Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran strikes tankers, US bases as Gulf conflict escalates Lebanon, Israel hold talks in Rome; Iraqi PM Zaidi to meet Trump; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Trump says US to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site Satellite imagery has detected recent construction at the underground facility. Iran
Explainer Trump’s Hormuz playbook echoes Iran’s attempts to monetize waterway On Monday, Trump declared that the United States would become the "guardian" of the strategic waterway, reimpose a blockade on Iranian shipping and seek reimbursement equivalent to 20% of all cargo transiting the strait. Iran
Oil climbs after US strikes Iran, Trump vows to control Strait of Hormuz US Central Command said in a statement early on Monday that it struck dozens of Iranian targets overnight as Iran targeted American bases across the Gulf. Iran
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran keeps Hormuz closed as US attacks intensify By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Analysis Why Iran is making infrastructure next front in Mideast conflict By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
Intel: How Syria is driving a wedge between Russia and Israel The show of unity during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Russia on Sept. 12 can’t paper over the sharp differences between the two countries over Syria. Israel
Trump, Europeans push to keep space for Iran diplomacy after Saudi attacks Following strikes on Saudi oil facilities, Donald Trump stated his desire to avoid escalation with Iran. Saudi Arabia
Turkey at odds with US and Russia over northern Syria As Ankara loses ground in Idlib, President Erdogan’s threat of military action east of the Euphrates raises the stakes for Turkey. Syria
Iran defends strikes on Saudi oil facility but denies role While flatly denying any role in the twin strikes on Saudi oil facilities, Iran finds no drawback in firmly standing by the Shiite Houthi rebels for what it views as their exercise of the right to retaliate against Saudi attacks. Saudi Arabia
Self-proclaimed marja riles other Iranian ayatollahs Conservative ayatollahs in Qom, Iran, are losing patience with one of their own because he deems himself a marja, or top religious authority, and because of his secular leanings. Iran
Suspected Iranian strikes raise US concerns over Chinese missile proliferation The Donald Trump administration is concerned that US adversaries such as China are abetting Iran’s growing missile arsenal, which US officials believe was used in strikes against Saudi oil facilities over the weekend. Saudi Arabia
What the latest Astana summit tells us about Iran’s position on Syria Russia, Iran and Turkey continue to negotiate a settlement to the Syrian war that works to their advantage. Syria
US questions Iran’s assent to non-proliferation pact amid inspections Washington is challenging Tehran's commitment to global non-proliferation agreements, citing traces of uranium found at an Iranian site. United States
Iran's supreme leader says no talks with US 'at any level' Iran's supreme leader has dismissed talks with the United States, saying Washington is bound to proving the success of its "maximum pressure" policy by pushing Tehran to the negotiating table. Saudi Arabia
Intel: What’s behind Putin’s arms sale proposal to Saudis Putin's offer of defense missile systems for the Saudis was political but there's more to this in the runup to his visit to Riyadh. Saudi Arabia
How latest Astana talks between Turkey, Russia, Iran went beyond Syria What the Astana guarantors agreed upon in Ankara will have implications for Syria but the way the leaders communicated past each other each is even more telling. Saudi Arabia
Iraq works to distance itself from US-Iran tension after Saudi Aramco attack Baghdad is worried that the Sept. 14 attack on Saudi Arabia will affect Iraq's stability and relationship with neighboring countries. Legacy: Gulf