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But it brings a dangerous moment for the U.S. DUBAI—Iran’s ability to choke off oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz—and use that as leverage in talks with the U.S.—is breaking down, raising the risk it will resort to military escalation to bolster its position. The erosion of Iran’s position comes as the U.S. Navy and Gulf oil producers have become better at fending off or evading Iranian attacks, allowing more tankers to cross the strait. Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February, oil data trackers say. Shipments via...

The Trump administration is using taxpayer funds to air a television advertisement from Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in the latest in a series of ads promoting the president ahead of the midterms that the White House maintains are “public service announcements.”The 30-second video, which is virtually identical to one that aired in 2024, shows Trump walking down a hallway as his voice can be heard warning of a “final battle” against “globalists” and “warmongers.” The black-and-white video ends with Trump staring straight into the camera lens with a message that says: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.” The 2024...

As their midterm picture darkens, and gas and diesel prices soar, some Republicans who backed the war for months are now changing their tune. As President Trump warned in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in recent days that he might “annihilate” Iran, a growing number of Republicans were scrambling to find distance from a costly war that has swelled into a midterm crisis for the party.The split screen showed how Mr. Trump and his party’s battleground candidates are increasingly at odds as the November elections approach. With no clear resolution in sight, the war has sent the...

Tommy Robinson has said he has been detained at an airport by counter terrorism police. A post on his X account from an account admin on Wednesday afternoon reads: “Tommy has been detained again, at an airport by Counter Terrorism Police. They will never stop trying to destroy this man. Why are they so scared?” This would not be the first time the far-right anti-Islam activist and convicted thug has been stopped by police at an airport. Back in June, Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was stopped at Heathrow under counter terrorism laws and had his phones seized.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told a local television news station in Shreveport, Louisiana, this week that President Donald Trump needs to bring the war in Iran “to a resolution.” “It’s been a priority and an objective of every administration, for nearly 50 years, to ensure that Iran didn’t have a nuclear capability. Now that’s done. Operation Epic Fury was an epic success,” Johnson said dutifully, later adding: The world is safer because of it. But now we’ve got to bring that to a resolution. And the Strait of Hormuz not being open affects commerce. It directly affects gas prices...

The Trump administration is proposing investing $5 billion in a fund that would help Middle East countries rebuild their energy infrastructure following the Iran War, the Wall Street Journal reported.The goal would be to have the countries reduce their reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for transporting oil and gas, the Journal reported. The U.S. would seek matching contributions from eight Middle Eastern countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Jordan, hoping to establish a $10 billion investment fund. The investment would be called the Partnership for Allied Trust and Construction, or Pact. Officials told...

Threats to the Red Sea have shut the kingdom’s workaround DUBAI—Saudi Arabia spent months rerouting oil across the desert to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz. Now, with its Red Sea bypass route disrupted by attacks, the world’s oil kingpin is having to return to the waterway it was trying to avoid in the first place.Saudi Aramco, the country’s state-controlled oil giant, is loading more oil onto tankers in the Persian Gulf and then taking its chances sending them through the Strait of Hormuz. The company has told several of its customers in Asia—its most important oil market—to pick up shipments...

President Trump said on Sunday that he has agreed to convert plans for a massive triumphal arch into a "top grade Military Complex," equipped with snipers and drone storage. "At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch," Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Work on the 250-foot-tall arch was expected to begin this month, with plans to...

YARDLEY, Pa. (AP) — Mary Ryan may be a registered Republican but she has never voted for President Donald Trump, turned off by his crass style of politics and chaotic approach to governing. But the 60-year-old medical writer from the Philadelphia suburbs has consistently backed her party’s congressman, five-term Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. Until now. This year, Ryan is so fed up with Trump and his grip on Congress that she is planning to vote in November for Fitzpatrick’s Democratic opponent in the 1st Congressional District, Bob Harvie, a twice countywide elected commissioner who is a former social studies teacher.

In early March, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had already “won” the war against Iran but still had to “finish the job.” Months later, as fighting escalates across the region and diplomacy is stalled, the “job” remains unfinished with no end in sight. Trump on Wednesday said that “hopefully we are toward the end of the war” and suggested that Iran wants to make a deal. But that optimism is belied by what’s happening on the ground—and there’s little evidence that Tehran is eager for an agreement. The United States has had military successes in the...

