President Trump is reportedly waiting for the Iranians to get on the phone and start talking business to resolve the dangerous looming military crisis in the Persian Gulf. Step One was for the US to pile on the threats of an “unrelenting” assault on the Islamic Republic. Step Two is for the US president to dangle an overture for dialogue with Tehran in order to avert war. [...]

Earlier this week, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced it had rushed to patch up a security hole in its messaging service, which it believed had been exploited by the Israeli-owned NSO Group. [...]

A year after President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal, its European signatories, who still honor the agreement, have expressed concern over the US decision not to extend waivers on oil trade with Tehran. [...]

The contract for Turkey to procure Russian air defence systems has been vehemently opposed by Washington, who is trying to convince Ankara to ditch it threatening the country with sanctions and freezing deliveries of F-35 fighters. [...]

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s commitment to its deal with Russia on the purchase of S-400 missile systems, adding that Turkey may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems. [...]

The United States on Monday announced its decision to halt shipments of F-35-related equipment due to Ankara's plans to purchase Russia's S-400 missile defence system. Turkey, a US-NATO ally, has been planning to purchase 100 F-35 fighter jets from the US. Sputnik discussed this with Oliver Steward, a political strategist from the UK. [...]

Earlier, speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, US Vice President Mike Pence boasted about "renewed American leadership on the world stage," while talking up sanctions against Russia, tough tariffs against China, 'confrontation' with Iran, and US intentions to withdraw from the INF Treaty. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo face an uphill struggle to force other nations to abandon their oil trade with Iran, former European Union consultant Paolo von Schirach told Sputnik. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US government is ending sanctions waivers for Iranian oil importers to provoke a violent insurrection or establish a casus belli for an external invasion, former UK Ambassador Peter Ford told Sputnik. [...]

Israel has the full arsenal needed to take on Hezbollah in Lebanon and eliminate the Iranian threat in Syria, the outgoing IDF Northern Command chief boasted, warning Damascus against using S-300s to protect its sovereignty. [...]

The Israeli elections on 9 April resulted in the victory of Benjamin Netanyahu, who was officially appointed as the country's prime minister on 17 April. Speaking to Sputnik, Israeli publicist Avigdor Eskin shared his opinion on what to expect from the Netanyahu cabinet in the near future. [...]

Democratic 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders called the government of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu “racist” during a CNN town hall. Another blue candidate, Beto O’Rourke, used similar wording to blast the Israeli leader. [...]

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will name a settlement in the Golan Heights after Donald Trump, in a show of gratitude for the US president's decision to recognize the region as Israeli territory. [...]

The statement follows a warning by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem that Damascus hasn't ruled out a military solution to the Golan Heights issue, which came to the fore in late March when US President Trump recognised Israel's sovereignty over the Golan. [...]

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US decision to label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a “terrorist organization” for allegedly financing and promoting terrorism in the region. [...]

The US Defence Department is searching for new sources to replace Turkish-made F-35 aircraft parts after Washington suspended activities associated with Turkey's F-35 operational capability, Pentagon spokesperson Charles Summers said in a statement. [...]

The United States has stopped shipping equipment related to the F-35 fighter jet to Turkey. Washington’s move comes after Ankara insisted on purchasing the Russian S-400 missile defense system. [...]

Saudi King Salman said he “absolutely rejects” any steps that would undermine Syrian sovereignty over the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, after US President Donald Trump recognized the area as Israeli territory. [...]

The pro-Israeli bias of Washington under President Donald Trump has become so glaringly obvious that the Palestinian Authority will not accept the US as a mediator in the conflict with the Jewish state, Mahmoud Abbas said. [...]

Washington risks losing the Turkish arms market if it continues to delay the delivery of F-35s agreed upon with Ankara, as Turkey can simply switch to buying warplanes from Russia, RT was told. [...]

US senators have proposed a bipartisan bill to make good on Washington's blackmail of Turkey – by halting the agreed transfer of 100 F-35 jets until Ankara tears up its deal with Moscow to buy S-400 air defense complexes. [...]

When Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary, took a wrong turning in Sarajevo in 1914 the world found itself on the road to WW1. With Donald Trump’s self-serving recognition of Israel’s illegal annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights, a similar wrong turn has been taken, and it has paved the way to the next Middle East War. [...]