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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

fighters near Marib

Congress presses Biden administration for answers on Yemen war

Pressure is building on Capitol Hill as lawmakers await clarity about US support for Saudi Arabia in an upcoming briefing.

Washington Pulse

Palestinian students gather in front of a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, on the first day of school after local authorities eased some of the restrictions that were imposed in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, on Aug. 8, 2020.

Senate Republicans: condition aid to Palestinian refugee agency on reforms

A group of 21 senators called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to tie funding to UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, to "much-needed and meaningful reforms."

JOSHUA ROBERTS/AFP via Getty Images

Senator praises report that Biden will recognize Armenian Genocide

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez has been a longtime supporter of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Nadia Murad, an Iraq Yazidi once held captive by the Islamic State, speaks during a religious freedom summit at the US Department of State on July 16, 2019, in Washington, DC.

US government watchdog calls out Syria for religious freedom abuses

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also recommended Egypt, Iraq and Turkey be added to the State Department's special watchlist for religious freedom offenders.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

No plans for full US withdrawal from Iraq, top general says

The United States may be leaving Afghanistan but troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future, the CENTCOM commander told Congress.

Menendez and Feinstein

Senate Democrats push for additional checks on UAE F-35 sale

The bill comes amid a fresh wave of scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers over the Biden administration's plan to move forward with the Trump-era arms sale.

Betty McCollum

Congresswoman introduces bill to condition US aid to Israel

The legislation from a progressive representative reflects a trend in the Democratic party toward pro-Palestinian positions and criticism of Israel.

Jennifer-Cafarella-Linda-Khatib-Omar-Alshogre

House panel considers US policy options in Syria

Members of the subcommittee also pressed witnesses on whether regime change in Syria is an option.

A man walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US Embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sept. 29, 2020.

Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says

The Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign did not stop Tehran's ambitions in the region, ODNI report suggests.

January 2018 Saraqib attack

Intel: US endorses watchdog report blaming Syria for chemical attack

The report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found "reasonable grounds" to believe that the Syrian air force dropped chlorine on a rebel-held town in northwestern Syria in 2018.

Wendy Sherman

Senate confirms Wendy Sherman for No. 2 post at State Department

Sherman was the lead negotiator for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The debate over her nomination mostly focused on the agreement, which the Biden administration is currently seeking to reenter.

A Palestinian rides a bicycle past the closed gate of a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 6, 2021, amidst a lockdown due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden restores US aid to Palestinian refugee agency

Along with providing $150 million to UNRWA, the US administration announced funding for economic and development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza.