Iran

Iran says Hormuz talks progress after Trump calls off planned strikes

Trump said Sunday that a deal to open the waterway may be close and that new unspecified talks with Iran would begin on Monday

Iran's leaders show united front on war strategy but differ over endgame

With escalating attacks against US bases and its allies over the past week, Iran's leaders are showing considerable unity over their war strategy: hanging tough, determined to show Iran can endure more than America and its allies can. But within the leadership, there are sharp differences over what the endgame should be. On one side, the ultra-hardliners who oppose any negotiations with the United States are pressing for total victory in the war. Known as the "Paydari" movement -- Persian for "stability" -- they are hard-core ideologues who want to enforce the Islamic Republic's control over society. On the other, those who support President Masoud Pezeshkian and powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -- who doubles as Iran's chief negotiator -- see military pressure as a way to win a negotiated deal with the United States. This camp is also spurred by concern over the economic toll Iran is suffering from the war and the need to adapt to social change in the ...

Iran claims to destroy three US F-35 jets, damage three more in Jordan

Iran claims it destroyed US F-35 fighter jets at Jordan's Al-Azraq Air Base after American strikes on Qeshm Island, as tensions between Tehran and Washington escalate

Iran rejects Oman's proposal for joint management of Strait of Hormuz

Iran has rejected an Omani proposal for joint regional management of the Strait of Hormuz, calling it unrealistic

US fast-tracks Russia-Iran sanctions bill that could target India, China

A bipartisan group of US Senators on Tuesday agreed to fast-track the bill that would allow President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on major purchasers of oil from Russia as well as Iran, a move that would affect countries such as China and India. The provisions of the Russia sanctions bill, originally piloted by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, will now also extend to restrict funding for Iran's energy and weapons sector. "We are proud to announce an agreement on legislation to stop purchasers of Russian oil and gas from fueling Putin's war machine and to continue restricting the Iranian regime's ability to support terrorism and build its nuclear programme," a group of senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties said here. An earlier version of the bill focused only on Russia. Iran has been added to the legislation on the suggestion made by Trump. The announcement was made by Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, and Republicans Darline

Jordan intercepts Iranian missiles as US-Saudi launch strikes in Iraq

Jordan's air defences intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday, the country's military said, hours after the US military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting. In a statement, the Jordanian military said the missiles had been "intercepted and destroyed." Earlier, US Central Command said they "remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness," and that it worked with Saudi Arabia's forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days. In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the US warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure risked additional action. The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for about three days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow ...

Iran war further draws down key US air defence stockpiles: Analysis

Recent fighting with Iran used up more of the US military's already diminished stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors, potentially putting American troops at more risk if hostilities resume, a new analysis says. Shrunken inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors may force the US and its Middle Eastern allies to take more risks to conserve those air defences, according to the analysis from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. For example, it said, American forces may launch fewer missiles against incoming Iranian drones and missiles, raising the chance of one getting through. "That percentage may not go up a lot, but it goes up a little," said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and now senior adviser at CSIS who co-authored Monday's report with research associate Chris H Park. The nation's advanced weapons stockpiles have become a flashpoint in the five-month-long conflict, along with the threat to the lives of American service ...

US military thwarts Iranian missile on troops, Saudi intercepts drones

Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles at American forces in the Middle East on Tuesday, shattering a brief pause in fighting as mediators tried to get both sides back to negotiations and toward a ceasefire, the US military said. All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted, US Central Command said in a statement, adding that US forces "remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness." The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20 per cent of the world's oil normally flows. Iran effectively closed the strait when the war began by firing at freighters and tankers off its coast or threatening, too. Following the signing of an interim ceasefire deal in June, a battle for control over the strait has erupted. Iran demanded that ships use a route near its coastline and said it can ...

