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Conflict Events Archive
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US can keep naval blockade on Iranian ports "indefinitely," Pentagon chief says
Hegseth's comments suggest he is advising U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. military can keep applying economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed to help so-far failed negotiations to end the conflict, begun in February." Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," Hegseth told reporters. He spoke in Panama after addressing the crew aboard the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer, which had previously deployed to the Middle East. Also read: Iran, US make competing claims over control of Strait of Hormuz Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the Strait of Hormuz. "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, "A WALL OF STEEL," and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. After the start of the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas was previously shipped. The U.S. subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports, while saying it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels traveling to and from non-Iranian ports. Washington has poured tens of thousands of troops into the Middle East since the war started, including more than 20 warships. Since the blockade started, the U.S. military has redirected more than 55 commercial vessels that were attempting to run the blockade, including disabling three ships and boarding two. Earlier this week, a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into a Panama-flagged ship's engine room after it ignored warnings from U.S. forces, the military said. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
US can keep naval blockade on Iranian ports "indefinitely," Pentagon chief says
US can keep naval blockade on Iranian ports "indefinitely," Pentagon chief says
Ukrainian cathedrals, Gaza’s archives, Iranian squares – modern war is systematically erasing human history | Simon Jenkins
Wars might not take summer holidays, but they do sometimes see exhaustion. As drones race back and forth across Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz, a grim stalemate seems to have invaded the earth beneath. Aerial bombardment knows limited resistance and even less victory or defeat. Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Iran and their allies seem able to defy diplomacy and drop bombs on each other for ever. At which point the outside world can merely count some of the costs. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s known desire to eliminate Ukraine’s historical identity has led to its cultural devastation. Two weeks ago, UNESCO reported the destruction or dereliction of 545 of its historic buildings, including 156 religious sites and 43 museums. The attempted eradication of what Putin himself claims to be an intrinsic part of Russia’s own history is sickening. Russia’s bombing of Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra complex and the Dormition Cathedral, coupled with shattering the magnificent St Sophia Cathedral, are comparable to Ukraine bombing the Kremlin. So, too, is the attack on a cathedral and a museum in Odesa, and the destruction of a theater in Mariupol. These are defining monuments of Ukraine’s past. Yet their dereliction has received little publicity in the West. Meanwhile, in Iran, the beautiful city of Isfahan might surely have been spared US President Donald Trump’s egotistic bomb-fest. Not so. A Reuters survey in June found the historic Naqsh-e Jahan Square, the Jameh Mosque and the governor’s palace partially destroyed. In Tehran, the Persian royal palace of Golestan has been badly damaged. UNESCO reports of an attack on an 1,800-year-old fortress that embraced a prehistoric settlement reputedly 63,000 years old. The most savage consequence of the collapse of order in the Middle East is the reported damage or destruction of over 80 percent of the buildings in Gaza. The ancient city of Gaza itself is now largely rubble. Bombed by Israel are the medieval Great Omari Mosque and the Church of St Porphyrius, dating from the fifth century and one of Christianity’s most ancient sites. Gaza’s archives have been destroyed. The Omari Mosque’s library and the adjacent cultural center, whose thousands of ancient documents had survived the Crusades, have reportedly been lost. The al-Qarara Museum was bombed from the air and then bulldozed to the ground. A people’s entire past has been deliberately eradicated. As for Israel’s war on Lebanon, it culminated in June in what appeared to be the gratuitous bombing of the ancient port of Tyre. This included an attack on the site of the Roman hippodrome. The 1,000-year-old fortress of Beaufort was also damaged. The past is clearly without privilege. Aerial wars are unlike ground ones. Soldiers with guns have targets. So, we are constantly told, do modern missiles, but that does not explain the US bombing of an Iranian girls’ school in February. The reality is that bombers are casual, because they are near invulnerable, while their victims appear small and anonymous. Bombers do not conquer territory or secure surrender. They are manifestations of leadership machismo. In the allied invasion of Italy in 1943-1945, British and US officers were known to take steps to protect its monuments from destruction. As a result, Italy’s ancient cities survived to a degree that Germany’s did not. In the aftermath, sincere efforts were made to evolve rules of war, including respect for cultural and historic monuments. War was still seen as a contest of professionals, not of cultures. The result was The Hague Convention of 1954 and the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in 1972. However, in the past few years, in which we have seen a collapse of global governance, have left The Hague Convention a paper tiger, like that other supposed discipline, the UN’s International Court of Justice. Victory today appears to lie in destroying an enemy’s identity and