Iran us news

Pentagon's Hegseth defends Iran war against Congress, says not a quagmire

"Don't say: 'I support the troops' on one hand, and then a two-month mission is a quagmire," Hegseth told the congressman during his address.

|ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing on the Iran war, amid a ceasefire between the US and Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, April 24, 2026.
An illustrative photo of the Iranian and Chinese flags.

Trump says he was 'surprised' by 'Chinese gift to Iran' found in seized tanker ship

"We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice. A gift from China perhaps, I don’t know, but I was a little surprised," Trump said during an interview with CNBC.

|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN
An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran April 1, 2026.

Six ships turned around as part of Strait of Hormuz blockade, US military says

"No ships made it past the US blockade, and six merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman," CENTCOM said.

|ByREUTERS
Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar attends the consultative ministrial meeting in Riyadh, on March 19, 2026. Foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries met to discuss the security crisis in the region.

Pakistan says US-Iran backchannel talks continue despite Tehran rejecting 15-point plan

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Dar said Pakistan remains fully committed to promoting peace and is making all possible efforts to ensure stability in the region and beyond

|ByARSHAD MEHMOUD/THE MEDIA LINE

Iran says US approved its funds transfer to buy COVID vaccines

Iran has won US approval to transfer funds for coronavirus vaccines from overseas, the central bank chief said on Thursday, as its daily death toll fell to a three-month low.

DECEMBER 25, 2020ByREUTERS
Iranian women wearing protective face masks walk in Darband street, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020

Iran holds annual Gulf drill amid rising tensions with US

The US military said the drill had caused two bases with American troops in the region to go on heightened alert.

JULY 28, 2020ByREUTERS
Trilateral naval exercise with Iran, Russia and China in Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean, Dec. 2019

Iran prepared to retaliate if US stops Venezuela-bound tankers

"After increasing military threats against Iranian vessels headed for Venezuela, an order was issued to Iran's armed forces to identify and track several US merchant vessels."

JUNE 13, 2020ByREUTERS
A Spanish Civil Guard boat sails past Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored after it was seized in July by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain August 13, 2019

Trump: Iran returning missing FBI agent is good, enriching uranium is bad

Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied that the case was re-opened and said that Levinson's whereabouts were still unknown.

NOVEMBER 11, 2019ByRACHEL WOLF
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

Iraq investigating alleged rocket fire that landed near US forces in Camp Taji

The incident is one of the most serious in recent months targeting an areas where US forces are present in Iraq.

JUNE 18, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi security forces ride in vehicles travelling to Mosul to fight against militants of Islamic State at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad

Iran dismisses possibility of conflict, says does not want war

Following the re-imposition of US sanctions, a senior Iranian maritime official said Iran had adopted new tactics and new destinations in shipping its oil exports.

MAY 19, 2019ByREUTERS
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends India-Iran business forum in New Delhi, India, January 8, 2019.

Kurdistan region worried as U.S. and Iran tensions grow

US pulls staff from Erbil consulate and European countries end training of Kurdish Peshmerga

MAY 17, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
KURDISH MEMBERS of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan hike through the mountains from Iraq to Iran.

Is Iran the new Iraq? Here are the similarities — and big differences

If the Iran war talk sounds familiar, it might be because there are elements that resemble the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War, not least among them the Israel factor.

MAY 16, 2019ByRON KAMPEAS/JTA
M302 rockets found aboard the Klos C ship are displayed at an Israeli navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. The ship seized by the Israeli navy on suspicion of smuggling arms from Iran to the Gaza Strip docked on Saturday in Israel, which planned to put the cargo on display i

War with Iran forthcoming? Most experts say they don’t think so

War between the US and Iran is probably not in the cards, even as the US ups pressure on Iran via sanctions and a military build-up in the region.

MAY 13, 2019ByOMRI NAHMIAS
Iranians burn a U.S. flag during a protest against President Donald Trump's decision to walk out of a 2015 nuclear deal, in Tehran, Iran, May 11, 2018.

Iran Guards chief says Americans have started 'psychological war'

The US has concentrated naval power and B-52s in the Persian Gulf in recent days.

MAY 13, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A military vehicle carrying Iranian Zoobin smart bomb (L) and Sagheb missile under pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) and Late Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011.