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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang is a National Security Correspondent for The Washington Times. His reporting is regularly featured in the daily Threat Status newsletter.
Previously, he covered energy and the environment, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016, and also spent two years as a White House correspondent during the Obama administration.
Before coming to The Times in 2011, Ben worked as political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Netanyahu to meet Trump, talk Gaza ceasefire plan; Red Sea ship attack threatens peace push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his nation has the opportunity to bring a "great peace" to the Middle East ahead of his meeting with President Trump with a potential Israel-Hamas ceasefire at the top of their agenda.

July 6, 2025

Ship comes under gunfire, grenade attack in Red Sea off coast of Yemen

A ship came under attack Sunday while sailing through the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, British authorities said, leading to a shootout between the apparent attackers and armed security aboard the vessel.

July 6, 2025

Israel to attend peace talks but says Hamas wants ‘unacceptable’ changes to Trump-backed ceasefire

Israel will send a delegation to Qatar on Sunday for negotiations with Hamas but said that the Palestinian terrorist group is seeking "unacceptable" changes to a Gaza Strip ceasefire proposal backed by President Trump.

July 6, 2025

Israel-Iran ceasefire holds, but experts warn Tehran’s nuclear ambitions far from dead

A fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire held Tuesday and delivered a short-term political win to President Trump.

June 24, 2025

Iranian attack on U.S. air base in Qatar repelled; Trump says Tehran gave ‘early notice’ of assault

Iran launched a missile attack Monday against a key American military base in Qatar, but President Trump said that the U.S. had advance warning of the assault and suggested that the "very weak" Iranian aggression was mostly for show.

June 23, 2025

Embattled Iranian regime cornered, despite loud anti-U.S.protests from Russia, China

Iran appears to be getting little beyond rhetoric in terms of immediate, tangible support from its proxy network across the Middle East or its authoritarian allies abroad on the heels of U.S. airstrikes Saturday night that crippled Tehran's nuclear program.

June 22, 2025

‘Heightened threat environment’: DHS warns of cyberattacks and possible violence after Iran strikes

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning of a "heightened threat environment" across the country after U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites Saturday night.

June 22, 2025

After Iran strike, police in D.C., New York City step up security

Police leaders in New York City and the nation's capital said they are ramping up security at locations across the two cities in the wake of U.S. airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday.

June 21, 2025

U.S. bombs three Iranian nuclear sites: ‘Fordo is gone’

American forces bombed three Iranian nuclear sites Saturday, President Trump said, marking the U.S. entry into another Middle East conflict as Washington joined Israel in an aggressive military campaign against Tehran.

June 21, 2025

‘It will only get worse’: Trump warns next round of Israeli strikes on Iran will be ‘more brutal’

President Trump said Friday that the Israeli military campaign against Iran "will only get worse," and he urged Tehran to immediately make a deal with the U.S. "before there is nothing left."

June 13, 2025

Army aims to build, repair drones ‘in-house’ as 3D-printing revolution accelerates

Here's a way the Army can speed up the defense manufacturing process: Make things itself.

June 13, 2025

Israel launches preemptive strikes on Iran

Israel launched preemptive airstrikes on Iran early on Friday while Tehran reportedly scrambled fighter jets and the Trump administration warned Iran against targeting U.S. troops in response.

June 12, 2025

Could L.A. troop deployments be a pivotal moment for Pentagon chief Hegseth?

The deployment of active-duty Marines to Los Angeles to quell widespread and sometimes violent immigration raid protests could turn into a pivotal moment for the two men President Trump has put atop the U.S. military: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.

June 10, 2025

Recruitment surges in ‘warrior’ culture

The Army has exceeded its fiscal year 2025 recruiting goal with four months to spare, officials announced Tuesday, with 61,000 future soldiers signing up and average per-day enlistments up over last year by more than 50%.

June 3, 2025

Attack deep inside Russia gives edge to Ukraine, puts pressure on Putin

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators seemed to make little progress during their second round of peace talks Monday in Istanbul, but seismic developments on the battlefield Sunday reshaped the conflict and seemingly put the momentum firmly on Kyiv's side.

June 2, 2025

‘Russian Pearl Harbor’: Moscow stunned after Ukrainian drones hit 5 bases, destroy 40 aircraft

Ukrainian forces destroyed more than 40 aircraft and struck five separate Russian air bases in a surprise assault Sunday that represented one of the most devastating, embarrassing blows to Moscow's war machine since its war with Kyiv began more than three years ago.

June 2, 2025

U.S.-backed aid group denies that 31 Palestinians were killed on their way to get food in Rafah

Officials with the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said that 31 Palestinians were shot dead Sunday on their way to get food from an aid distribution site.

June 1, 2025

China accuses Hegseth of ‘Cold War mentality,’ says U.S. turning Pacific into ‘powder keg’

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a blistering statement that accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of pushing a "Cold War mentality" and stoking "bloc confrontation" between China and the U.S.

June 1, 2025

Trump pulls billionaire Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, cites ‘prior associations’

President Trump is pulling the nomination of billionaire and private commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.

June 1, 2025

Trump sees opportunity in Syria despite leader’s al Qaeda past

For the new, politically untested Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, it was a seismic, high-profile development: an in-person May 14 meeting with U.S. President Trump, a promise to lift economic sanctions on Damascus, and an endorsement from both Mr. Trump and key Middle East leaders.

May 26, 2025

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Ben Wolfgang

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Netanyahu to meet Trump, talk Gaza ceasefire plan; Red Sea ship attack threatens peace push

Ship comes under gunfire, grenade attack in Red Sea off coast of Yemen

Israel to attend peace talks but says Hamas wants ‘unacceptable’ changes to Trump-backed ceasefire

Israel-Iran ceasefire holds, but experts warn Tehran’s nuclear ambitions far from dead

Iranian attack on U.S. air base in Qatar repelled; Trump says Tehran gave ‘early notice’ of assault

Embattled Iranian regime cornered, despite loud anti-U.S.protests from Russia, China

‘Heightened threat environment’: DHS warns of cyberattacks and possible violence after Iran strikes

After Iran strike, police in D.C., New York City step up security

U.S. bombs three Iranian nuclear sites: ‘Fordo is gone’

‘It will only get worse’: Trump warns next round of Israeli strikes on Iran will be ‘more brutal’

Army aims to build, repair drones ‘in-house’ as 3D-printing revolution accelerates

Israel launches preemptive strikes on Iran

Could L.A. troop deployments be a pivotal moment for Pentagon chief Hegseth?

Recruitment surges in ‘warrior’ culture

Attack deep inside Russia gives edge to Ukraine, puts pressure on Putin

‘Russian Pearl Harbor’: Moscow stunned after Ukrainian drones hit 5 bases, destroy 40 aircraft

U.S.-backed aid group denies that 31 Palestinians were killed on their way to get food in Rafah

China accuses Hegseth of ‘Cold War mentality,’ says U.S. turning Pacific into ‘powder keg’

Trump pulls billionaire Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, cites ‘prior associations’

Trump sees opportunity in Syria despite leader’s al Qaeda past