US | DD News

March 21, 2026 10:56 AM

Israel attacks Tehran, Beirut as US sends Marines to Middle East

The Israeli military struck Iran and Beirut on Saturday as the U.S. was sending thousands more Marines to the Middle East and President Donald Trump accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz. More than 2,000 people have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, while Americans appear increasingly concerned at signs the war could expand further as it enters its fourth week. Israel said it was attacking Hezbollah on Saturda...

March 20, 2026 12:49 PM

US and Israeli war aims in Iran are not the same, US spy chief says

American and Israeli objectives for the war on Iran are not the same, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Thursday, with Israel focused on disabling Iran's leadership and U.S. President Donald Trump focused on destroying Iran's ballistic missile program and navy. "The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government," Gabbard told the House intelligence committee's annual hearing on w...

March 20, 2026 11:56 AM

Global oil prices fall up to 3% as US signals possible easing of Iran sanctions

Global oil prices declined on Friday after the United States signalled a potential easing of sanctions on Iranian crude, amid efforts to stabilise supplies and ensure smooth shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent Crude futures fell as much as 3.39 per cent to an intra-day low of $104.96 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 3.22 per cent to $92.47, also touching an intra-day low. The drop in oil prices followed remarks by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who ...

March 20, 2026 10:12 AM

US may remove sanctions on Iranian oil stranded in tankers, Bessent says

The U.S. may soon remove sanctions on Iranian oil stranded on tankers at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday as Washington seeks to curb prices soaring over Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. "In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water. It's about 140 million barrels," Bessent told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" program. He said the release of the sanctioned Iranian oil into global supplies would help keep oil prices down for...

March 18, 2026 1:01 PM

Top US security official quits, says Iran did not pose immediate threat

A top security official in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration resigned over the war in Iran on Tuesday, saying the country had posed no imminent threat to the United States. Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, is the first senior official in Trump's administration to resign over the conflict, now in its third week. "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war ...

March 18, 2026 9:38 AM

UAE could join any US-led effort to secure Strait of Hormuz, says senior official

The United Arab Emirates may join a U.S.-led effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran all but shut the vital waterway to ships as Tehran wages war with Israel and the United States, a senior Emirati official said on Tuesday. Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said talks were ongoing and no formal plan had been agreed, but that "big countries" in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe bore responsibility for ensuring the flow of trade and energy. "This i...

March 18, 2026 9:36 AM

Trump postpones trip to Beijing as Iran war delays China reset

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was postponing a highly anticipated trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the war with Iran upends U.S. foreign policy and delays an effort to ease tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. "We are resetting the meeting," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We're working with China. They were fine with it." Trump had been set to travel to Beijing from March 31 to April 2 for the first trip there of his 14-month-...

March 18, 2026 9:34 AM

Trump says NATO’s refusal to help on Iran is ‘very foolish mistake’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States had been informed by most of its NATO allies that they did not want to get involved with the country's military operation in Iran, a move he described as a "very foolish mistake." But Trump gave no indication that he plans to punish NATO allies for their stances, as he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office during the St. Patrick's Day visit of Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. Trump said NATO countries were supportive of th...

March 18, 2026 12:56 PM

Iran strikes Tel Aviv with cluster warheads in retaliation for killing of security chief

A defiant Iran said Israel's killing of security chief Ali Larijani and other key officials would not hinder its operations with replacements swiftly appointed, as Israel launched a swathe of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the U.S. and Israel did not understand that the Islamic Republic was a robust political system and did not depend on any single individual. The death of senior officials would not disrupt governance and the stat...

March 17, 2026 5:12 PM

Centre pushes PNG adoption amid West Asia tensions, seeks states’ support

Amid ongoing tensions in West Asia and rising concerns over energy supplies, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has outlined a series of measures to accelerate the adoption of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and expand city gas infrastructure across the country. Addressing an inter-ministerial press briefing on Tuesday, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the ministry, said that while crude oil and fuel supplies remain adequate, LPG availability continues to be an area of concern. “Petrol and d...