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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

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 16: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during a luncheon at the State Department May 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. Prime Minister Erdogan was on a visit in Washington and had talks on Syria with U.S. President Barack Obama. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Erdogan weighs new reality in US-Turkey ties under Biden

The Turkish president, after backing Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabagh, could feel emboldened to move in Syria, but anticipating the next administration may give pause.

Will Biden save the two-state solution?

President-elect Joe Biden must know that opting for confidence-building measures, instead of pushing the sides into negotiating a permanent settlement, would only perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

WILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 24: President-elect Joe Biden (C) introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. As President-elect Biden waits to be approved for official national security briefings, the names of top members of his national security team are being announced to the public. Calls continue for President Trump to concede the election and let the transition proceed without further delay. (Photo by Mark

Progressives divided over Biden’s expected pick for Pentagon chief

Michele Flournoy's stated openness to curtailing offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may have reduced opposition from progressive Democrats

Rep. Tlaib accused of anti-Semitism for comments on Biden pick

The Michigan congresswoman said she hopes Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of state will not go after boycotts of Israel.

Demonstrators chant slogans with signs depicting Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock and flags of Palestine during a protest in Yemen's third city of Taez on August 21, 2020, against the US-brokered deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalise relations. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel, Gulf rapprochement could worry Yemen, Iran

Israel is concerned over growing Iranian entrenchment in Yemen, not unlike the way Iran operates in Syria.

Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on July 28, 2014 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s new secretary of state ready to take on the Middle East

Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the State Department, has worked alongside Biden for nearly two decades.

Biden will face matrix of conflicting influence campaigns in Africa, Mideast

Egypt seeks to check Turkish influence in North Africa and the Horn, while its priority remains Nile Dam talks with Ethiopia.

US Vice President Joe Biden (L) gestures next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a meeting at Yildiz Mabeyn Palace on January 23, 2016 in Istanbul. / AFP / POOL / SEDAT SUNA (Photo credit should read SEDAT SUNA/AFP via Getty Images)

US-Turkey ties under Biden: confrontation or conciliation?

The Biden era in Washington is looming as a tough test for Ankara, whose moves will largely determine how the scarred US-Turkish relationship develops.

Trump-Heights settlement in Golan here to stay

Several Israeli families are preparing to move in to the Trump Heights settlement village in the Golan Heights.

Pompeo’s visit to Psagot settlement, a farewell gift from Trump to Israel

US Secretary of State Pompeo's visit to the Psagot settlement, built on occupied land in the West Bank, reflects the Donald Trump administration’s decision to consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be legal.

Palestinians carry the portrait of president Mahmud Abbas as they gather to commemorate the second intifada and to protest the Israeli normalisation deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in the town of Tubas, in the occupied West Bank on September 27, 2020. - The second intifada lasted five years, during which attacks were carried out in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In response Israel reoccupied much of the West Bank and began building a separation barrier between the two communities

Palestinians trying to dig themselves out of isolation

It seems Palestinians are trying to get out of international and Arab isolation by taking a series of measures, including restoring ties with Israel and returning their ambassadors to the UAE and Bahrain, in anticipation of the Joe Biden administration’s arrival into office.

Wine labels named after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo await to be put on a bottle at Israeli winemaker Yaakov Berg's Psagot Winery, in the settlers industrial park of Sha'ar Binyamin near the Israeli Psagot settlement in the occupied West Bank north of Jerusalem on November 18, 2020. - Berg's decision to name his red blend after US Secretary Mike Pompeo may capture attention, but for him the hashtag on the label's top right corner "#madeinlegality" is just as important, categorically rejecting the notio

In last days of Trump administration, Pompeo showers gifts on Israel

Visiting Israel before the end of the administration he serves, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's grandiose gestures and warm reception were clearly the last hurrah of a relationship with a time limit.