"Container shipping... has declined by almost 30 percent," said Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, adding that "the drop in trade accelerated in the beginning of this year."

The Houthis, part of the anti-Western, anti-Israel "axis of resistance" of Iranian-backed groups, have been harassing Red Sea shipping for months, triggering US and British reprisal attacks. The attacks have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a vital route that normally carries...

New York, United States - The United States will begin talks with Iraq on the withdrawal of US troops from this Middle Eastern country, CNN reported on Wednesday citing sources familiar with the matter. "The US and Iraq are close to agreement on starting the Higher Military Commission dialogue that was...

The Pentagon said in a social media post that there was no damage to ships. Some 12 drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles were fired by Houthis. Earlier, the rebels claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a vessel in the Red Sea and a drone attack...

Lebanon is ready to implement a UN resolution that would help end Hizbollah's cross-border attacks on Israel if Israel also complies and withdraws from disputed territory, Lebanon's prime minister said. The frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen escalating exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed...

The Huthis have declared themselves part of the "axis of resistance" of Iran's allies and proxies and have launched a series of drones and missiles towards Israel after the start of the war in Gaza. The Huthis have also threatened to target Israeli shipping over the country's war with Hamas,...

Washington, United States - United States wants to see the war between Israel and Hamas contained to Gaza and not expanded to other areas of the region, US Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday. As of today, "we have not seen this war spill over into other...

Washington, United States - The US is using unarmed assets of the Department of Defense to help locate hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a senior US official said at a news conference. "We are using unarmed DoD assets to try to help locate some of the American...

A rare delivery of fuel enters the Palestinian territory; Netanyahu says Hezbollah will make "mistake of its life" if its starts a war with Israel and US says it will "take appropriate action" in response to any escalation in the Middle East.

Washington, United States - The US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered the preparation of approximately 2,000 additional U.S. troops for possible deployment to the Middle East in support of Israel, amid escalating tensions in the region, New York Times reported. These troops, currently stationed in the United...

According to the US media reports, intelligence officials conducted briefings at the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about the potential for unrest in nuclear-armed Russia a full day before it unfolded. Putin himself was informed that Prigozhin, once a close ally, was plotting his rebellion at least...

Senior officials from the Biden administration have confirmed the authenticity of the documents, which have been posted on Twitter and Telegram, a platform widely available in Russia. “We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter,” said Sabrina Singh, the deputy press...

The Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground, said 19 people were killed in the first wave of US strikes: three Syrian soldiers and 16 members of Iran-backed militias. After the strikes, Biden sought to lower the temperature saying the US "does not seek conflict...

The US president sought to lower the temperature on Friday, saying the United States "does not seek conflict with Iran, but is prepared to act forcefully to protect our people". Hours after the strikes, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said 10 rockets were fired at American and coalition forces at...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that at the direction of President Joe Biden, he had authorised "precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps." When the strikes were announced, Biden had already travelled to Canada, where he is set...

A planned mass rally in Tel Aviv by Israeli protesters opposed to the government's controversial legal reform plans forced an 11th-hour change of venue for Lloyd Austin's talks, throwing an international spotlight on Israel's domestic divisions.

US Defense Secretary Austin also visits Baghdad to assure US support for Iraqi security, stability, and sovereignty ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion.

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the trip would "reaffirm the enduring US commitment to the Middle East region."

On Sunday the Pentagon said that it does not yet know what the other three objects -- one shot down Friday over Alaska, one Saturday over Canada's Yukon territory, and the most recent one Sunday over Lake Huron -- are. But it said that the object downed Sunday had been...

The Chinese craft spent several days flying over North America before it was targeted off the coast of the southeastern state of South Carolina with a missile fired from an F-22 plane, Pentagon officials said, falling into relatively shallow water just 47 feet (14 meters) deep.

In a statement announcing measures to disrupt financiers of the Islamic State group, the State Department wrote of joint action between "the United States and Turkiye," written with an umlaut over the u. "The Turkish embassy did request that we use this spelling in our communications," State Department spokesman Ned...

"At the core of it all is the policy of our geopolitical opponents aiming to tear apart Russia, the historical Russia," Putin said. "They have always tried to 'divide and conquer'... Our goal is something else -- to unite the Russian people," he said.

Pentagon announced Wednesday it has awarded $9 billion in cloud computing contracts to Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle.

After a Washington Post report revealed that Facebook and Twitter have shut down a number of fake accounts suspected to be created by the US military, promoting pro-West disinformation, the Pentagon has begun a review of its psychological warfare operations while denying that the military was behind fake accounts.

Relatives of victims, police officers, firefighters and city leaders gathered at the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, where the names of those who died were read aloud -- as they have been every year since the deadliest single attack on US soil.

The US Central Command's 5th Fleet said a support ship from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the Shahid Baziar, was spotted towing the seven-meter (23-foot) Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel (USV) late Monday.

Washington is "working to clarify Turkey's position" after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday. The idea of the two nations becoming members of the transatlantic alliance had received "broad support from NATO member countries," Psaki said.

The US State Department warned of possible sanctions Thursday after Iranian military officials attended a defense show in Qatar and exhibited some of Iran's military hardware. "We are deeply disappointed and troubled by the presence of Iranian military officials and reportedly Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers at the Doha...

The United States and Western allies are still able to deliver arms into Ukraine to bolster the military, and Washington plans to send more in the coming days to help them fight both Russian armor on the ground and assaults from the air, according to a US defense official.

The US government normally keeps battlefield intelligence close to its chest, but by revealing the secret details of Russian military plans, it hopes to prevent an invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia moved tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine's border in recent months, Washington's unconventional strategy has been to let...

Poor or inadequate surveillance footage often contributed to deadly targeting failures.

US defense officials met in Ankara Wednesday with Turkish counterparts to resolve remaining issues from the F-35 program, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Thursday with Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, saying in a statement that the Pentagon recognized "Turkey's military modernization needs."

A senior Al-Qaeda leader was killed in a US drone strike in Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday. The strike comes two days after a base in southern Syria, used by the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh group, was assaulted.

Strikes are authorized by President Joe Biden following ongoing attacks on US interests The strikes come one day after Iraqi Kurdish officials said three explosives-laden drones hit near the northern Iraqi city of Arbil The Pentagon announced Sunday it had conducted targeted air strikes against "facilities used by Iran-backed militia...

  The move comes as President Joe Biden's administration seeks to ease tensions with Iran The US military is rapidly adjusting its global footprint as it pulls out of Afghanistan     The Pentagon said Friday it was cutting the number of troops and air defense units deployed to the...