New photos obtained exclusively by CBS News reveal for the first time the widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at multiple U.S. positions across the Middle East, as a result of Iranian missile and drone attacks. The Defense Department's inspector general this week released a fresh report on the war in Iran that revealed "equipment losses" worth up to $3.7 billion — including nearly 60 aircraft. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector general added that U.S. Central Command reported Iranian strikes at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

Washington — For the third time, the House voted Tuesday to block President Trump from taking further military action against Iran, with seven Republicans breaking with the president. The vote ended in a 220 to 204 tally, marking a symbolic rebuke of the president over the largely unpopular war. Tuesday's resolution drew more GOP support than the previous two efforts to limit Mr. Trump's war powers in June and July. Three new Republicans voted yes: Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn of Iowa. The four who supported the prior resolutions were Reps. Tom...

Rep. Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday for waging the Iran war without congressional approval. Massie (R-Ky.) made the surprise announcement on the House floor, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires congressional authorization to conduct military operations lasting longer than 90 days. “Peter Brian Hegseth, and and his capacity as Secretary of Defense has executed unlawful orders in contravention of Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973,” Massie declared. “Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a...

US President Donald Trump said he did not regret going to war against Iran despite the impact the conflict may have on the November US midterm elections. "I don't believe in the word 'regret.' You can always question yourself a little bit," Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham when asked if he regretted the Iran war due to the impact it may have on the elections. "If I had it do again, I would do exactly as I did," Trump said in the interview broadcast on Thursday on The Ingraham Angle show. Trump dismissed suggestions...

The U.S. national average price of diesel on Thursday surpassed $6 a gallon for the first time , according to price tracker GasBuddy, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s refineries have squeezed supply. Diesel fuels trucks, trains, ships and heavy equipment that keep global supply chains moving. It is also crucial to running farm equipment. The latest surge in fuel costs is adding to inflationary pressures that have already strained consumers and businesses this year, creating a political headache for President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers as they seek to defend thin congressional majorities in...

Top White ⁠House ⁠advisers, including Vice ⁠President JD Vance and Secretary ​of State Marco Rubio, have privately warned ‌President Donald Trump that ‌the conflict with Iran could ⁠extend ⁠through the remainder of his presidency, the Wall ​Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials. The White House did not immediately ​respond to a Reuters request for comment. The ⁠advisers ⁠told Trump in private ⁠discussions ​in the Oval Office and the Situation ​Room that ⁠Tehran could continue to resist U.S. pressure, potentially prolonging the conflict beyond Inauguration Day in January 2029, the ⁠Journal added. The reported warning contrasts with Trump's own...

Illegal migrants excused from Sunday Mass obligation: Indiana archbishop Foreigners who are willfully breaking America’s immigration laws do not have to go to Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation this month, according to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.Migrants who are in violation of the country’s laws are also now excused from attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, according to a new directive from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are currently working their way through Ohio and Indiana, arresting illegal immigrants. As a result, Archbishop Charles Thompson released a decree, written in Spanish, dispensing...

Crude oil prices jumped 3% on Wednesday as fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalates in the Persian Gulf, raising investors fears that energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz will fall. Brent futures were up 3% at $100.86 a barrel by 8:29 a.m. ET. It is the first time the international benchmark has crossed the $100 threshold since July. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures traded 3% higher to $95.84. The U.S. military destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers Tuesday in retaliation for attempted attacks on an American warship. The U.S. warship successfully evaded Iranian attack and no American personnel...

Donald Trump revealed a potential uniform for the US Space Force that has people comparing the service's new look to classic science fiction movies. The newest wing of the American military has been mocked in the past for the futuristic nature of their uniforms. However, many were taken aback when Trump posted a new 'Service Dress Uniform' for the force titled 'Next Generation' which directly references the 1997 film Starship Troopers. The design is inspired, according to the photo description, 'by the discipline and functionality of the starship trooper uniform modernized for the guardians of the space domain.' The color...

The U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack. The U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. In the...