Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing Thursday that U.S. forces in the Middle East are postured to restart combat operations if Iran does not agree to a peace deal. The statement signals Washington is maintaining active military leverage alongside ongoing diplomatic talks with Tehran. Hegseth's framing positions military readiness not as a contingency but as an explicit bargaining instrument, a posture designed to press Iran toward negotiated terms. The declaration comes as the Trump administration pursues direct engagement with Iran over its nuclear program, and the public threat raises the stakes on both sides of that negotiation. Markets and regional actors will watch closely whether Iran interprets the warning as a genuine escalation signal or as rhetorical pressure, and whether any diplomatic timeline is attached to the readiness posture.
Iranian armed forces attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, briefly halting traffic through the waterway. The strike threatens a fragile US-Iran arrangement and could push shipping insurance costs and oil prices higher.
The US has struck Iran, with President Trump citing an Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz as justification. The action raises immediate risks for global oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints.
The US struck ten Iranian targets on the second consecutive day of military action, putting a fragile ceasefire under serious pressure. The escalation raises immediate risks for Gulf shipping, global oil supply, and regional stability.
Venezuela's twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have killed at least 164 people and injured 971, interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Thursday. The quakes are the country's strongest since 1900, collapsing buildings across Caracas and prompting a state of emergency, with the death toll expected to rise as
