Washington / Tehran / Persian Gulf — Guns are firing and diplomats are talking. In what may be the defining paradox of the current US-Iran war, Washington is simultaneously conducting active military operations against Iranian-linked targets and waiting with a patience that surprises even seasoned observers of American foreign policy for Tehran’s formal answer to…

Israel has struck Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire was declared with Hezbollah last month killing the commander of the militant group’s most elite fighting unit and triggering an immediate exchange of fire across Lebanon’s southern border, even as fragile US-Iran peace talks hang in the balance. In the early hours of May…

Washington / Tehran — It was supposed to be maximum pressure done right. Donald Trump returned to the White House with a clear Iran strategy: squeeze Tehran economically until it had no choice but to negotiate, back that pressure with credible military threat, and walk away with a deal bigger and better than anything the…

Washington / Tel Aviv — As the Iran-Israel war continues to dominate global headlines, former and now-returned U.S. President Donald Trump has broken his silence on one of the most consequential and least understood — decisions of the escalating Israel-Iran conflict: why he ordered a pause on a planned U.S. military operation targeting Iran’s access…

May 6, 2026 | Defense & Diplomacy It lasted exactly one day. Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump launched Project Freedom his signature military operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz he hit pause. But make no mistake about what that pause does and does not mean. The Hormuz ship…

May 5, 2026 | Defense & Geopolitics What began as a US Navy escort operation quickly turned into the most direct military confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz since Project Freedom launched and now President Donald Trump is using the moment to recruit allies, starting with Seoul. On Monday, Trump took to Truth Social to…

President Donald Trump has launched a bold naval operation dubbed “Project Freedom” to guide thousands of stranded commercial vessels safely out of the Strait of Hormuz, framing the high-risk mission as a humanitarian gesture even as Iran warns of military retaliation. In a sweeping announcement on Sunday, May 3, Trump announces the United States Navy…

President Donald Trump rattled global energy markets and diplomatic circles on Friday, May 1, when he declared that the United States could be “better off” if no peace agreement is reached with Iran a stark signal that the administration is preparing for a prolonged confrontation, or possibly a return to full-scale combat. “Frankly, maybe we’re…

The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire that US President Donald Trump brokered in April 2026 is fraying at the edges and Trump is now directly telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rein in the scale of Israeli strikes on Lebanon before the fragile truce collapses entirely. In an interview with Axios published on April 29, 2026, Trump…

The Trump administration is rallying international partners to form a new naval and diplomatic alliance aimed at restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as vessel traffic through one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints remains at a near-standstill following months of escalating conflict with Iran. A State Department cable dated April 28,…