Facing jittery global markets and drooping poll numbers since launching a war on Iran, President Donald Trump has cycled from calls for “unconditional surrender” to sounding amenable to an end state in which Iran trades one hard-line ayatollah for another.
Shifting comments from the Republican president and his top aides are adding to the precariousness of the 12-day-old conflict, which is…
MANILA, Philippines — Japan is working to accelerate the tri-nation GCAP fighter jet collaboration with the U.K. and Italy despite reported fiscal and contract delays, which experts say will unlikely push back target deployment in 2035.
The move comes as the ruling party…
CHRISTCHUCH, New Zealand — The Australian government announced on March 10 it would send an E-7A Wedgetail early-warning aircraft to the Middle East and help replenish United Arab Emirates stocks of AIM-120 air-to-air missiles.
Officials in Canberra said the Wedgetail from…
Iran to face ‘most intense day of strikes,’ Hegseth says
March 11, 2026
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Tuesday “will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran: The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes, intelligence more refined and better than ever.”
Shortly before the statement shared at Tuesday’s press briefing, he said “the last 24 hours have seen Iran fire the lowest amount of missiles they have fired…
Australian submariners have a brush with Iran war
March 11, 2026
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — On March 4, when a U.S. Navy submarine torpedoed an enemy combatant for the first time since World War II, three Australian submariners were aboard.
This was a contentious point for Canberra, as it is not a party to military actions against…
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — China is increasing its 2026 defense budget by 7%, bringing the nation’s military expenditure for the coming year to 1.91 trillion yuan, or about $277 billion.
This year’s increase compares to 7.2% rises for the past three years, with…
A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran had determined that American military intervention was not likely to lead to regime change in the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding.
The National Intelligence Council’s assessment in February concluded that neither limited airstrikes nor a larger…
BRUSSELS — NATO nations are sending troops to Norway for a cold-weather exercise this week, as alliance officials kick off a yearslong analysis into causes for conflict in the Arctic.
As part of the planning effort, a U.S. and Norwegian-led research task force will compile…
PARIS — European NATO countries reduced their reliance on the United States for weapons imports in the past year, funneling a greater share of their foreign defense acquisitions to South Korea, France and Israel, analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research…
PARIS — Switzerland will consider acquiring a second long-range air-defense system, preferably produced in Europe, as delivery of previously ordered Patriot systems by the United States will be delayed by four to five years, the government said on Friday.
The country will also buy fewer Lockheed Martin F-35 jets than initially planned after unit costs of the fighter increased, with the…
