A flurry of U.S. Air Force spy and special operations aircraft activity has been reported over the Korean peninsula in recent days, coinciding with heightened concern that North Korea may be readying a major ballistic missile test or other provocation, including a possible nuclear detonation test. Published January 22, 2020
South Korea's deployment of a key naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday may be a show of support for the Trump administration's attempt to rally allies against Iran, but analysts say it is unlikely to ease a nasty military spending dispute between Washington and Seoul. Published January 21, 2020
Escalating U.S.-Iran tensions mean Afghanistan, which shares a border with Iran, could be the next proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran, a clash that threatens to undermine the Trump administration's pursuit of a peace deal with the Taliban and eventual drawdown of American troops. Published January 20, 2020
The exiled son of Iran's former shah said protests rocking the Tehran government could topple the clerical regime and called on Western powers to back the uprisings and abandon any hope that the regime will ever behave like a "normal" government. Published January 15, 2020
Russian President Vladimir Putin set the stage Wednesday for sweeping constitutional changes that could allow him to continue wielding more power than anyone else in Moscow long after his current presidential term ends in four years. Published January 15, 2020
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: North Korea talks have gone nowhere for months, but the mayor of Seoul -- a capital city just 35 miles from Kim Jong-un's expanding ballistic missile threat -- insists that peace will ultimately prevail, Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, and the Korean Peninsula will be reunified. Published January 14, 2020
President Trump has presented a posture of de-escalation following Iran's missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq, but Iranian leaders continue to spew threats, with some suggesting the strikes will soon be followed by additional attacks. Published January 9, 2020
The decision by Washington and NATO to suspend work with Iraqi forces against the Islamic State is raising difficult questions about whether the U.S.-Iranian clash is undercutting the fight against the terror group. Published January 8, 2020
Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq on Tuesday evening in retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian general, putting Washington and Tehran on a collision course that threatens to disrupt the entire Middle East, shake global markets and drag President Trump into a foreign conflict he has long sought to avoid. Published January 7, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday shot back at critics questioning the legal basis for last week's drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, asserting that President Trump "made the right decision" by authorizing the strike to protect U.S. personnel in the Middle East. Published January 7, 2020
The Middle East held its breath Monday as Iran's three-day mourning period for slain Gen. Qassem Soleimani ended with a mass outpouring of grief and heated vows of revenge against President Trump from top Iranian officials, while U.S. allies pleaded for calm in an attempt to de-escalate the spiraling crisis between Washington and Tehran. Published January 6, 2020
The Trump administration escalated its threats Sunday to hit Iran's top leaders with military strikes if Tehran or its proxies carry out any attacks against American personnel or interests in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week. Published January 5, 2020
Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by U.S. counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, killing three American Department of Defense personnel and destroying several U.S. aircraft and vehicles before they were repelled, U.S. and Kenyan authorities said. Published January 5, 2020
American and Kenyan military forces repelled an al-Shabab terrorist group attack Sunday at a key base in Kenya that U.S. officials use to provide counterterrorism support for East African partners, the Pentagon said. Published January 5, 2020
Iran's supreme leader vowed Friday to inflict "severe revenge" for the killing of the Islamic republic's elite military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani by an American drone strike in Iraq. Published January 3, 2020
President Trump has successfully hardened U.S. policy toward Iran since pulling out of the Obama-era nuclear deal 17 months ago, engineering a dramatic shift in policy that has rankled America's allies in Europe but won deep praise from Israel and several key Arab powers. Published January 3, 2020
The U.S. military claimed responsibility Thursday night for an airstrike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian military's elite Quds force, at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. Published January 2, 2020
The Trump administration scrambled to ramp up security at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and tamp down a brewing crisis in the Middle East on Tuesday after an Iran-backed militia launched a brazen attack that briefly breached the walls of the U.S. diplomatic compound in Baghdad. Published December 31, 2019
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was assured by Iraqi leaders in a phone call Tuesday that they would "guarantee the safety" of American personnel in Iraq after Iraqi Shiite militiamen broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, U.S. officials said. Published December 31, 2019
Faith leaders from dozens of nations gathered here over the weekend to promote unity, imploring each other to see diversity not as a stumbling block, but as the "cornerstone" for developing a peace that can elevate nations and its leaders. Published December 30, 2019
