Israel, Iran, the Red Sea and US forces in the Middle East.
Trump told an Iowa rally the US will have Iran ‘finished very soon’ and that ‘one way or the other’ the war will be done, while UN Ambassador Mike Waltz said the war could run another year. Here is what we know and what we don’t.
Iran’s floating oil reserve in Asian waters, which kept Chinese buyers supplied through months of U.S. blockade, is now empty, according to Kpler data cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Turkey will ask parliament to let it send air defense and electronic warfare specialists to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca pact. The same day, Ankara signed a defense-industry memorandum with Qatar, Indonesia and Pakistan in Doha.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Benjamin Netanyahu at an air base in the Negev to talk about Iran. The Pentagon isn’t saying much, and the timing, eight days before Israel votes, says plenty.
The CBO says the Iran war has cost the Pentagon about $38 billion, but that total excludes damage to US bases. Five Senate Armed Services Democrats want CENTCOM’s classified estimate released by Nov. 2.
Iran’s parliament confirmed arms-industry chief Mehrdad Akhlaghi as defense minister, nearly eight months after his predecessor was killed, as attacks on ships in Hormuz rise.