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Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a testy exchange on Iran and the state of the Strait of Hormuz. At a Tuesday Senate hearing, Kennedy questioned both Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John D. Caine on the Strait as tensions have escalated between the United States and Iran with the U.S. launching days of strikes and Iran continuing to target ships in the Strait. “Will they put tolls on the Strait?” Kennedy asked Caine. “I don’t know, sir. That’s a decision that’s a hypothetical and will depend on what happens in the...

Donald Trump is weighing up a massive expansion of the war with Iran after Tehran launched fresh strikes against US military sites across the Gulf, including Amazon services in Bahrain and vital power and water infrastructure in Kuwait. Nearly 100 US service members have been injured in recent weeks, according to the Pentagon, as the latest round of fighting enters its tenth day. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Arthur Scott-Geddes look at the news that Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt are trying to broker a mini 10-day ceasefire even as Iran has hit two more tankers...

great 10 minute video that just came out this morning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AUZNcLKS4U&t=3s 137,000 Views --- Be there or be square

“The display shows Donald Trump and members of his family above coffins draped in US flags alongside the slogan 'Blood for Blood'. Images circulated from Tehran showed billboards portraying President Trump alongside members of his family above coffin-shaped graphics bearing the slogan 'Blood for Blood'. Separate displays reportedly featured TRUMP INSIDE A COFFIN, accompanied by threats written in both English and Persian. The imagery coincided with public messaging from Iranian authorities and supporters following several days of intensified US military operations. According to reports, similar anti-US banners have appeared across parts of Tehran as officials continue to accuse Washington of...

Although Russia has not directly intervened in the US-Israeli war with Iran, the conflict has underscored the nature and extent of its strategic partnership with the Islamic Republic. Moscow has provided Tehran with satellite targeting data for strikes on US forces as well as delivered advanced fiber-optic drone technology. It has amplified Iran’s propaganda campaign against the West, while benefiting from the war’s spillover effects. The Russia-Iran axis poses a real threat to the US and its allies; it demands a coherent and resolute response. Why It Matters for the US Russia is arming Iran. Russia has a long history...

en. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy Captain and former astronaut, earned the ire of the Pentagon last week for raising concerns over U.S. weapons stockpiles that have been depleted by the Iran War. Citing a Department of Defense (DOD) briefing he had received, Kelly told CBS’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan it could take “years” to replenish stockpiles of Tomahawks, Patriots, and other long-range munitions that have been deployed in the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran—a reality that could leave the U.S. vulnerable around the world. Those comments prompted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to launch an investigation into...

A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz by resuming strikes and reimposing the blockade is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war. Trump has tried air and missile attacks, a naval quarantine and now the calibrated use of firepower to try to coerce Tehran to agree to his terms, in addition to diplomatic inducements. But Iran has exploited its proximity to a major oil export route to defy Washington...

Summarise the video This video provides an analysis of the recent escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran, following the collapse of a ceasefire (1:54). The presenter argues that recent U.S. strikes represent a strategic effort to dismantle Iran's infrastructure rather than a simple retaliatory measure (1:12). Key areas targeted include: Chabahar Port: The destruction of the maritime control tower at Iran's only deep-water port with Indian Ocean access, which served as a critical bypass for the Strait of Hormuz (0:12-0:37, 3:25-4:09). Rail Corridor: Strikes on railway bridges in Golestan province that facilitate trade connections between Iran,...

“We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll become the guardian angel of the strait, and we should be reimbursed for that,” he said. “When we do that we’re going to be reimbursed because the other nations are very wealthy, they’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing unlike we had for many years.” “We guarded the strait for 50 years, and we never got paid for it,” he added. “We guarded it for nothing.” U.S. Central Command (Centcom) announced Sunday that it “completed a new wave of offensive strikes against Iran” and...

U.S. forces began carrying out new strikes on Iran on July 11, in response to an Iranian attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes began around 7:15 p.m. ET, and were made in response to an Iranian attack on the Cyprus-flagged container ship M/V GFS Galaxy. CENTCOM said one of the vessel’s civilian crew members is missing following the Iranian attack, and the ship is unable to continue its journey due to an onboard fire and damage to its engine room. “In response, the United States is imposing a...