morale as much as in killing its people. When the Islamic State ruined much of the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, it set about eliminating all traces of its past. Trump’s threat to Iran, that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” showed an equally primitive approach to conflict. It hardly warned his bombers to spare the mosques of Isfahan. Of international bodies, UNESCO is active in keeping a record of the fate of cultural heritage worldwide, but a record is just a record. Its listing of Russia’s and Israel’s devastation of their hated foes is like watching a historic tragedy unfold in real time. We might almost prefer it to happen behind our backs. EDITORIAL CARTOON For the last 15 years, China has relied on gray zone operations to advance its territorial ambitions across Asia. And for 15 years, the US has struggled to respond. But the open door on which China has been pushing may finally be closing. Gray zone operations involve the assertive use of a variety of tools in ways that create conditions that can be described as neither peace nor war. Military forces might act provocatively — even dangerously — while carefully avoiding violence, whereas law enforcement employs nonlethal violence as a first resort. Such an approach creates difficult calculations for its targets. China’s new exit and entry regulations might signal an increase in the risk that Taiwanese travelers will face, an analyst said on Tuesday last week. The new rules, which take effect on Sept. 15, expand the power of authorities to restrict travel on national, industrial and technological security grounds, question travelers about their reasons for leaving and inspect electronic data. Taiwanese who do not support the ruling party should not dismiss the warnings as fearmongering or propaganda. Beijing applies its “anti-secession” laws indiscriminately, an official said recently while presenting a report on proposed amendments to combat China’s efforts at transnational repression. Chinese President William Lai (賴清德) late last month received a delegation of Polish members of the European Parliament at the Presidential Office — the first single-party, single-nation delegation from the EU legislature to visit Taipei in nearly two terms. The group, led by former Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo, also met Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), a gesture spanning Taiwan’s political divide. For most Taiwanese observers, this was a pleasant, if minor, diplomatic event. It was much more than that — and the timing matters. Within the same fortnight, Hudson Institute senior fellow Ken Moriyasu said in the Washington Examiner
Ukrainian cathedrals, Gaza’s archives, Iranian squares – modern war is systematically erasing human history | Simon Jenkins
Ukrainian cathedrals, Gaza’s archives, Iranian squares – modern war is systematically erasing human history | Simon Jenkins
Trump Should Drop Ban on Travel to North Korea
Trump Should Drop Ban on Travel to North Korea The small move could help open diplomacy with Pyongyang. One of President Donald Trump’s few successful diplomatic initiatives during his first term was meeting North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Trump’s move shocked the “Blob,” as the foreign policy establishment has been called. However, it represented a welcome alternative approach after Washington’s decades-long, failed effort to suffocate the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Unfortunately, Trump’s own effort crashed and burned after the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit. Blame for that result was much debated. Afterwards, Pyongyang abandoned engagement with both the United States and the Republic of Korea. And after that, the Ukraine War dramatically transformed the DPRK’s regional status: Russia’s compensation for North Korean military aid spurred economic growth and military development. Beijing upgraded its contacts and enhanced its assistance as well. Pyongyang has so far rebuffed Trump’s suggestions for renewed contact. However, Kim has avoided the splenetic rhetoric that first characterized the two leaders’ relationship. He may still desire an opening with Washington—better to have another big partner to pressure the other two for even better deals. In any case, he continues to improve his geopolitical position, maximizing his leverage vis-a-vis the U.S. Once the ruling Kims began building nuclear weapons, the possibility of CVID—or Complete, Verifiable, and Irreversible Denuclearization—disappeared as a plausible, let alone likely, outcome, absent war. Today, North Korea refuses to even discuss the issue. And who can blame Kim? After Iraq, Libya, and Iran, Kim would be a fool to abandon his ultimate deterrent. It has long been evident that Washington’s only realistic approach to the DPRK is to push negotiations on arms control—not CVID—tacitly,, if not formally accepting the regime’s nuclear status. Today, realism is even seeping through the Blob. Fostering such a dialogue won’t be easy. Kim may be skeptical about Trump’s willingness and ability to deliver. Thus, Trump would be wise to include some kind of immediate inducement in any new initiative toward the North. Of course, such an offer would likely be criticized in Washington as making concessions without obtaining an agreement. Thus, the president should choose something that doesn’t plausibly harm American interests or, better yet, would benefit America as well as North Korea. One possibility: dropping the ban on travel to the DPRK. Doing so would be simple and beneficial. It would also signal interest in societal as well as governmental engagement. The president should act now, since the State Department recently renewed its ban. Almost a decade ago, State declared that normal American passports were not valid for travel to the North. Special permission is required, even for aid workers, journalists, researchers, and policymakers. The formal justification for the ban was the tragic death in 2017 of Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old