Vaughn Cockayne

Iran’s foreign minister to travel to China as Strait of Hormuz tensions simmer

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to travel to Beijing Tuesday, marking his first meeting with his Chinese counterpart since the start of the war with the U.S. and Israel.

May 5, 2026

Iran threatens ships as Trump launches mission to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Iran threatened ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, forcing the U.S. to fire on Tehran's speedy boats and threatening a fragile ceasefire as President Trump launched a bold operation to break the economic logjam in the Middle East.

May 4, 2026

Chief of naval operations outlines ‘hedge’ strategy to maintain U.S. dominance

The U.S. is currently incapable of building ships faster than China, so the head of the U.S. Navy is pushing a next-generation doctrine of smarter force packaging and autonomous system integration to sustain American naval dominance globally.

May 1, 2026

Pentagon partners with major AI companies for use in classified networks

The Pentagon announced agreements with seven of the world's largest artificial intelligence companies Friday to integrate the advanced technology into U.S. military networks.

May 1, 2026

U.S. optimistic the blockade will force Iran to reopen Hormuz

U.S. officials insisted Thursday the economic pressure from the Navy blockade of Iranian ports will force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, relieving global economic pressure that has driven up energy prices over the past two months.

April 30, 2026

Ukraine urges Israel to seize Russian vessel allegedly carrying stolen grain

Ukraine's top prosecutor on Wednesday requested that Israeli forces seize a Russian ship carrying grain that he says was stolen from territory occupied by Russia.

April 29, 2026

Gas prices rise to highest point since war’s start; Trump insists Iran in ‘state of collapse’

Gas prices in the U.S. have reached their highest levels since the start of the Iran war, putting intense pressure on President Trump even as he insists that the Islamic republic is on the verge of collapse.

April 28, 2026

UAE says it will leave OPEC in major blow to global oil cartel

The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday it will leave OPEC, the cartel that organizes production among the world's largest oil producers, on Friday.

April 28, 2026

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy hits Israel over accepting Russia’s ‘stolen’ grain shipment

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday accused Israel of accepting Russian shipments filled with stolen Ukrainian grain.

April 28, 2026

Iran promises to reopen strait if U.S. agrees to postpone talks on nuclear program

The White House said Monday it received an offer from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if talks around its nuclear program are postponed to another time, prompting a debate among President Trump and his security team.

April 27, 2026

Putin tells Iran: Russia ‘will do everything’ to secure peace in Mideast as talks with U.S. stall

Russian President Vladimir Putin reasserted Russia's support for Tehran during a meeting in St. Petersburg Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

April 27, 2026

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: Too soon to remove sanctions on Iran

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday that it is too early to consider removing sanctions on Iran, even if the Islamic republic agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- a rare rebuke of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's earlier proposal.

April 27, 2026

Trump rules out using nuclear weapons against Iran

President Trump on Thursday emphatically insisted that he will not use a nuclear weapon against Iran as the conflict nears its third month.

April 23, 2026

U.S. intercepts another Iranian oil tanker as Trump threatens to sink ships laying mines

The U.S. Navy interdicted another Iranian-linked oil tanker on Thursday, as the U.S. and Iran continued to trade ship seizures, both near the Strait of Hormuz and in the Indo-Pacific region.

April 23, 2026

Iran says it is collecting transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian lawmakers said Thursday the Islamic republic has begun collecting fees from commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, even as traffic through the crucial waterway grinds to a halt.

April 23, 2026

Ship seizures raise tensions in the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. navigates peace talks with Iran

Iran's naval forces fired on and seized two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, as Tehran and U.S. forces vied for control of critical waterways and the upper hand in tenuous peace talks.

April 22, 2026

U.K., France host military leaders from 30 nations to plan reopening of Strait of Hormuz

The U.K. and France hosted military planners from more than 30 nations on Wednesday for discussions of a detailed plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the valuable shipping lane that Iran has closed for over a month.

April 22, 2026

IRGC attacks 3 ships near Strait of Hormuz following ceasefire extension

Iran's naval forces fired on and seized three container ships near the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday and directed them to Iranian ports, as the Islamic republic looks to reassert control over the strategic waterway.

April 22, 2026

Trump extends Iran ceasefire, citing ‘seriously fractured’ government in Tehran as peace talks stall

President Trump said Tuesday he will postpone attacks on Iran while its "fractured" leadership tries to submit a proposal for lasting peace.

April 21, 2026

U.S. forces board sanctioned tanker in Indo-Pacific carrying Iranian oil, Pentagon says

The U.S. military intercepted and boarded a sanctioned cargo vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indo-Pacific region Tuesday, the Pentagon said.

April 21, 2026