Mideast Conflict

Iranians began to regain internet access on Wednesday after authorities ended a monthslong shutdown. But users said service was slow and spotty in some areas, with apps like YouTube and Instagram heavily restricted, as they were before the cutoff began during nationwide protests in January.

U.S. military contractors need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of three key weapons systems used heavily in the Iran war, according to an analysis released Wednesday, adding to concerns that American forces would have limited firepower in any future conflict with China.

Iran on Tuesday denounced the most recent U.S. strikes as a sign of 'bad faith and unreliability' as negotiations pressed on toward a possible deal to end the war, and the Islamic Republic began restoring internet access after one of the longest nationwide shutdowns ever.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, close to the waterline, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat.

The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defence” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority nations must normalize ties with Israel as part of efforts to reach a deal with Iran, adding fresh uncertainty into protracted peace negotiations.

The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday, though U.S. President Donald Trump said he told representatives 'not to rush into a deal.'

Israeli strikes pounded south and east Lebanon Sunday despite a ceasefire as Hezbollah’s chief expressed hope for an agreement between Iran and the United States to end the Middle East war that includes Lebanon.

Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been 'largely negotiated' after calls with Israel and other allies in the region.

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon Friday killed 10 people, including six paramedics and a Syrian girl, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite the fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday there was “slight progress” during talks with Iran amid uncertainty about whether a deal will be reached or war will resume.

Israel must halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and curb growing settler violence, seven major Western nations said on Friday, accusing the Israeli government of aggravating tensions in the West Bank.

The U.S. military said Wednesday that it boarded an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was suspected of trying to violate the American blockade, the latest action by the Trump administration to try to push Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

As negotiations with the United States hang in the balance, a hard-line Iranian general linked to notorious attacks at home and abroad over the past decades is believed to have seized a place near the center of power.