college student visiting the DPRK as a tourist. The restriction made little sense then and has since lost any purpose. Observed Robert King, a longtime special envoy for human rights in North Korea: The extension of the travel ban comes without any effort to identify whether it has been helpful. Over the last decade, the travel ban has been extended with no indication of improving North Korea's attitude toward the U.S. or the conditions under which the North Korean people suffer. Warmbier’s plight understandably received enormous coverage. The administration claimed that travel to North Korea was too dangerous for Americans. However, the cause of his injuries remains unknown. There was no medical evidence of abuse. Indeed, the DPRK authorities long recognized that American prisoners had value only if alive. Between 2009 and 2017 15 other Americans were detained by North Korea, but only four were tourists, and all had “done something,” according to the head of a humanitarian NGO with whom I talked, though nothing which warranted punishment. That organization investigated every case and judged the threat facing its workers, who routinely labored in the DPRK, to be minimal. In fact, we met while traveling separately, and safely, to the North. The real lesson of the tragedy, according to private conversations with other tourist operators and multiple published reports citing other travelers, appeared to be to choose a responsible travel agency. The State Department could vet companies and, if Pyongyang chose to revive the tourism trade, work with North Korean officials to better educate travelers and treat claimed infractions differently. In any case, removing the ban would have little practical impact now. North Korea only recently reopened its borders after the Covid-19 pandemic but quickly reinstated the tourism ban, except for Russians. Earlier this year, the government even canceled the already publicized Pyongyang marathon. However, ending the ban would be an important symbolic step, treating the DPRK like other countries and welcoming future contact among peoples. As such, it could accompany a Trump initiative to reestablish contact with Pyongyang. Of course, Washington could do more, such as suspending some sanctions and proposing high-level official visits. Most dramatic would be offering diplomatic relations at some level—which should be viewed as a requirement, even a necessity, for America, rather than a reward for the North. Frankly, it is more important to talk to one’s adversaries, especially when they are armed with nuclear weapons and constructing ICBMs, than to one’s friends. Subscribe Today Get daily emails in your inbox U.S. policy toward the Korean Peninsula long ago guaranteed the ROK’s security against the North. However, Washington has failed to end North Korea’s threats against the South and potentially beyond, as well as South Korea’s needless defense dependence on America. Moreover, U.S. involvement impedes the admittedly long-shot objective of reunification of the peninsula as well as Chinese willingness to put greater pressure on Pyongyang. Although Trump prefers grand gestures, small steps will probably be necessary to forge a path for more dramatic diplomatic initiatives. Ending the travel ban would be a good place to start. Although the State Department strongly warns against travel to 23 different nations, many of which are objectively dangerous, it forbids trips only to North Korea. (Visiting Cuba is legally restricted but allowed for a variety of approved purposes.) Lifting the ban would be a small, simple action with little downside even if it proved unsuccessful. However, it might aid the administration in developing new diplomatic strategies to address a region that has grown more complex and dangerous since the president’s dramatic summits with Kim.
Trump Should Drop Ban on Travel to North Korea
Trump Should Drop Ban on Travel to North Korea
Civilian deaths in Ukraine in July hit highest level since May 2022: UN
Civilian deaths in Ukraine in July hit highest level since May 2022: UN
Putin visits disputed island near Japan, drawing Tokyo’s ire | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Putin visits disputed island near Japan, drawing Tokyo’s ire | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Pro-Palestine campaigners urge boycott of new Spider-Man film over producer’s support for Israel
Pro-Palestine campaigners urge boycott of new Spider-Man film over producer’s support for Israel
Russia Cracks Down On Photos Of Graves That Reveal The Cost Of War
Russia Cracks Down On Photos Of Graves That Reveal The Cost Of War
Russia Cracks Down On Photos Of Graves That Reveal The Cost Of War
A blurry photo shows a man apparently being forced to kneel in the snow by two other men in plain clothes. Released by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) last week, the image allegedly shows the moment a 48-year-old man was arrested in Yaroslavl, some 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow, for “secretly taking photos and videos” of graves of soldiers killed in Ukraine. The case is the latest in a series in which people have faced treason charges for recording images of Russian military graves. In late June, authorities in the Tomsk region in Siberia, announced that “several” people had been detained for gathering information about Russian soldiers, including war dead, in exchange for cash payments. Two similar cases have also been recorded in the Sverdlovsk region, where two suspects have been accused of sending their “handlers” for the equivalent of around $1 dollar per shot. In Yekaterinburg, the regional capital, authorities said security patrols were being beefed up at cemeteries “so that people who are being targeted by recruiters [seeking photos of graves] understand that this is not a harmless matter -- it is a crime that can result in real punishment.” In most cases, the FSB alleges that the suspects were working for Ukrainian handlers. Graves As Evidence Of Casualties Photographs of graves have been a source of information for journalists and human