Mojtaba Khamenei commends Hezbollah's 'unyielding' stance against Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader praises Hezbollah's steadfastness against Israel, reiterates Tehran's support for the group, and says resistance remains the only path forward amid the ongoing regional conflict

LPG tanker with 28 Indian crew members attacked in Iranian waters, all safe

The Indian Embassy in Tehran said all 28 Indian crew members aboard the Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker DISHA are safe after the vessel came under attack in Iranian waters

The Iran war has cost US $37.5 billion: Why the Pentagon wants billions more | Trump | Oil

The Pentagon says the US-Iran war has already cost America $37.5 billion, and it wants another $87 billion from Congress. But as casualties mount and political opposition grows,

US launches new strikes on Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes

The US military announced Thursday that it is conducting the 13th night of strikes against Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes. Earlier Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped USD 100 a barrel. US Central Command said the latest attacks are designed to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters" as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping. Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down another key trade route, with the world economy already reeling from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The threat came as Iran and the US have stepped up attacks as they vie for control of the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited in peacetime, setting off a scramble for alternative routes. President Donald Tru

Trump: Will destroy bridge, power plant for each Iranian attack in Strait

4 more tankers changed course in Red Sea; Marco Rubio says still ready for talks but Iran not serious

US identifies 3rd service member believed to be killed in Iranian attack

The US military has confirmed that a third service member is believed to be dead in Friday's attack on a base in Jordan and identified them as Sgt Angel S Rampersad, 28, of New York. The confirmation brings the death toll to 18 US service members killed since the war began. On Monday, the Pentagon identified 1st Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, as the two other soldiers who were killed in Jordan in Friday's attacks. The soldiers were killed by Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in the first troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war. They were deployed to support a US mission against the Islamic State group, a US Central Command statement said. After the attack, US Central Command announced that two servicemembers were killed and another was missing. The following day, the military command said that troops found unidentified remains and that an examination process to verify the

US completes 11th night of strikes on Iran as attacks overshadow diplomacy

The US military said it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran early Wednesday as attacks across the Middle East overshadowed diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed. US Central Command said targets included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. The newest barrage came after President Donald Trump telegraphed that strikes would be intensifying. Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict seeking to revamp diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to world energy supplies. Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the US had "no interest in meeting." He signalled that US forces could soon target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium. With negotiatio

US and Iran dig in over Hormuz, showing limits of intensifying airstrikes

The US and Iran are back to bombing every day in a bid to control the Strait of Hormuz. And neither is backing down, showing the limitations of President Donald Trump's reliance on escalating airstrikes to bend Tehran to his will. While the Trump administration says it is open to diplomacy, Iran so far has refused to loosen its grip over the crucial oil shipping corridor in the Persian Gulf. It is raising questions about the strategy for the next phase of the conflict as intensifying attacks have collapsed an interim ceasefire deal, left additional American troops dead and sent U.S. gasoline prices back up - posing new problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Even with glimmers of hope for talks, the sides could be headed back to all-out war, with Trump warning that "every time Iran kills an American Soldier" going forward, "they will pay for that killing many times over." The renewed escalations reflect "a fundamental misreading of the Iranian psyche and a lack of .

US attacks Iran for 10th consecutive night, another tanker hit in Hormuz

The British military said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, the latest assault to target shipping in the strategic waterway. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship reported over the radio it had been hit by an unknown projectile. Two other ships were attacked in the strait over the last day, with Iran' paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claiming those assaults. A fifth of all oil and natural gas that was traded passed through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime, but Iran has maintained a chokehold on the waterway since the start of the war on Feb. 28. Recent rounds of attacks between Iran and the United States come as the two countries vie for control of the strait. The United States military said late Monday it was carrying out its 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran in a push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed bombings followed the death of another American service member, and came after Iran launched

Strait of Hormuz traffic near standstill as US-Iran hostilities escalate

Commercial vessel traffic through the vital route slowed sharply after Iran targeted ships in the waterway, heightening concerns over energy supplies as US strikes on the Islamic Republic continued

Iran tells Houthis to close Red Sea gateway if US targets power network

Iran has asked Yemen's Houthis to prepare to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the US attacks its power infrastructure, threatening another major global oil route

Tehran Diaries: A poignant portrait of life under war, repression in Iran

Since the bombings began, the regime has made concerted attempts to rally the nation