The US struck Iranian military targets for the second time this week and Kuwait said it responded to missile and drone threats, highlighting the fragility of the ceasefire and the challenge of forging a peace accord that would restore global energy flows.

As President Donald Trump continues to suggest a deal with Iran is close, he finds himself caught between two extremes: Tehran’s demand for financial relief and an end to attacks, and pressure from Republican hawks to “finish the job” — or at least not to sign a bad deal.

The US is touting progress toward a peace deal with Iran to end the nearly three-month war, even amid fresh hostilities and uncertainty over the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The US and Iran traded threats of escalation as the weeks-long standoff in the Middle East dragged on without resolution.

The US military boarded and later released an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, keeping up pressure on Tehran’s economy as President Donald Trump presses for a deal to end their conflict.

The Pentagon said it was permanently cutting about 4,000 soldiers from Europe as part of a broader review of forces that has generated anxiety among US allies on the continent and elsewhere in the world.

Kyiv has said that the US is seeking the transfer of technology and access to intellectual property rights from Ukraine as part of a drone deal that is awaiting approval at the highest political level, a person familiar with the matter said.

The State Department has approved potential sales of up to $4.2 billion in helicopters and related equipment to South Korea, according to announcements Monday.

The Defense Department may not have sufficient resources in Africa to properly identify when Islamic State and al-Qaeda offshoots in the restive Sahel region develop the capability to mount attacks on the US homeland, the head of US Africa Command warned.

The US has destroyed more than 90% of Iran’s inventory of around 8,000 naval mines, the commander of US forces in the Middle East told lawmakers on Thursday, in a written statement that did not address Tehran’s continued control of the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Lawmakers with oversight of Pentagon spending pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the growing costs of the Iran war, as President Donald Trump suggested a fragile ceasefire with Tehran could break down.

President Donald Trump said he will discuss US arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a meeting this week, a move that risks undermining America’s longstanding support for the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.

The US was waiting on Iran’s response to its latest proposal to end the war after suggesting word could come imminently, following clashes in the Strait of Hormuz that strained a monthlong ceasefire.

The US said it expects Iran to respond to its latest proposal to end their war imminently, as clashes in the Strait of Hormuz threatened to further fracture a month-long ceasefire.

The US struck military targets in Iran after the country fired on three Navy destroyers sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, an escalation that threatened to fracture a fragile ceasefire and reignite hostilities even as the two sides say they’re discussing an end to the war.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the sale of hundreds of prized air-defense interceptors and other weapons to Middle East partners in deals worth $25.8 billion, three times the amount disclosed when the administration announced the agreements last week.

The US military disabled an Iran-flagged tanker that tried to dock at an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of President Donald Trump’s blockade, the latest flareup around the Strait of Hormuz.

The State Department has approved Ukraine’s request to purchase up to $374 million worth of GPS-guided bomb kits, according to an announcement Tuesday.

The US military helped two American-flagged ships go through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a broader effort to open a lane through the vital waterway, the commander of US Central Command told reporters.

The US military helped two American-flagged ships go through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a broader effort to open a lane through the vital waterway, the commander of US Central Command told reporters.