All articles tagged with #mideast conflict
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth frames the Iran conflict as largely over and trumpets leadership, while Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine describes the ceasefire as a pause and warns that American troops could still be killed, highlighting a Pentagon mismatch as diplomacy continues over Iran’s nuclear program and key regional security issues like the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel reversed its plan to bar Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from Easter Week services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, amid international criticism over restrictions on holy sites during Holy Week and concerns about interfaith relations amid the Iran conflict; critics say the reversal came too late and other sites remained closed.
The Pentagon is considering shifting weapons meant for Ukraine to the Middle East due to depleted U.S. munitions from the Iran conflict, highlighting growing trade‑offs as Washington seeks to sustain aid to Ukraine while replenishing stockpiles.
Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey lead indirect efforts to broker a U.S.-Iran peace deal, with Washington envoy Steve Witkoff in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi; Iran denies any negotiations, while President Trump says the talks are progressing — a mediation effort centered on reducing tensions in the Middle East and potential high-level meetings.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iran’s regime appears intact but largely degraded after weeks of war, while facing scrutiny over the Trump administration’s war preparations and her advice to the president, with the hearing highlighting divisions within the GOP over how the conflict was handled.
More than 200 U.S. troops have been wounded or injured across seven countries in the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran, as Tehran responds with missile strikes and one-way attack drones.
Dubai-based Iranians say relatives in wartime Iran are terrified by US-Israel strikes and IRGC patrols, with reports that some celebrated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death; they warn the conflict could deepen Iran’s crisis and worsen the country’s situation.
The Pentagon says about 140 U.S. service members have been wounded in the Iran war, eight of them severely, with seven American deaths since the conflict began on Feb. 28, as drones and missiles continue to pose threats.
The Pentagon burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions in the first two days of its military assault on Iran, a figure that underscores congressional concerns about the rapid depletion of the United States’ advanced weapons stockpile.
Two Iranian IRISL cargo ships, the Hamouna and the Shabdis, departed a Chinese chemical-storage port laden with cargo experts say is a rocket-fuel precursor, according to Washington Post ship-tracking data, satellite imagery, and Treasury records, a move notable as the U.S. and Iran remain at war and Beijing allows the voyage.
Israel says it has launched fresh strikes on targets in Iran and Lebanon as Hezbollah drones hit Israel, while Iran and its allies claim retaliatory strikes across the region. The conflict is in its fourth day, with at least six U.S. service members killed and Americans urged to depart the Middle East; satellite imagery and reports describe damage to Iran’s nuclear sites, and cross‑border actions continue including attacks on cloud and other facilities in the Gulf. An expanding regional crisis broadens the fight beyond the initial theaters.
The Middle East crisis escalates after a U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, with Hezbollah launching rockets and drones at Israel from Lebanon, Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian attacks on Gulf states, a drone strike on a U.K. base in Cyprus, and rising casualties including three U.S. service members, as oil prices surge and the region braces for a prolonged confrontation.
Hundreds protested near the White House and in cities across the U.S. following Israel and the U.S. strikes on Iran, with demonstrators urging an end to the conflict as families in Iran worry about loved ones.
The State Department authorized nonemergency staff and families at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to leave Israel, warning they should act while commercial flights are available as tensions with Iran threaten retaliation against Israel and U.S. forces in the region.
The Washington Post reports that after a second round of Iran talks ended without a deal, the U.S. rapidly shifted more than 150 aircraft to bases in Europe and the Middle East, a buildup corroborated by publicly available flight-tracking data and satellite imagery, highlighted by F-22s at bases such as Lakenheath.