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September 15, 2026

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US Republican Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas gestures after speaking during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024.

Meet Wesley Hunt, Trump's pick for ambassador to Saudi Arabia

The Texas Republican previously served for two years in the kingdom as a diplomatic liaison officer.

VTB Bank in Moscow

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

State-controlled VTB becomes one of the most prominent global names yet caught up in Washington’s ongoing effort to squeeze Iran's economy.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

CENTCOM chief meets Saudi Arabia's MBS amid Houthi gains in Yemen

The low-profile meeting between the Pentagon's commander in the Middle East and Saudi crown prince comes as Yemen's Houthis seized the high ground overlooking a vital economic waterway.

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Analysis

Why Trump is in no rush to join Yemen war as Houthis seize Bab al-Mandeb

The Houthis' capture of Mokha and Perim Island has dealt a major credibility blow to Yemen's Saudi-backed forces while granting the rebels a clear line-of-sight to launch missiles into one of the Middle East's most important shipping lanes. As long as they don't interfere with international commerce, Washington is likely to withhold its fire.

Jared Szuba

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

Latest News

CENTCOM chief in Saudi Arabia as Yemen's Houthis seize Bab al-Mandeb

Admiral Charles Bradford "Brad" Cooper II, Commander of US Central Command speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, at US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, on March 5, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

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

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)

Jared Szuba

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

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

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

AFPTV / 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

US Marines in Helmand province

Turkey ‘still in lead’ as US surges troops back to Kabul airport for evacuation

The Pentagon is readying as many as 8,000 troops to facilitate the withdrawal of American and Afghan personnel.

2018 Tice press conference

Biden administration calls on Syria to return missing journalist Austin Tice

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the United States is committed to "following all avenues and talking to anyone" who can help return Tice, a journalist and Marine veteran who disappeared in Syria nine years ago.

Richard Norland and Khalifa Hifter

Intel: US ambassador meets Libya's Hifter in Cairo

The US envoy is for pushing for cooperation with Libya's planned elections in December, State Department says.

Dana Stroul

Iran sending more weapons to Yemen's Houthis amid cease-fire effort: Pentagon

Pentagon allegation comes as Iranian and Saudi officials are reportedly preparing to meet in Baghdad later this month

Nasrin Sotoudeh protest

Senators call for release of 'unjustly imprisoned' women in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

Democratic lawmakers condemn four Middle Eastern states for the politically motivated imprisonment of a number of women and call for the prisoners' release.

Washington Pulse

Antony Blinken

Blinken urges UN to hold Iran accountable for Mercer Street attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the drone strike was the latest in a pattern of Iranian attacks and provocative behavior.

confiscated hezbollah rocket launcher in Lebanon

US sanctions Iran-backed militias under weapons transfer ban

Washington Pulse

Mercer Street attack photos

Pentagon reveals evidence of Iran's role in Gulf tanker attack

Last week's drone strike on the Israeli-managed oil products tanker Mercer Street required "calculated and deliberate retargeting," CENTCOM said.

Areej al-Sadhan and her brother Abdulrahman al-Sadhan.

Intel: US family seeks Biden's help freeing detained Saudi aid worker

The United States said it’s urging Saudi Arabia to resolve the case of Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, an aid worker sentenced to prison for allegedly running a Twitter account critical of the kingdom’s rulers.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a briefing at the State Department August 2, 2021, in Washington, DC.

US urges Iran to return to nuclear talks as Raisi sworn in

Talks over reviving the nuclear deal remain on hold — a process the Biden administration warned "cannot go on indefinitely."

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

US believes Iranians seized oil tanker off UAE coast

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said early Wednesday that the intruders had left the vessel, which is now safe.

MV Mercer Street oil tanker

Pentagon doesn't rule out response for Gulf shipping attack

Iran's conflicts with its neighbors once again loom over Biden's ambitions to return to the Iran deal.