rights groups seeking to assess the numbers of Russians killed fighting in Ukraine -- figures that the Russian authorities are keen to keep quiet. There are various estimates of the extent of fatalities. In May, a British intelligence chief said nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) last month put the figure at 450,000. “The Kremlin has made every effort to hide the actual number of fatalities,” CSIS analyst Seth Jones told RFE/RL earlier this year. “The Russian military has performed worse than any major military we looked at in the last century.” The CSIS cites interviews with US, Ukrainian, and European officials as well as on-the-ground reporting from Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet classified as a “foreign agent” by the Russian authorities. It has recorded the names of 236,000 Russian soldiers that it says it has confirmed died in Ukraine. In May, it’s estimate of the actual number of war dead was some 350,000. “For us, going to cemeteries was a pretty important source of information,” Mediazona editor Dmitry Treshchanin told Current Time. “Never before has this been interpreted as treason.” Treason cases have been on the rise in Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Scammers Target Families Treshchanin said that, leaving aside the official interest in covering up the number of war dead, the latest cases come amid efforts by scammers to target families who have lost relatives in the fighting. This can involve contacting them with false information that their loved one was actually captured by Ukrainian forces -- and seeking money to secure their release. Photos of graves can help find victims to target. “They have written to me asking for names of the dead,” Treshchanin said, adding that the situation was creating a new danger for volunteers who take photos of graves for open-source investigations. “They’re in incredible danger. They could get a jail term of between 12-20 years for these photos,” he said. In the case in Yaroslavl, prosecutors say the suspect began taking photos and videos in October 2024. “The Yaroslavl resident sent the information via Messenger to the Ukrainian special services,” said a statement posted by the court, adding that the case would be heard behind closed doors. Treshchanin said suspects could easily be framed by the FSB offering them money to take photos. “The scammers don’t even need to exist. You assign someone a task and then you ‘uncover’ the crime they supposedly planned,” he said. Getting firsthand evidence of Russian war dead from cemeteries has now become a much riskier activity. But there are other ways, including publications of death notices in official Russian sources or media, social media posts by friends or family members, or information about funerals.
Bomb hidden in bin kills Russian officer in occupied Sevastopol
Bomb hidden in bin kills Russian officer in occupied Sevastopol
Poland to Decide on Patriot Interceptors for Ukraine ‘Within Days’
Poland to Decide on Patriot Interceptors for Ukraine ‘Within Days’
Poland to Decide on Patriot Interceptors for Ukraine ‘Within Days’
Warsaw is considering sending more Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine, with a decision expected within days, Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka has said. As Russia intensifies its campaign of ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine, Kyiv has appealed to its international partners to provide air-defense munitions, particularly Patriot missiles, as its stockpiles have been exhausted. JOIN US ON TELEGRAM Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Warsaw has yet to commit any new Patriot munitions to Ukraine, and the topic is a thorny one politically against the backdrop of an ongoing diplomatic dispute between the two countries. Poland will take a decision “in the coming days, Sobkowiak-Czarnecka told Polish news service RMF 24 on Thursday. “It is a decision that is always taken at the highest level,” she said, adding that the matter will be coordinated with the US and other NATO allies. The deputy minister went on to say that after an armed Russian missile landed in Poland in July—the first ever such incident in a NATO country—Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz had said it would be preferable to intercept such threats over Ukrainian territory. “The decision must be taken in the context of the security of Poles, and all arguments must be weighed,” she said. Political hot potato The issue has become a hot political topic among NATO allies as many alliance members have low reserves of the missiles themselves. Ukraine Military Aid Surged in June Despite Long-Term Shortages: Institute US President Donald Trump has appeared to dismiss Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleas, telling journalists in early August “We want missiles too,” as Washington’s reserves are expended in its war with IUran. At the same time as Trump seemed to dash Zelenskyy’s hopes, the Netherlands said it had no more PAC-3 Patriot missiles to donate. Despite the ongoing feud between Kyiv and Warsaw over historical grievances, Zelenskyy increased pressure on Poland at the weekend. “The Germans and the Poles have them,” he said during an official visit to Belgrade. “These are the ones who can help significantly.” PAC-3 missiles are built to destroy ballistic missiles descending at enormous speed, a task Ukrainian systems can perform. Each costs approximately €3.5 million to €4.3 million, and defenders may need to fire two to improve the chance of a kill. Volodymyr said in early August 2026 that deliveries of air-defense missiles were “three times smaller” than during the same period in in 2025. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has reported that Russia launched 195 ballistic missiles against Ukraine in July, of which Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 29. Another 40 failed to hit their targets, the ministry said. You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?
The CIA doesn’t believe Israeli intel. Where does that leave a fragile relationship?