After the US launched a third round of strikes against Iran on Sunday morning, Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, posted on X: "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay." The fresh escalation occurred after Iran's IRGC Navy said it attacked a container that was exiting the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorised route and ignored its warnings. In a statement on X, Centcom said a civilian crew member of M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, was missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engine-room damage.

The unexplained attacks have added a dangerous new layer of uncertainty to an already volatile conflict, raising concerns that additional countries may now be conducting military operations against Iran without publicly acknowledging their involvement.New Airstrikes Came After U.S. Said Its Campaign Had EndedThe U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday morning that it had completed a coordinated operation striking approximately 90 targets inside Iran.Yet only hours later, Iranian state media reported another wave of explosions and airstrikes across the southern provinces of Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan.Those attacks occurred after the United States had publicly stated its operation was complete.CENTCOM...

The US is redirecting an armada of warships — including two aircraft carriers – toward Iran as President Trump threatens to reinstate the blockade on Iranian ports. Maritime trackers on Friday spotted the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush entering the Gulf of Oman — a move experts in military planning say would be necessary to re-establish the blockade that crippled the Iranian economy. “More than 20 US Navy warships are patrolling waters across the Middle East as CENTCOM forces continue promoting regional security and stability,” US Central Command posted to X this week. Asked about restarting the...

Arab countries attacking Iran

Technical talks between the United States and Iran are ongoing despite recent strikes and apparent rising tensions. A United States official confirmed to Townhall that “the United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue,” adding that “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”The official added that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries last month “is performance-based, and Iran’s actions constitute failed performance at an unacceptable level.”NEW: @townhallcom can independently confirm other reporting that Iran talks are ongoing despite recent strikes.From a U.S. official:“President Trump made his feelings very clear yesterday in no...

Israel recently shared intelligence with the US about a new Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump, according to a report. The latest assassination plan, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, comes after years of Iranian regime threats to kill Trump as revenge for the 2020 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani by US forces. When asked for comment, the White House referred The Post to Trump’s Wednesday remarks at the NATO summit in Ankara. ”They want to take out the US leader — me,” Trump said. “I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m...

Iran launched missiles and drones toward American military bases in four Middle Eastern countries Thursday following a second night of US strikes on the Islamic Republic. Tehran said it targeted Patriot missile interceptors in Kuwait, early warning systems in Qatar, and fuel depots in Bahrain, which is also the home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. Iran also fired at least 10 ballistic missiles toward Jordan’s Azraq military base, which hosts the US Air Force’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, according the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mourners at a funeral procession in Mashhad, Iran, hold a red banner with "WE...

‘My whole life, all I do is deals,” President Trump said Wednesday, but Iran’s regime “is from a different school,” he had to admit. “They’re liars, they’re cheats, they’re sick people.” Mr. Trump cited the tens of thousands of Iranians slaughtered by the regime in January and explained how its word has proved worthless. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” he said.The President is so mercurial that it’s impossible to know if he’s serious that the cease-fire is “over,” as he said. He could declare it back on tomorrow. But he’s right that Iran’s regime has been wasting...

War is back on in Iran on Wednesday after Tehran launched attacks on trade vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he considers the tentative ceasefire with Iran to be "over," telling reporters alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the alliance's annual summit in Ankara, Turkey, that the agreement had become "a waste of time." "For me, I think it's over," Trump said. "As far as I'm concerned it's just a waste of time." "They're liars," Trump said. "We make a deal. ... They go outside, talk to the press. They say, 'We never even...

President Trump said the U.S. would likely launch more strikes against Iran Wednesday night, telling reporters at a NATO summit in Turkey "we hit them very hard last night," and "we're going to hit them hard again tonight." Earlier Wednesday Mr. Trump said, "as far as I'm concerned, it's over," when asked about the ceasefire with Iran. After an exchange of strikes by both countries, Mr. Trump called Iran's leaders "sick" and declared it "a waste of time dealing with them."