Middle East

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Iran Says Airstrike Hit Nuclear Enrichment Facility

State media: Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was attacked Saturday, with no radiation leakage

(Newser) - Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was hit in an airstrike on Saturday, Iranian state media reports. Iran's official Mizan news agency said there was no radiation leakage after Saturday's strike on the Natanz nuclear facility, nearly 135 miles southeast of Tehran. The facility, Iran's main uranium...

US Deploys More Marines to the Mideast

About 2.5K leave California, along with three more warships

(Newser) - More Marines are en route to the Mideast. The US is deploying about 2,500 additional troops and three more warships, reports Reuters and the AP . The new troops with the USS Boxer and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit left California earlier this week, per CBS News . This is actually...

'Ghost in the Skies' Apparently Hit by Iranian Fire

US stealth F-35 makes emergency Mideast landing during combat mission; investigation is underway

(Newser) - An American F-35 stealth jet flying over Iran was forced to make an emergency landing at a US base in the Middle East after being hit by what US officials believe was Iranian fire, sources tell CNN . A US Central Command spokesperson said the aircraft was on a combat mission...

China Tries to Hold Off on Oil Reserves 'for as Long as It Can'

But as Mideast conflict drags on, nation may not have a choice but to tap into its supply

(Newser) - China may soon be leaning on a different kind of oil lifeline. Energy consultancy FGE says Beijing is nearing the point where it will let refineries tap into the country's large commercial crude reserves as Middle East tensions disrupt flows, especially through the Strait of Hormuz, reports Bloomberg . The...

Senators Ask Gabbard Tough Questions on Iran War

Her testimony clashes with Trump's rationale for Iran war

(Newser) - Tulsi Gabbard told senators Wednesday that Iran's rulers are battered but still standing, and her own words quickly put her in the crosshairs. The director of national intelligence testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that Tehran's regime "appears to be intact but largely degraded" after nearly three...

Trump Temporarily Freezes Jones Act to Ease Fuel Costs

Waiver greenlit by president allows foreign tankers to move US fuel, related cargo domestically

(Newser) - President Trump is temporarily setting aside a 100-year-old shipping rule as his administration scrambles to curb rising fuel costs tied to the war in Iran. The White House on Wednesday approved a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, a 1920 law that normally requires goods moving between US ports to...

Rising Diesel Prices Should Concern All, Not Just Truckers

Spiking transport costs threaten to push core inflation even higher

(Newser) - Five-dollar diesel isn't just a headache for truckers—it's a fresh problem for inflation. The average price of a gallon of diesel hit $5.07 on Wednesday, AAA reports, up from $3.65 a month ago. That's a jump of about 39%, outpacing the recent surge in...

State Department Orders Security Reviews at All US Embassies

Order follows Iran strikes and recent attacks on regional US missions

(Newser) - US embassies around the globe have been told to give their security a fresh once-over, stat. In a cable reviewed by NBC News and the Washington Post and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Undersecretary of Management Jason Evans ordered posts to conduct "immediate" reviews, citing unrest in...

Military Shares American Toll of 'Operation Epic Fury'

Most injuries are being described as minor

(Newser) - American forces have taken significant hits in the conflict with Iran , according to a new US military tally. US Central Command says about 200 US service members have been wounded since the launch of "Operation Epic Fury," with spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins noting most injuries were minor and...

WSJ : Iran War Proves Fossil Fuel Critics Wrong
WSJ: Iran War Proves
Fossil Fuel Critics Wrong
editorial
Mar 12, 2026 5:15 PM CDT

WSJ: Iran War Proves Fossil Fuel Critics Wrong

US crude shipments helping to offset Hormuz disruption and support allies, editors write

(Newser) - For years, progressives have tried to curb fossil fuels in the US, and the conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal argues that the Iran war has proved them wrong. With Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz choking off roughly a fifth of global supply, the International...

New Iranian Leader Issues a Defiant First Statement

Mojtaba Khamenei vows to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed

(Newser) - Iran's new supreme leader has used his debut public statement to double down on a crisis that's already rattling oil markets. Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday backed the continued shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz , calling it a lever to "pressure the enemy," and warned that all...

Iran War May Be Fortifying Kim Jong Un's Faith in Nukes

Analysts point out that Iran, unlike North Korea, stopped short of making a weapon

(Newser) - Multiple analyses about the war in Iran come to the same conclusion: The bombardment may be giving Kim Jong-un a real-time argument for never giving up his nukes. As Joshua Keating writes at Vox , two nuclear-armed nations—the US and Israel—"are overwhelming the defenses of a country that...

Iran Goes After 'the Eyes' of Foes' Defense Systems

Tehran keeps targeting radar systems across the Mideast

(Newser) - Iran has a clear strategy in its retaliatory strikes across the Mideast: It's going after what the Wall Street Journal describes as "the eyes" of its enemies' air defenses. Tehran has struck radar, communications, and air-defense sites tied to US and partner forces in Qatar, the UAE, Jordan,...

For Decades, Israel Tracked Khameini. Finally, They Struck

Long-game operation involved hacked traffic cameras in Tehran, 'pattern of life' dossiers

(Newser) - Israel didn't just get lucky when it managed to kill Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei: It had been digitally circling his compound for decades. In a detailed reconstruction by the Financial Times , sources describe a long game built on hacked Tehran traffic cameras, deeply penetrated mobile networks, and...

Iranian President to Neighbor Nations: Sorry for the Attacks

Masoud Pezeshkian apologizes for Iran's armed forces, but also says Iran won't surrender to US

(Newser) - Iran's president on Saturday apologized for attacks on regional countries even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states, suggesting that Tehran's political leadership couldn't exercise full command over Iran's armed forces. He also rejected US President Trump's repeated demands for surrender . President...

Report: Iran May Soon See Issues With Its Assets in UAE

United Arab Emirates is mulling freezing billions in Iran assets held there after Iran attacks, per WSJ

(Newser) - The UAE may be about to hit Iran where it hurts most: its bank accounts. Officials in Abu Dhabi were said to be debating whether to freeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets parked in the country, people familiar with the talks say, a step that could choke one of...

On Mideast Travel Chaos, 'There's No Way to Sugarcoat This'

Travelers scramble to leave region amid US-Israel attacks on Iran; UAE, Qatar pay for hotels, food

(Newser) - Travelers stuck in the Gulf region due to Iran-related airspace closures due to US-Israel attacks are getting an unusual perk: free hotel rooms and meals, courtesy of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Authorities in both countries have told hotels to keep stranded guests on past their checkout dates, with...

After 16-Hour Flights, Planes Were Back Where They Started

Gulf airspace closures force long-haul jets to turn back

(Newser) - If you thought a recent 14-hour flight to nowhere was bad, passengers on two long-haul flights got even longer, 15.5-hour tours to nowhere over the weekend owing to the conflict in Iran. American Airlines and Emirates jets each spent nearly 16 hours in the air before landing right back...

New Poll: Most Americans Oppose Iran Strikes

Poll finds many view Trump as too eager for military action

(Newser) - Americans are mostly lukewarm—or outright opposed—to Washington's latest show of force against Iran. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds just 27% back the US strikes that killed Iran's leader, while 43% disapprove and 29% aren't sure. The survey, conducted as US and Israeli strikes were underway...

World Leaders React to US-Israel Attack on Iran

Nations voice concern as some back strikes, others condemn escalation

(Newser) - World leaders are lining up to assess, condemn, or cautiously back US and Israeli strikes on Iran as fears of a wider Middle East conflict grow. What some are saying as updates continue to trickle out of the region, per CNN , Reuters , and the New York Times :
  • Antonio Costa, president
...

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