The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Nitze, armed with surface-to-air and Tomahawk cruise missiles, was redeployed off the northeast coast of Saudi Arabia, as part of the US effort to “plug the holes” in its ally’s air defenses. [...]

An explosive essay calling out the lack of legitimate expertise about Iran ought to be a wake-up call for the US foreign policy field. Yet the same problem also affects Washington’s analysis of Russia, China and many other places. Imagine a field of study in which less than a third of the experts had related doctorates, half of them could not read, speak or write the language required, and just [...]

Benny Gantz, whose centrist bloc narrowly defeated Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in a snap election, says he is forming a government that will exclude the current prime minister – signaling the end of Bibi’s era may be near. [...]

The US and Saudis are so intent on pointing the finger at Iran for the oil facility strikes because admitting the Houthis could hurt the kingdom so badly after five years of war in Yemen means facing the war’s complete failure, an expert told Sputnik. However, if they do attack Iran, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has promised it’ll be “all-out war.” [...]

The US and Israel are discussing a mutual defense treaty that would further cement the already “tremendous” alliance between the two countries, President Donald Trump has revealed. [...]

With just days left before the elections in Israel, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a long meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the Russian leader's Sochi residence. The main reasons behind the Israeli’s PM visit this time around are “to minimise the Iranian role in the region, put pressure on Iran to limit its logistic (financial and military) support to Palestinian [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Saudi Arabia should buy Russian air defense systems to protect its oil facilities from drone attacks, pointing to Iran and Turkey, who operate S-300 and S-400 missiles, respectively. [...]

The presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey are meeting for talks centered on resolving the conflict in Syria. This is the first international public appearance of Hassan Rouhani as Iran is accused of Saudi Arabia attack by US. [...]

The devastating blitz on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry has led to a flurry of accusations from US officials blaming Iran. The reason for the finger-pointing is simple: Washington’s spectacular failure to protect its Saudi ally. [...]

A chief author of US President Donald Trump’s still under-wraps Middle East peace plan, Jason Greenblatt, will leave his post in government after the contentious deal is unveiled – though it’s unclear why. [...]

The US State Department is openly using organized crime tactics, including bribery and extortion, in an effort to bend Iran to its will after its usual allies refused to get sucked into a coalition to 'police' the Persian Gulf. [...]

The Israeli military has reportedly engaged in a cross-border exchange of fire, after an anti-tank missile – said to have come from Lebanon – landed near an Israeli border town. [...]

While Israeli officials have yet to directly confirm that Israel has carried out attacks against Iraq, Iraqi lawmakers claimed Tel Aviv was “absolutely” responsible for a spate of strikes against pro-government Popular Mobilisation Unit militia, adding that Baghdad was preparing to submit its evidence to the UN Security Council. [...]

Ankara is holding talks on purchasing the newest Su-57 jets from Moscow, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. Turkey was forced to seek jet fighters elsewhere after the US refused to sell it F-35 warplanes. [...]

Lebanon has accused Israel of being behind a drone strike on the office of Hezbollah near Beirut on 25 August, followed by another on Palestinian militant positions in eastern Lebanon. [...]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Russia for a working visit to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [...]

Lebanon, Iraq and Iran have declared recent Israeli aggression as an act of war after attacks on Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq over the weekend, promising devastating retaliation if the violence continues. [...]

On Jul. 23, an F-35 went fully visible on popular flight tracking website Flightradar24.com as it performed a mission out of Nevatim airbase. The aircraft could be monitored for about 1 hour as it went “feet wet” (over the sea) north of Gaza then flew northbound to operate near Haifa. [...]

The US State Department can’t seem to make up its mind about the cause of Iran’s economic woes, claiming Tehran’s “Marxist economy” is to blame even as it celebrates the devastation US sanctions have wrought on the country. [...]

The US State Department has informed the Greek government of its ‘strong position’ regarding foreign states providing any assistance to Iranian oil tanker that was recently released by Gibraltar despite all Washington’s pressure. [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned allies that time is running out to squash Iran while it’s weakened by an arms embargo, urging them to halt Tehran’s “destabilizing behavior” before it regains the ability to fight back. [...]

Earlier, key European powers Germany, France and the UK appeared to snub Washington’s requests for them to join a US-led mission against “Iranian aggression” in the Persian Gulf, with the three countries signaling support for a European-led security effort to “protect” commercial vessels operating in the region instead. [...]