State department

US says removal of UN expert Albanese from sanctions list is not a policy change

The US had imposed sanctions on UN expert Francesca ​Albanese in 2025, saying her efforts intended to prompt the International Criminal Court to take action against the US and Israel.

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a news conference during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 24, 2026.
Mourners carry coffins during a funeral ceremony of four Hezbollah fighters and two civilians, amid a temporary ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, in the village of Maaroub, southern Lebanon, April 26, 2026

US sanctions nine individuals accused of enabling Hezbollah's undermining of Lebanese sovereignty

 Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025.

US State Dept. watchdog investigates Gaza aid group over emergency aid spending - report

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas delivers a speech during the eighth Fatah Conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 14, 2026.

PA partially coordinating with Israel for security while glorifying terror, US State Dept. says


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

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

Before Thursday’s negotiations, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that the talks aim “to discuss a framework for an agreement in greater depth.” 

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.

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

The move comes after the US imposed new sanctions on Tuesday on 35 groups and individuals involved in operating Iran's covert "shadow banking" financial network.

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

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

At the same time, the Trump administration condemned GSF, naming it a “pro-Hamas initiative and a baseless, counterproductive effort to undermine President Trump’s Peace Plan.”

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

Palestinian Authority continues to pay terrorists, US State Department report confirms

Under the Taylor Force Act (2018), Washington is unable to offer economic aid to Ramallah until it ends pay-for-slay payments and its statements of public support for terrorism.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting with Russian President at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 22, 2026.

US to issue special passport design featuring Trump's face, State Department announces - report

According to the Financial Times, the passport's design will feature the President's portrait overlaying the Declaration of Independence on its inner cover.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press during an event outside the Oval Office of the White House on April 13, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran's covert 'shadow banking' financial network

The move comes after the US said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on an independent "teapot" refinery in China for buying billions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil.

The American flag flies next to the South Portico of the White House on January 31, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Iran executes man with alleged resistance ties, links to Israeli intelligence, regime outlets say

Mizan identified the man as Soltanali Shirzadi Fakhr, saying he had been a long-time member of the MEK and was found guilty of cooperating with Israeli intelligence.

A MAN sets an Israeli flag on fire, as people gather after a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war was announced, in Tehran, earlier this month. Iran’s regime not only harbors genocidal intentions toward Israel but also pursues a broader vision to destabilize the West, the writer says.

Trump considering plan to send Afghan refugees who helped US to Congo - NYT

AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver criticized the move, describing it as giving the refugees a choice between "the world’s number one refugee crisis to the world’s number two refugee crisis.”

Evacuees from Afghanistan arrive at Hamad International Airport in Qatar's capital Doha on September 10, 2021.

US State Dept. offers $10m. reward for Hamidawi, leader of Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia

The US State Department offered up to $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, leader of Kataib Hezbollah, responsible for deadly attacks on US facilities and the kidnapping of US citizens.

Mourners march in the funeral of a Kataib Hezbollah terrorist after a US airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters near the Iraq-Syria border, pictured in Baghdad, March 2, 2026.