defense budget and harness greater innovation to win in Ukraine.

The United States will send munitions and military vehicles to Ukraine as part of a new $725 million security assistance package aimed at bolstering the country's defense against the Russian invasion, the Defense Department said on Friday. The package is the first since Russia's barrage of missiles fired on civilian population centers in Ukraine this week. It will bring the total of U.S. security assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 to more than $17.5 billion. The contents of the latest package, first reported by Reuters, includes high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) and precision-guided artillery as well as medical supplies,...

Turkey has agreed to support Finland's and Sweden's bids for NATO membership, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday (28 June). "I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO," he told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid. "Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey's concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism," he added.

ARIS/BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Is it better to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine or to isolate him? Should Kyiv make concessions to end the war, or would that embolden the Kremlin? Are ramped up sanctions on Russia worth the collateral damage?These are some of the questions testing the international alliance that swiftly rallied around Ukraine in the days after the Russian invasion but that, three months into the war, is straining, officials and diplomats told Reuters.As Western governments grapple with spiralling inflation and energy costs, countries including Italy and Hungary have called for a quick...

The United States and Britain warned Russia on Tuesday over any new military aggression against Ukraine as the Western military alliance NATO met to discuss Moscow’s intentions for massing troops on the border with the former Soviet republic. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to brief his 29 NATO counterparts on Washington’s intelligence on the group’s eastern flank and in Ukraine, which is not a member.