August 26, 2026 10:32 AM

US spy chief visits Russia for meetings, media reports

U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, U.S. media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources. The trip would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by a U.S. spy chief since Ratcliffe's predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. CBS News and Axios reported the visit by Ratcliffe, U.S. President ...

August 26, 2026 5:16 PM

Iran and Oman plan for temporary Hormuz corridor as impasse with US persists

Iran has held new talks with neighbouring Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz, blockaded over nearly six months of conflict, with Oman's foreign minister saying he was hopeful a temporary corridor through the waterway could be announced soon. Iran and Oman have held on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling traffic through the strait, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February. Most shipping has since been shut down, as ...

August 26, 2026 8:41 AM

Iran vows to resist widened US sanctions, says Washington seeks talks

Iran denounced on Tuesday expanded U.S. sanctions aimed at isolating its economy as an act of "gross lawlessness", expressing confidence that many countries wouldnot join the pressure campaign. Almost six months into a conflict the U.S. has struggled to resolve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing options. While he said countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system, he...

August 26, 2026 8:38 AM

Trump says Strait of Hormuz has been demined, warns Iran not to plant more

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that all mines had been detonated or removed from international waters of the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran has been told that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States, through its Space Force, was watching "every square inch" of the Strait, a key waterway in the global energy supply chain. "There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect," Trump said. ...

August 24, 2026 11:52 AM

‘Entering the endgame’: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday (local time) said the Trump administration was entering the “endgame” in its campaign against Iran and announced what he described as an “economic D-Day” aimed at severing the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines. In a post on X, Bessent said, “President Trump has dismantled Iran’s military capabilities, destroyed nearly 100 percent of its military factories, and buried its nuclear program.” “We are now entering the endgame. At daw...

August 20, 2026 1:09 AM

UN’s Antonio Guterres seriously concerned by US sanctions on ICC

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is seriously concerned by the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, a U.N. spokesperson said on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed the sanctions on Tuesday in the latest escalation in the Trump administration's campaign against The Hague-based court, which was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide an...

August 19, 2026 11:03 PM

J&K an ‘important part of India’, US to review travel advisory: Envoy Sergio Gor

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Wednesday described Jammu and Kashmir as an “important part of India” and indicated that Washington may reconsider its travel advisory for the Union Territory, citing significant steps taken by the Centre and the J&K administration to improve security. Gor made the remarks after meeting J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar during his maiden visit to the Union Territory. He arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday as part of a two-day visit to J&a...

August 19, 2026 1:12 AM

Kushner’s talks with Israel, Hamas end without breakthrough on Trump Gaza plan

U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner left Jerusalem on Monday without a breakthrough after two days of talks with Israeli and Hamas leaders over a stalled U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza, with both sides standing firm on key demands. Kushner met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel a day after meeting the political leader of Hamas in Egypt in a bid to revive the plan. Israel has carried out air strikes and seized more territory in Gaza despite an October...

August 19, 2026 1:11 AM

US sanctions International Criminal Court president, senior lawyer

The U. S. imposed sanctions on Tuesday on the International Criminal Court's president and a senior trial lawyer at the court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. The move is the latest escalation in the Trump administration's campaign against The Hague-based court, which was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. is not a member of the court. Rubio said in a statement that he was imposing sanctions on Tomoko ...

August 19, 2026 12:28 AM

Trump says no talks planned with Iran, Tehran says Strait of Hormuz still shut

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and none were scheduled, and he insisted that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting an earlier Iranian assertion that the critical waterway remained shut to shipping. The receding prospects of a deal to end the nearly six-month conflict drove up oil prices again on Tuesday, while stock markets sagged and borrowing costs for major economies including the U.S. hit multi-decade highs, amid concerns about the lo...