April 24, 2026 2:39 PM

China rejects Trump accusation that intercepted Iran ship was ‘gift from China’

China's foreign ministry on Friday rejected an accusation by U.S. President Donald Trump that an Iranian-flagged cargo ship intercepted by U.S. forces was a "gift from China." The U.S. said it fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran's military said the ship had been travelling from China and vowed retaliation against what it called "armed piracy by the U.S. military." Trump on Tuesday told CNBC the ship "had some things on it, which was...

April 9, 2026 9:28 AM

Trump criticizes NATO over Iran in meeting with alliance’s boss

U.S. President Donald Trump vented his frustration with NATO during a private meeting with its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, on Wednesday as relations in the military alliance reached a crisis point over the Iran war. "He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point," Rutte said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," after spending more than two hours at the White House. "This was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends." Rut...

April 6, 2026 12:17 PM

How many people have been killed in the Iran war?

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East in the Iran war, which began when the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on February 28. Those strikes triggered Iranian attacks on Israel, U.S. bases and the Gulf states, while opening a new front in Lebanon. Here are the latest death tolls reported. IRAN U.S.-based rights group HRANA said 3,540 people have been killed since the war erupted. It said 1,616 of those were civilians, including at least 244 children. The group says its data co...

April 2, 2026 11:17 AM

In prime-time address, Trump tells wary public Iran goals nearly achieved

U.S. President Donald Trump told the nation in a televised speech on Wednesday night that the U.S. military had nearly accomplished its goals in Iran, but he declined to offer a concrete timeline for winding down the conflict. Facing a war-wary American public, sliding approval ratings and pressure from some allies to outline his war aims in more precise and consistent terms, Trump said the U.S. had destroyed Iran's navy and air force, and crippled its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. ...

March 11, 2026 10:08 AM

US destroys mine-laying vessels as Trump warns Iran over Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military "eliminated" 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement, as President Donald Trump warned that any mines laid in the Strait by Iran must be removed immediately. Trump previously said the U.S. had "completely destroyed" 10 inactive mine-laying vessels. In apparent response to media reports that Iran had begun laying mines in the waterway, a key passage for oil shipments, Trump poste...

March 9, 2026 9:13 AM

Iran names Khamenei’s hardline son Mojtaba as new supreme leader

Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel. Mojtaba, a cleric with influence inside Iran's security forces and vast business networks under his father, had been viewed as a frontrunner in the lead-up to Sunday's vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics tasked with choosing Ali Khamenei's successor. "By a decis...

March 2, 2026 10:18 PM

Top U.S. general outlines initial timeline of U.S. military operation in Iran

Top U.S. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Monday gave an initial timeline and some details on the start of the U.S. military operation in Iran. So far four U.S. service members have been killed and four others remain seriously wounded, the military has said. FEBRUARY 27: At 3:38 p.m. ET (2038 GMT), the U.S. Central Command received "the final go order" from President Donald Trump: "Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck." U.S. forces made final prepar...

October 22, 2025 10:37 PM

US military strikes suspected drug vessel in the Pacific

The U.S. military carried out a strike against a suspected drug vessel late on Tuesday in Pacific Ocean waters off of South America, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday. The strike is the first known U.S. military operation in the Pacific since starting a new offensive against the drug trade that led to at least seven strikes in the Caribbean and dramatically raised U.S. tensions with Venezuela and Colombia. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not provide further detail...

October 5, 2024 12:03 AM

US military strikes Houthi targets in Yemen, official says

The U.S. military has carried out multiple strikes against targets linked to Iran-aligned Houthi fighters in Yemen, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. The official declined to comment on further details.  The Houthis have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November and say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers. (Reuters)...

July 20, 2024 4:51 PM

Panel studying US war in Afghanistan holds first public hearing

A commission created by Congress to conduct an independent review of the 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan held its first public hearing on Friday, pledging to be "unflinching" in examining how and why key decisions were made and who made them. But, while accountability "is centrally important, our focus is less on assigning credit or blame ... than on extracting and applying its lessons" for future conflicts, said co-chair Colin Jackson. The panel's first public hearing came just over a month b...