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News
Top U.S. & World Headlines
May 20, 2026
Trump holds off 'planned' Iran attack amid 'serious negotiations'
Why Israel and America Fear Iran’s Next Move
Prof. Jiang Xueqin
Analysis
The Madness of Trump's Foreign
Policy Explained
(John Mearsheimer)
President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have bombed 44 schools
May 20, 2026 - Days after Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials in the opening salvos of the war, President Trump mused publicly that it would be best if “someone from within” Iran took over the country.
It turns out that the United States and Israel went into the conflict with a particular and very surprising someone in mind: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president known for his hard-line, anti-Israel and anti-American views.
But the audacious plan, developed by the Israelis and which Mr. Ahmadinejad had been consulted about, quickly went awry, according to the U.S. officials who were briefed on it.

Iran’s IRGC says vessels must coordinate passage through Hormuz Strait
May 19, 2026 - The Middle East remained in a tense limbo on Tuesday after President Trump said he had postponed a major attack on Iran to give more time for diplomacy.
Iran did not immediately respond directly to Mr. Trump’s remarks, which were made on Monday.
An Iranian Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia, warned on Tuesday that any American attack would prompt Iran to open “new fronts" using “new tools and methods,” according to IRNA, Iran’s state news agency.

The Danger Zone Is Here Robert Pape on Iran, Nuclear Weapons, and
the Escalation Trap
May 18, 2026 - After weeks of a testy pause in the fighting between the U.S. and Iran, allowing space for diplomacy, the ceasefire appears to finally be on the brink of collapse.
President Donald Trump told Axios that "the clock is ticking" for Iran and warned Tehran would be hit "much harder" unless it produced a better offer for a deal.
Trump is expected to meet his national security team on Tuesday to discuss military options, two U.S. officials told the publication.
Will Iran finally come to a position that Trump finds acceptable? Or will Tehran calculate that time is on its side, and choose to fight it out instead?
Trump says serious negotiations with
Iran are under way
May 17, 2026 - A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates’ sole nuclear power plant on Sunday in what authorities called an “unprovoked terrorist attack.” No one was blamed, but it highlighted the risk of renewed war as the United States and Iran signaled they were ready to fight again.
There were no reported injuries or radiological release. The UAE, which has hosted air defenses and personnel from Israel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks. Tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway gripped by Iran, which is under a U.S. naval blockade.





