State department

Israel, Lebanon agree on 45-day ceasefire extension, negotiation to continue on two tracks

Both Israel and Lebanon have agreed on a framework for negotiations, including “full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."

 Counselor of US State Department Michael Needham, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for photos
US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa holds an "America is back" hat signed by US President Donald Trump next to Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington DC, April 23, 2026.

Third round of Israel-Lebanon peace talks 'productive, positive' so far, US official says

A large US flag flies outside the White House in Washington, DC on November 23, 2025.

US imposes new Iran sanctions, warns shipping companies not to pay Hormuz tolls

CCTV footage from IDF interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, May 1, 2026.

Israel's arrest of Gaza flotilla activists a 'brazen violation of int'l law,' Mamdani charges


'Every shot fired went into a man': Syrians recall horrors at site of suspected mass killings

Tadamon became infamous after a video emerged in 2022 showing a man in military fatigues leading unarmed, blindfolded men towards a large ditch.

 An elderly woman reacts in Tadamon district, littered with bones after what residents and rights groups described as years of killings there under the rule of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, following al-Assad's ousting by fighters of the ruling Syrian body, in Damascus, Syria, December 12, 2024.

US flies freed American Travis Timmerman out of Syria, official says

Timmerman went missing in June, according to his parents and was freed from prison earlier in the week after Syrian rebel groups ousted Assad.

 Travis Pete Timmerman, a US citizen who went missing in Syria, speaks to press after being found following the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus, Syria on December 12, 2024.

Amnesty International genocide allegations are 'unfounded,' US State Dept. says

"People are entitled to draw their own conclusions. We disagree with the conclusions of such a report," the State Department Deupty Spokesperson said.

A child walks around a fake tank parked outside the US embassy during a protest held by Amnesty International in Mexico City.

Putin-controlled aircraft deported Ukrainian children, US-backed research alleges - report

The US State Department-backed research identified 314 Ukrainian children taken to Russia in the early months of the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky seen on a screen, while Russia's Vladimir Putin watches on (illustrative)

State Department maintains Israel's taken efforts to improve Gaza humanitarian situation

US State Department acknowledges Israel's improved Gaza humanitarian measures but says time needed to verify aid is reaching those in need.

 US State Department spokesman Ned Price holds a press briefing on Afghanistan at the State Department in Washington, U.S., August 16, 2021.

US believes Iranian-American journalist is detained in Iran, AP reports

The imprisonment of Valizadeh was acknowledged to the Associated Press by the US State Department.

 US and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022.

US supports Israel's right to go after legitimate Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, State Dept says

The Israeli air force was targeting Hezbollah command centers, as well as terrorist infrastructure in Baalbek on Wednesday.

 People walk near the Roman ruins of Baalbek, Lebanon January 5, 2024.

Emails show early US concerns of Israeli war crimes

US officials believed days into the war that a humanitarian crisis was forthcoming, but the Biden administration didn't acknowledge their concerns.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, August 10, 2024.

Republican senators say Biden administration is continuing to delay critical weapons from Israel

Republican Senators allege the Biden administration is delaying the delivery of three critical types of military weapons and equipment to Israel.

 U.S. President Joe Biden attends a ceremony, to present the Medal of Honor posthumously to descendants of Union soldiers Pvt. Philip Shadrach and Pvt. George Wilson, members of the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War, at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 3, 2024.

‘We can’t afford to be silent': US antisemitism envoy tells 'Post' - exclusive

Antisemitism Affairs: US antisemitism envoy Dr. Deborah Lipstadt speaks to the ‘Post’ about the new Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism.

 AS OF September 2024, 42 countries have signed the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism that Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, the US State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, was instrumental in creating.