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June 30, 2026

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Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

A car drives past an United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) outpost in the village of Khan Arnabah, Quneitra, southern Syria, April 29, 2026.

Syria slams Israeli 'violations' in south as ground clashes intensify: What to know

In a rare incident, the Israeli military said it fired at armed men in southern Syria, without identifying the attackers.

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Analysts say the expected vote for recognition is not morally motivated, but intended to spite the Turkish leader.

Latest News

Analysis

Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha

Vance

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

Trump hints at F-35 breakthrough with Turkey ahead of NATO summit

One of the first three US-made F-35 aircraft in Polish Air Force colors taxis along the runway at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, while fire-fighting vehicles perform a water salute on May 22, 2026.

Iran rejects Trump's claim frozen funds will buy US soybeans: What to know

Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne on June 21, 2026.

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

US President Joe Biden (R) and Jordan's King Abdullah II smile during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 19, 2021.

The Takeaway: Biden-Abdullah White House summit key to Israel-Jordan reset

Jordan-Israel ties had hit rock bottom under Netanyahu; Also: Will Zarif pick up Raisi’s road map on the Iran deal?; Israel prepares Raisi file; Egypt, Ethiopia compete for power partnerships; Saudi-Ethiopian ties strained by Nile dam dispute; Russia’s vaccine diplomacy stumbles; the latest Pharaonic parade.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Biden administration transfers first Guantanamo detainee to Morocco

A government panel cleared Abdul Latif Nasir for release in 2016, but the Moroccan detainee remained at the US prison during the Trump administration.

Jen Psaki

US says nuclear talks to continue, despite alleged Iran kidnapping plot

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is "ready to go" ahead with talks, after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the task of renegotiating the deal had been handed over to the next administration.

Michael McCaul

Republicans in Congress criticize Iran nuclear talks following alleged Iranian kidnap plot

Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul says, “President Biden should not enter into any deals with Iran without an end to these assaults on our citizens.”

Anbar attack aftermath

Biden's airstrikes fail to halt cycle of militia violence in Iraq

The Pentagon says it is taking a recent spate of drone and rocket attacks "deadly seriously."

Prince Khalid at Pentagon in 2019

Intel: Biden administration receives top Saudi official

Biden administration officials meet with brother of Saudi Crown Prince, reaffirm US-Saudi partnership.

Sudanese and Egyptian armed forces take part in the "Guardians of the Nile" joint military drill in the Um Sayyala area, northwest of Khartoum, on May 31, 2021.

State Department official: There are ‘technical solutions’ to Nile River dam issue

At a House hearing on Tuesday, a Republican congressman made an impassioned plea to consider Egypt’s water security regarding Ethiopia’s megadam on the Nile River.

A child sits near displaced Syrians lining up to collect plates of food prepared by a local charity for the Ramadan fast-breaking meal at a camp for people displaced by conflict in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on April 13, 2021.

Blinken calls Syrian humanitarian situation 'untenable'

At a meeting of the members of the US D-ISIS coalition in Rome, the US secretary of state makes appeal for "stabilization."

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: Blinken urges allies to repatriate IS fighters from Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces are holding an estimated 10,000 suspected Islamic State fighters, a situation Secretary of State Antony Blinken said is "untenable."

The Pentagon building, located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

US airstrikes hit Iran-backed militia after drone attacks in Iraq

CENTCOM is trying to deter militia attacks without starting a war.

Yemenis inspect the burning wreckage of a drone in the country's capital, Sanaa, on Oct. 1, 2017.

US-made drones downed over Yemen weren't military's, CENTCOM says

The Houthis said they wrecked two US drones over Yemen's contested Marib province.

AFP via Getty Images

US hopeful but 'realistic' on departure of foreign forces from Libya

Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, also said the United States expects the elections scheduled for December to take place.