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September 2, 2026

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US airstrikes target Iran's Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island

American military forces launched their first strikes on the Iranian mainland in more than a month just days after the top US commander for the region said Iranian mines have been cleared from Hormuz shipping lanes.

missile

Analysis

Israel favors status quo as tensions in Iran's leadership fuel escalation risk

Israel would prefer to preserve the current balance of pressure — with US naval blockades and economic measures continuing without a return to active fighting — per a senior Israeli security source.

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

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

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

Latest News

Analysis

How Iran is readying for economic protests as Trump escalates pressure

Demonstrations in Tehran, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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

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

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via 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

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1BEFE58C00

Was Trump’s call about oil with Saudi leader the start of a reset in relations?

US-Saudi partnership faces both old and new challenges in post-COVID-19 Middle East.

A view shows a new S-400 "Triumph" surface-to-air missile system after its deployment at a military base outside the town of Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar - RC1425F0B450

Intel: US doubles down on Turkey S-400 sanctions threats

The Donald Trump administration has doubled down on threats to sanction Turkey should it activate the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their talks in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS - RC2UDF9BM4UQ

Erdogan's cold war with Saudi Arabia and UAE

Turkey's patience with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is running low, sources tell Al-Monitor.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini brief the media at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RC122EB9C3C0

European ambassadors warn Israel over annexation plans

A group of 11 European ambassadors to Israel has made it clear that West Bank annexation plans will be met with fierce international objection.

A woman uses an automated teller machine (ATM) outside a Bank Hapoalim branch in Tel Aviv, Israel May 30, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias/File Photo - S1BEUKNLJRAA

Israel’s largest bank admits to helping taxpayers use offshore accounts, facilitating FIFA conspiracy

Bank Hapoalim agrees to pay the United States more than $900 million in connection with the two cases.

Arab Foreign Ministers take part in their 153rd annual session at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo, on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab League slams West Bank annexation plans as ‘war crime’

The pan-Arab organization met to discuss Israeli plans for annexing parts of the territory the Palestinians envision for a future state.

Islamist rebels from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are seen outside the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya, Syria July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC194E7A7120

Intel: US Syria envoy says Turkey must put pressure on Idlib militants

Turkey should keep up the pressure on the hard-line Islamist group in control of Syria’s embattled Idlib province, the US special envoy for Syria said today.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during family photo session with other leaders and attendees at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1A069AC350

Report: Trump threatened to remove US troops from Saudi if no oil production cut

Trump told the Saudi Crown Prince that US troops would leave Saudi Arabia if OPEC did not cut production, according to a new report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department, in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2020. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS - RC2FEG9796G6

Pompeo argues US still in Iran deal in bid to snap back global sanctions

Can the United States use the UN to force other countries to sanction Iran?

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2HAD9SK03C

Intel: In letter to Trump, Erdogan bemoans Turkey’s poor reputation on Capitol Hill

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's personal letter to his counterpart Donald Trump was delivered today as part of Turkey’s COVID-19 relief package for the United States.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan, December 20, 2019. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS - RC2YYD9DLX7A

'Not the New York Gulf': US-Iran war of words heats up

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that the United States should stay out of the Persian Gulf.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a primary night speech at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC2FHF943RPX

Intel: Key Biden adviser slams 'sheer hypocrisy' of Trump gambit to extend Iran arms embargo

The Joe Biden campaign’s chief foreign policy adviser slammed the Donald Trump administration for relying on a mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal to reinstate multilateral sanctions on Iran should the United Nations fail to extend an arms embargo on Tehran, which is set to expire in October.