CNN: “Caine is looking for an off ramp,” one of the sources said bluntly.
Caine is not alone in his view that the war has reached a crossroads. He has discussed concerns about the military options for escalating the conflict and raised the prospect of finding an off-ramp from the war with other key Cabinet officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, two of the sources said…
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agree to NATO-style defense pact at time of regional turmoil
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact that stipulates an attack against any one of them “shall be regarded as an attack against them all.” A senior Iranian official warned the pact will not guarantee Saudi Arabia’s security...
‘I Was So Wrong’: Iranians Say Trump’s Promises Never Came True
Maryam, a 36-year-old from Tehran who participated in the January anti-government protests, said Mr. Trump took advantage of a citizen uprising to further his own agenda.
“I feel that Trump and the U.S. are deceitful, and Trump is a showman,” Maryam said. “They used the language of human rights toward only their own benefit.”…
Iran Sees an Opening to Kick the U.S. Out of the Gulf
Iran is vowing to bar U.S. Navy warships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz as part of an agreement to reopen the waterway, pressing its goal of curtailing America’s decades-old military presence in the Persian Gulf.
…Iranian officials have publicly made the threat amid negotiations with Oman, the sultanate on the strait’s southern coast leading discussions with Tehran. U.S. officials have told mediators they won’t accept Iranian restrictions or tolls on Hormuz traffic, one of several sharp conflicts between Washington and Tehran that have delayed completing an agreement…
Iran Debates Hormuz Wording as Trump Says Deal’s ‘Moving Along’
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said an understanding with Oman had been reached “in principle,” and the final text and details of an agreement will be announced “soon.”
A deal on the management of the strait has become key to expectations for a further pick up in energy flows, which have continued despite recent outbreaks of hostilities…
US sanctions Dubai crypto exchange for aiding Iran’s IRGC, following a Reuters report
The designation follows a Reuters investigation published on July 31 that identified the Dubai-based exchange, Shelbit, as the hub of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The investigation found that Shelbit moved crypto on behalf of Iran’s central bank, one of the world’s largest illegal online gambling networks, and to addresses linked by the Israeli government to the IRGC…