Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping. Iran
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran hits Gulf, warns Hormuz will reopen on its terms Lebanese president meets US envoy; Russia eyes Tartous logistics hub in Syria; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Lebanon's Aoun to meet Trump in first presidential summit in US since 2009 The visit by the Lebanese head of state will coincide with ongoing US-sponsored Lebanon-Israel talks. Lebanon
Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes Oil prices had been recovering following a memorandum of understanding signed last month to end the war, but they rose by more than 6% early on Wednesday. Iran
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Trump says Iran deal is ‘over’ By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Analysis Trump's F-35 push for Turkey runs into CAATSA — and Israel By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Why Iranians doubt the seriousness of Trump's latest offer of talks US President Donald Trump's latest offer of talks with Iran has grabbed more attention than his previous overtures, but Iranian political elites agree that the offer is not sincere. United States
Congressional appropriators move to tie up F-35 deliveries to Turkey The new House foreign aid bill would prohibit spending federal dollars to transfer the jets unless Ankara abandons its plans to buy missile defenses from Moscow. Turkey
Frustrated European allies warn Pompeo against US-Iran escalation European foreign ministers did little to hide their distress that Secretary of State Pompeo abruptly decided to consult them on rising Iran tensions, which they had warned would be a consequence of quitting the nuclear deal. United States
Israeli security: Unrest, despair increasing in West Bank Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot warns that sanctions and despair may soon generate an outburst of violence in the West Bank. Palestine
Iran: UAE sabotage incident should be no excuse for US ‘adventurism’ Iran has dismissed President Donald Trump’s offer to talk on the phone, saying if it was genuine, he would have stuck to the nuclear deal. United States
New Palestinian party has ties to Israel, seeks PLO reform President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party promptly attacked the newly launched Reform and Development Party in the West Bank and warned Palestinians to have nothing to do with it. Palestine
Tunisia on edge as Libya's Hifter advances Tunisian authorities remain tight-lipped on the tumult in neighboring Libya, even as escalating violence impacts the Tunisian border. Libya
Turkey sticks to its guns on Russian missile-defense deal Despite the efforts of NATO heavy-hitter Jens Stoltenberg, Turkey seems to be moving closer to Russia and its S-400 air-defense system. Turkey
Despite FM's warm reception in Moscow, Russia can’t do much to save JCPOA Tehran's disappointment with the Europeans leaves Russia as perhaps the only leverage Iran still has with the West on the nuclear deal, but there's little Moscow can do to help at this point. Russia
Jordan wary of Trump’s plan to label Muslim Brotherhood terrorist body Jordanian King Abdullah seems keen to unite the domestic front ahead of the unveiling of the US peace plan, despite past differences with the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordan
Israel, Qatar interests merge on Gaza, West Bank In order to ameliorate its image in Washington, Qatar is now ready to extract Israel from the complicated situation it got into by withholding money from the Palestinian Authority. Saudi Arabia