Iran-US tensions

US Army Specialist Brandon Sapikowski checks a Patriot Missile Launch Station, on Feb. 4, 2003, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

US approves $400M deal to upgrade Kuwait’s Patriot air defenses

The planned recertification marks Washington’s latest show of military support for Gulf Arab states, as the US prepares for a potential confrontation with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.

President Donald Trump speaking during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on March 28, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Analysis

Can Trump's Middle East strategy avert military confrontation with Iran?

The US and Iran are not on the brink of war just yet. But Washington is racing against the clock to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program before China can invade Taiwan — and before Israel tries to do the job alone.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, the Abraham Lincoln and John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Groups conduct carrier strike force operations in the US 6th Fleet area of operations on April 24, 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea.

F-35s, carriers and B-2 bombers: Pentagon reinforces Mideast military presence

The Pentagon has been quietly amassing forces in the Middle East amid concerns that Iran's IRGC could lash out at US bases in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant if the White House's bid to end Tehran's nuclear enrichment via diplomacy goes off the rails.

A picture taken on Aug. 20, 2010, shows an Iranian flag fluttering at an undisclosed location in the Islamic republic next to a surface-to-surface Qiam-1 missile.

Analysis

Is Iran's warning it could go nuclear after Trump's threat a bluff or more?

The warning, which was issued by a moderate politician known for his pragmatist negotiating skills, underscored how the dynamics between Tehran and Washington are becoming increasingly volatile.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Iran's IRGC says US troops in 'glass room' after Trump threat: What to know

A collection of missile replicas is visible amidst the greenery at the Dafae-moghadas Museum in Tehran, Iran, on December 25, 2024. The museum emphasizes military strength and resistance narratives central to the Islamic Republic's ideology. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

From defiance to dialogue: How close are Iran and Trump to breakthrough on nuclear program?

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows workers on a construction site in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant during an official ceremony to kick-start works for a second reactor at the facility.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran's reply to Trump arrives as US messaging mixed on nuclear deal

US President Donald Trump signs an executive order "reimposing maximum pressure on Iran" in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 4, 2025 in Washington, DC.

What the Signal chat leak reveals about Trump’s Middle East policy

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participates in a TV interview outside of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Hegseth visited the White House to join U.S. President Donald Trump in announcing the Next Generation of Air Dominance (NGDA) program, the F-47, the sixth-generation high-tech Air Force fighter to succeed the F-22 Raptor. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker 06 April 1999 during an air strike mission in support of NATO Operation Allied Force in an undisclosed location.

US B-2 bombers deployed to Indian Ocean amid Trump-Iran escalation

The stealth bombers are some of the only warplanes in the US arsenal capable of delivering the massive conventional bombs thought to be needed to effectively damage Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

A pickup truck is carrying two Iranian missile mockups during a rally that marks the 46th anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 10, 2025.

Iran's IRGC unveils underground facility housing thousands of ballistic missiles

As it navigates crises at home and abroad, Iran has released video footage of an underground “missile city” in an attempt to flex its military might.

Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, speaks to the press outside of the White House on March 6, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Israel’s Dermer meets Witkoff, discusses Iran and Gaza during US visit

The Iranian nuclear program and the now-defunct Gaza ceasefire are expected to take center stage during Dermer's visit. He is expected to meet with senior Trump officials.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Iranian rials are displayed in Tehran, on July 31, 2019.

Iran’s currency drops to more than 1 million rials to US dollar: What to know

This is yet another record low for Iran’s currency, as the country navigates intense sanctions and US pressure.

A woman walks past a billboard bearing portraits of slain Iranian IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2nd R), Palestinian Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar (R), and Ismail Haniyeh (L), and head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2nd L), with the slogan in Farsi reading 'God wrote our duty, to help the oppressed' at Tehran's Enghelab square on January 22, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran not building nuclear weapon despite strategic losses: US intel

A report by Washington’s top intelligence office suggests Tehran will struggle to rebuild its proxy militia bulwark after Israeli attacks, but the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not yet authorized the creation of a nuclear weapon.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a joint press conference with Russia's foreign minister at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Tehran on Feb. 25, 2025.

Analysis

What’s at stake for Iran-Armenia ties as Araghchi visits Yerevan?

Iran is looking to bolster regional alliances amid Turkey’s rise in influence and remains opposed to the Zangezur Corridor plan, according to experts.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

A woman uses her mobile telephone as she walks past a mural painted on the outer wall of the former US Embassy in Tehran, dubbed the "Den of Espionage," on March 8, 2025.

Analysis

As Iran faces looming Trump deadline, is Khamenei shifting strategy?

Washington's warning to Iran over its support for Yemen's Houthi rebels has brought the two archenemies closer to the brink of a direct military conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

The United States aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, anchored off the coast at Tien Sa Port on March 5, 2018 in Danang, Vietnam.

Pentagon sends second aircraft carrier to Middle East as Trump warns Iran

The USS Carl Vinson is expected to vastly increase Washington's strike capabilities in the Gulf region as Trump gives Tehran a two-month deadline to reach a new nuclear agreement.

An Iran-made missile and its launchers are exhibited during a rally that marks the 46th anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel to push Trump on Iran attack plan on high-stakes Washington visit

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will lead the multiagency Israeli team to the talks with US national security adviser Michael Waltz and State Department and Pentagon officials in Washington next week.

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

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a guided tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts before leading a board meeting, on March 17, 2025, in Washington.

Trump's Middle East strategy faces scrutiny as Gaza reignites

As the civilian death toll climbs in Gaza, can the self-proclaimed peacemaker president get both sides back to the negotiating table?

An F18 Hornet fighter jet lands on the 330 meters navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on May 8, 2018.

US looks to bolster Middle East defenses as strikes against Houthis ramp up

The Trump administration green-lit a $100 million sale of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia as the Pentagon weighs deployments of additional air defense assets to the region.

The Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune is docked at the El Palito refinery after its arrival to Puerto Cabello in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on May 25, 2020.

US slaps sanctions on Iran's oil tankers, targets China 'teapot' refinery

Targets of the sanctions include a refinery allegedly purchasing Iranian oil from a vessel linked to Yemen's Houthi militant group.