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United States

September 3, 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

Iranian guards march during celebrations in Tehran's Azadi Square (Freedom Square) to mark the 37th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2016.

Iranians waved "Death to America" banners and took selfies with a ballistic missile as they marked 37 years since the Islamic revolution, weeks after Iran finalised a nuclear deal with world powers.
/ AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran military warns against IRGC sanctions

The chief of staff of Iran's armed forces has warned that US sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would make American bases in the Middle East unsafe.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) fires his rifle at Islamic State militants as he runs across a street in Raqqa, Syria July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS19M5W

Pentagon: Rebel forces taking heavy casualties in Raqqa fight

The United States confirmed today that the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces are taking heavy casualties in an effort to push the Islamic State out of its stronghold in Raqqa.

An Israeli border police officer guards next to an entrance leading to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3BMMA

Doomsday averted on the Temple Mount, for now

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set aside their mutual loathing to calm tensions when Israeli Arabs launched a short-lived attack on the Temple Mount.

A man walks while using his phone past damaged buildings in Deraa, Syria July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTX3BL5E

Syrian cease-fire a delicate balance of vastly different goals

Iran welcomes the Russian/US truce initiative in southern Syria, but will Russia be able to keep juggling the broad, and often conflicting, interests of the various players?

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) holds a news conference after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, Belgium, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman - RTX32WQI

Abu Mazen plays losing hand badly in Gaza Strip

The Palestinian president faces a challenge from a bitter rival backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates; what is Saddam Hussein’s family doing in Qatar?; Russia and the United States wary of Turkish military intervention in Syria.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic speak to the Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX372PN

Envoy to US says Turkey was ready to provide ‘tens of thousands of troops’ for Raqqa offensive

Ambassador Serdar Kilic tells Al-Monitor that Turkey was willing to offer broad military support to the US-led operation to liberate the Islamic State's Syrian stronghold.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) arrives for a classified briefing on the airstrikes launched against the Syrian military, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RTX34MT2

Israel frets over Congress push to slash Palestinian aid over terror payments

US lawmakers' efforts to further condition assistance to the Palestinian Authority is complicated by Israel's reluctance to undermine a key security partner.

Incessant scandals threaten US-Russia progress on Syria

Moscow and Washington will need to safeguard any progress in their relations against fresh controversies and those opposed to cooperation.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R) and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis hold a press conference following talks with Chinese diplomatic and defense chiefs at the State Department in Washington, U.S. June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTS183M9

US expected to recertify Iran compliance with nuclear deal

The secretaries of state and defense appear to have overruled Iran hawks in the White House and Congress.

Vehicles of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division line up for the departure of the final convoy of U.S. military forces out of Iraq at Camp Adder near Nasiriyah, Iraq on December 17, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR2VDWN

Pentagon wants to build new US facilities in Iraq, Syria

The Trump administration has asked Congress for the authority to build new “small-scale,” “temporary facilities” to help defeat the Islamic State.

A fighter from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) monitors in the area of Afrin, along Syria's northern border with Turkey, on June 9, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey waiting … and waiting … to intervene in Afrin

Ankara's pro-government media are blaming the United States and Russia for delaying Turkey’s move on Kurdish forces in Afrin, which was to begin July 5.

Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog, speaks during a demonstration held by Israeli left-wing group Peace Now, entitled "Two States, One Hope, A demonstration against 50 years of occupation", in Tel Aviv, Israel May 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX37WRH

Palestinians disappointed over Israeli Labor primaries

Palestinian leadership in Ramallah is disappointed over Isaac Herzog losing the Labor Party’s primaries, as they were hoping that Herzog would join the Netanyahu government and advance regional negotiations.