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September 10, 2026

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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

The Iran war escalated this week as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked four southern Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities.

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

Latest News

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Who is Amir Yaryab, IRGC’s cyber commander in US crosshairs?

Amir Yaryab

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

A Turkish military convoy arrives at an army base in the border town of Reyhanli near the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Turkey January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC12B0BC2360

Will Erdogan defy Russia, US over Afrin?

Turkey’s plan to launch an operation to take Syria's Afrin faces major difficulties, yet if Erdogan succeeds even partially it will boost his image at home.

People chant slogans during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in Amman, Jordan December 29, 2017. The placard reads: "Al-Aqsa Mosque for us, and God with his strength with us". REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC1388149230

Defiant Palestinians boycott US projects, products

US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has prompted various Palestinian boycotts of US-funded projects and programs.

Iraqi counterterrorism forces sit in a top of a military vehicle in Falluja, Iraq, June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - S1AETLOGUBAB

Iraq backs off plans to double number of US-trained counterterrorism forces

With all of Iraq now liberated from the Islamic State, the elite Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service is shifting its focus away from large-scale battles.

Iranian students scuffle with police at the University of Tehran during a demonstration driven by anger over economic problems, in the capital Tehran on December 30, 2017.
Students protested in a third day of demonstrations, videos on social media showed, but were outnumbered by counter-demonstrators. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Why protests won’t change Iran’s foreign policy

The recent wave of unrest in Iran is unlikely to change the calculations that underpin the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy.

Netanyahu’s shortsighted Mideast policy

Israel prefers to ignore the changes surrounding it, such as threats by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to cancel the Oslo Accord and Iran’s change of stance on the Arab Peace Initiative.

Jordan tones down rhetoric in response to US move against UNRWA

Amid US threats to cut funding for UNRWA, Jordan appears to have opted for quiet diplomatic engagement with the United States rather than a confrontational approach.

Russia, Iran in sync on preserving nuclear deal

Russia's UN ambassador says the United States has "an irrational allergy" to Iran and should stop trying to constrain Tehran's influence in the Middle East by undermining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria April 29, 2017. Picture taken April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC16BE0EE700

US touts military build-up against Iran in Syria

The Donald Trump administration’s stated goal of using US troops in Syria to contain Iran, while failing to offer a formal Syria policy, is irritating lawmakers.

U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Interior Secretary†Ryan Zinke and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC113BF0A9B0

Trump stays in Iran nuclear deal for now, targets rights abusers

US President Donald Trump once again waived Iran nuclear sanctions to stay in the deal, but he warned it will be for the last time if he does not get a legislative fix that meets his demands.

Jordan's Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein (2nd R) and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (4th R), review Bedouin honour guards upon their arrival to meet Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - GF20000013418

US caught in crossfire amid flaring Jordan-Saudi tensions

US Vice President Mike Pence will face flaring tensions between Saudi Arabia and Jordan over Amman’s alleged ouster of royals close to Riyadh during his upcoming trip to the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the news conference after his meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - UP1EDAH0WNL3N

Erdogan: No extradition to US until Turkey gets Gulen

Turkey has announced it will suspend extraditions to the United States until Washington produces Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen as US-Turkish relations continue to circle the drain.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting with European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Brussels, Belgium January 11, 2018. REUTERS/John Thys/Pool - RC1B2DED04A0

Europe takes center stage as Iran weighs response to Trump

Though suspicion and mistrust lingers, Iran maintains hope that Europe will resist US pressure to torpedo the nuclear deal.