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August 31, 2026

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Pentagon inks 7-year missile-production deal amid Iran war shortage

The Defense Department has been hammering out new agreements with top defense manufacturers as the Iran war has rapidly depleted Washington's interceptor stockpiles.

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel’s Lebanon dilemma: Confront Hezbollah without angering Trump, triggering Iran

Israeli sources point out that the pilot project for Israel's withdrawal and the Lebanese military taking control over the area is not working because of the government's reluctance to search for Hezbollah's weapons in private homes.

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

Demonstrations in Tehran, Iran

Analysis

How Iran is readying for economic protests as Trump escalates pressure

Iranian authorities are bracing for unrest as US pressure collides with a battered economy, fuel price indecision and fresh memories of bloodshed.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump arrives at Myrtle Beach International Airport on Aug. 21, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Trump says Hormuz mine-free as Iran, Oman agree to clear them

The US president again says Hormuz is clear of mines as Iran and Oman announce their plan to clear the strait.

Latest News

China warns US not to interfere with Iran trade: What to know

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

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

In 'warning shot,' US threatens sanctions on Iran’s trading partners

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent addresses the audience during opening remarks at the Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism at the State Department on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bessent spoke alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as they discussed the rise of far-left political terrorism as a transnational threat. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

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

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

No more UN embargo on Iran, but no arms sales either

Anyone who might seek to sell arms to Iran is likely in a holding pattern to see what happens in the US election and to see what Iran, in dire economic straits, can afford.

US won’t change Syria policy to free missing Americans, Pompeo says

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked if the Trump administration would consider meeting the Syrian regime's terms, which reportedly include withdrawing all American forces from the country.

OSAKA, JAPAN - JUNE 28: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a family photo session at G20 summit on June 28, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Osaka on Thursday for the annual Group of 20 gathering together with other world leaders who will use the two-day summit to discuss pressing economic, climate change, as well as geopolitical issues. The US-China trade war is expected to dominate the meetings in Osaka as President Tr

Citing rights abuses, House Democrats push administration to snub Saudi-hosted G-20 summit

Lawmakers said the US government has an obligation to ensure such gatherings are not used to distract from ongoing human rights violations.

Iranian carpet vendors wait for costumers in the capital Tehran's Grand Bazaar on September 30, 2020. - According to Iranian vendors, carpets exports have decreased due to US-imposed sanctions. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Misfiring trade policies could lead Iran to deeper trade deficit

Iran is working to develop non-oil exports in the face of US sanctions, but the country's trade policies are in dire need of reform before real progress will be feasible.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 03: Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, speaks to the media after the first session of the murder trial outside the Caglayan Court House on July 03, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Twenty Saudi nationals went on trial in absentia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in 2018. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee sues Mohammed bin Salman in US court

More than two dozen Saudis are named in the lawsuit seeking accountability for Jamal Khashoggi's "ruthless torture and murder."

MILWAUKEE, WI - AUGUST 19: In this screenshot from the DNCC’s livestream of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the virtual convention on August 19, 2020. The convention, which was once expected to draw 50,000 people to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is now taking place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by DNCC via Getty Images)

Egypt's pro-state media reignites Clinton email controversy as US vote nears

With the US presidential election just weeks away, Egyptian media outlets loyal to the government have dragged the controversy over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails back into the headlines.

US to remove Sudan from state sponsors of terror list

President Donald Trump announced the plan to de-list Sudan on Monday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference to announce the Trump administration's restoration of sanctions on Iran, on September 21, 2020, at the US State Department in Washington,DC, as US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin looks on. - The United States said Monday it was imposing sanctions on Iran's defense ministry and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro under a UN authority which is widely contested. "For nearly two years corrupt officials in Tehran have worked with the illegitimate

Iran arms embargo ends with warnings from Washington

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to sanction countries that engage in weapons trade with Iran.

Debra Tice, the mother of missing journalist Austin Tice, addresses a press conference January 27, 2020 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. - Tice, who spent 83 days in Syria looking for her son, reiterated the belief that he remains alive and is being held, and advocated for his release. Austin, disappeared in Syria in 2012. (Photo by EVA HAMBACH / AFP) (Photo by EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images)

White House official traveled to Syria for secret hostage talks

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Kash Patel traveled to Damascus in an effort to secure the release of Americans hostages including Austin Tice and Majd Kamalmaz.

Intel: Congress urges Egypt’s president to release political prisoners

More than 50 US members of the US Congress called for Egyptian journalists, lawyers and rights activists to be released in a letter addressed directly to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (back) attends a signing ceremony between the head of the Israeli delegation, National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat (L) and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani (C), in the Bahraini capital Manama on October 18, 2020. - Israel and Bahrain cemented a deal officially establishing relations and signed several memorandums of understanding, further opening up the wealthy Gulf region to the Jewish state. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAH

Israel, Bahrain establish diplomatic relations at a ceremony in Manama

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director General Alon Ushpiz and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani signed yesterday a joint communique for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Supporters of Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary network dominated by Iran-backed factions, wave the Hashed flag as they stand under the national flag during a protest denouncing comments made by Kurdish ex-minister and to show their support to the paramilitary network in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on October 17, 2020. - Hashed supporters burned down the main Kurdish party's headquarters in Baghdad after criticism from a Iraq's Former Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Hundreds of Hashed demonstrat

Iraqi militias defy government, expand networks and pressure

Militias in Iraq are increasing their activities in response to the government's efforts to rein them in.