The Strait of Hormuz crisis has changed the calculations of every major power The US and Israeli attack on Iran in February and their subsequent failure to achieve their objectives has already changed the strategic calculations of every major power. In some respects, it has also opened new opportunities for political dialogue.
The Pentagon put the cost of the war in Iran at roughly $29 billion, during testimony by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at hearings on the Pentagon’s $1. 5 trillion budget request. Mr.
Gulf investments and economic interests motivate Beijing to help Trump end war Submitted by Sean Mathews on Tue, 05/12/2026 - 21:55 China has benefited from the US's failures in Iran, but it has its own motivations to end the war US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at Gimhae Air Base, near Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on 30 October 2025 (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump is set to meet his counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Thursday in Beijing for a two-day visit. Business and trade deals are at the top of the agenda for the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, but Iran will loom large in the background. Providing military support to Iran in its war with the US and Israel has benefited China, but the conflict in the Middle East also challenges its ties with Gulf states and its broader economic model, experts say.
NATO should overcome its distaste for President Trump and sends its navies to help open up the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media said a moderate quake had shaken the capital around midnight local time.
Secret new assessments say Iran has operational access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that its military remains far stronger than President Trump has asserted.
The US president stressed that he would do whatever is necessary to settle the Ukraine conflict US President Donald Trump has not ruled the possibility of traveling to Russia this year to help facilitate a settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
The US president stressed that he would do whatever is necessary to settle the Ukraine conflict US President Donald Trump has not ruled the possibility of traveling to Russia this year to help facilitate a settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
With talks at an impasse, both sides are holding to positions their opponents call unacceptable, while the economic pain caused by the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues to grow.
'Make a choice': Huckabee warns Gulf to choose between Iran and Israel Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 05/12/2026 - 20:18 The US ambassador to Israel made the remarks as he touted the Abraham Accords at an event in Tel Aviv Left to right: US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee stands alongside Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, US Vice President JD Vance, US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa in the White House's Oval Office in Washington, DC, on 23 April 2026 (Kylie Cooper/Reuters) Off US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has warned Arab Gulf states that they must "make a choice" between Israel and Iran amid the current standoff, after 40 days of a US-Israeli war on Iran that saw it target and destroy US-aligned assets in the region in retaliation. "The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice. Is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?
CAIRO, 13th May, 2026 (WAM) -- Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Yamahi, Speaker of the Arab Parliament, has strongly condemned the infiltration of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) elements into Kuwait's Bubiyan Island to carry out hostile acts, which resulted in the injury of a member of the Kuwaiti armed forces.
Iran says ceasefire terms meet minimum standards for lasting peace Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi has defended Tehran’s proposal to end the war, describing it as a baseline for any credible and durable agreement. Writing on X, Gharibabadi said the plan reflects “the minimum requirements of any serious, sustainable arrangement aligned with the UN Charter”. He condemend Washington’s rejection of the proposal, arguing it exposes a broader agenda.
Lebanon's health ministry says the paramedics were carrying out a rescue mission in Nabatieh in response to an earlier attack that killed one person.
US expects Iran oil output to fall amid blockade The US Energy Information Administration says Iran’s oil production is likely to decline as a result of the US blockade on its ports, signalling prolonged disruption to global supply. In a statement, the agency said it does not expect output levels or trade flows to return to prewar conditions until late this year or early next year, even if shipping resumes through the Strait of Hormuz. It warned that any extended closure of the waterway could drive prices significantly higher.
New York Times article details brutal rape of Palestinians. Israel calls it 'blood libel' Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 05/12/2026 - 16:31 Columnist Nicholas Kristof recounted harrowing torture described to him on a trip to the occupied West Bank Soldiers stand guard during the weekly settlers’ tour in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where settlers move through Palestinian areas under military protection, on 9 May 2026 (Mussa Qawasma/Reuters) Off Mounted by dogs, penetrated by carrots, and rectums torn by batons. These are just some of the harrowing testimonies of the rape of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, detailed by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in a landmark piece published on Monday.
WASHINGTON, D. C. : U.
US confirms Israel sent Iron Dome batteries to UAE Israel sent Iron Dome air defence batteries along with soldiers to operate them to the UAE amid the war on Iran , US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed on Tuesday. "Israel just sent them - [the UAE] - Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help them operate them. How come?
More than 40 nations are involved in the mission, which the Ministry of Defence says will begin when conditions allow.
Iran has not successfully exported any crude oil by sea for 28 days amid the US naval blockade imposed in April, according to ship-tracking data from TankerTrackers, while loading activity at Kharg Island remains disrupted following a suspected oil spill near the terminal.
Israeli strikes in south Lebanon kill civilians and rescue workers Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli attacks in the Nabatieh area have killed several civilians, including a Lebanese army member and civil defence responders. According to the agency, a strike on the town of Jebchit killed three people: First Sergeant Muhammad Ali Obeid, Hassan Muhammad Jawad Obeid and Mahdi Abbas Obeid. In a separate incident, Mahdi Atwi, from Nabatieh al-Fouqa, was killed after an Israeli drone strike hit his rickshaw near the Civil Defence Centre in Nabatieh.
