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U.S. officials have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, multiple sources told CBS News. 

The U.S. anticipates Iran could retaliate on certain American sites in neighboring Iraq. This is part of the reason the U.S. advised some Americans to leave the region earlier Wednesday. The State Department ordered non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq due to "heightened regional tensions," and the Pentagon has authorized military family members to voluntarily leave the Middle East, a defense official told CBS News.

President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is still planning to meet with Iran for a sixth round of talks on the country's nuclear program in the coming days, two U.S. officials said.

US President Donald Trump's administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a UN conference next week on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a US cable seen by Reuters. 

The diplomatic demarche, sent on Tuesday, says countries that take "anti-Israel actions" following the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences from Washington.

The demarche, which was not previously reported, runs squarely against the diplomacy of two close allies, France and Saudi Arabia, who are co-hosting the gathering next week in New York that aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel's security.

The United States is drawing down the presence of people who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East due to the potential for regional unrest, the US State Department and military said Wednesday as tensions with neighboring Iran rose amid deteriorating nuclear talks.

“President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our Mission in Iraq,” a State Department official told The Times of Israel.

Earlier Wednesday, two US officials told The Associated Press that the State Department was preparing to order the departure of all nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Baghdad due to the potential for regional unrest.

Hours ahead of a preliminary vote to dissolve the Knesset, senior coalition officials, including Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, were engaged in intense last-ditch talks with Haredi representatives in an effort to reach a compromise on the issue of military exemptions for yeshiva students and prevent the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox factions from supporting the opposition-backed effort to bring down the government.

According to Hebrew media reports, Fuchs and coalition whip Ofir Katz, along with Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik, have been directing their efforts toward finding a compromise draft of an enlistment bill that all sides can support — including the possibility that some sanctions on draft dodgers could be postponed by half a year or more.

However, no agreement has yet been reached, the Israel Hayom daily cites Afik as writing in a WhatsApp chat.

A Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria probably won’t happen “in our lifetime” and is no longer Washington’s goal, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday.

“Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Huckabee told Bloomberg, adding that a culture shift is unlikely to take place “in our lifetime.”

When asked by Bloomberg if an independent Palestinian state is the goal of the Trump administration, the diplomat responded: “I don’t think so.”

The US and China have announced a fresh trade framework following intensive negotiations in the United Kingdom, marking another attempt to resolve escalating economic tensions between the world's two largest economies, CNN reported.

The development represents yet another diplomatic effort to establish stable commercial relations between the superpowers after months of deteriorating ties.

Chinese and American trade officials confirmed Tuesday evening they had reached consensus on implementing arrangements initially established during May discussions in Geneva, CNN reported. The framework now awaits final approval from both President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Israel attacked the Houthi-controlled port of Hudaydah in Yemen on Tuesday, reportedly marking the first time that naval forces were used in an operation against the Iranian-backed terror group instead of the air force.

Israeli Navy missile ships struck “terror targets” at the port following “the aggression of the Houthi terrorist regime” against the Jewish state and its citizens, including the launching of ballistic missiles and drones, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

“The strikes were carried out to stop the use of the port for military purposes. The port has been struck by the IDF over the past year and continues to be used for terrorist purposes,” the military said.

President Donald Trump told Fox News that Iran has become "much more aggressive" in nuclear talks. 

"Iran is acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago," Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier. "Much more aggressive. It’s surprising to me. It’s disappointing, but we are set to meet again tomorrow – we’ll see."

Senior administration officials also told Fox News that Iran appears to be dragging negotiations on without concrete progress while pushing forward with its nuclear efforts.

This comes as Israel is growing more concerned it will have to act unilaterally to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

(photo: PBS / AP)

Another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 Marines are headed to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump, escalating a military presence local officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t want and the police chief says creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.

Trump doubled the number of Guard troops being deployed soon after the first wave of 2,000 began arriving Sunday, amid the most violent outbreaks during four days of protests driven by anger over the president’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families.

The protests in Los Angeles, a city of 4 million people, have largely been centered in several blocks of downtown. At daybreak Tuesday, guard troops were stationed outside the detention center but there was no sign of the Marines.

US President Donald Trump confirmed that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday regarding Iran, adding that the call went well and that he is "trying to avoid death and destruction."

Additionally, Trump said Tehran was a tough negotiator as talks continued for a nuclear deal. "We're doing a lot of work on Iran right now," Trump said at an economic event at the White House. "It's tough. ... They're great negotiators."

"They're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up what they have to give up," he added. "They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they're not there."

Channel 12 reports that documents found during the army’s operations in Gaza show a close effort between Qatar and Hamas to thwart US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians and efforts for Arab countries to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

The report contends, citing the documents, that Qatar’s relationship was crucial to the Hamas terror group’s survival over the years, and its ability to carry out the October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel.

In an emergency June 2019 meeting, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani met with Hamas leaders regarding concerns over Trump’s plans for peace and for Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel.

Khaled Mashaal reportedly told Al Thani, “We need to cooperate in order to resist the deal of the century and thwart it.”

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi on Monday told the IAEA Board of Directors that he has concluded that Iran had previously hidden illicit nuclear material in at least three locations: the Varamin, Marivan, and Turquzabad sites.

Grossi also reported a huge jump by Iran to over 400 kilograms of 60% highly enriched uranium, a problem which was widely leaked to the media last week.

This was most significant because it showed that the Islamic Republic's advanced centrifuges could enrich enough uranium for multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of only around three months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the US had diverted tens of thousands of anti-drone missiles to American troops in the Middle East, speaking Sunday to ABC News.

The recent special International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iranian nuclear violations added many points, one being that Iran carried out multiple implosion tests, a key military skill necessary for developing the atomic bomb.Implosion tests do not have civilian nuclear uses.

Notably, though much of the report refers to Iranian military activities from 20 years ago, Tehran’s careful record-keeping means that any progress that the Islamic Republic made back then could be used to help with a more sudden, rapid push for a breakthrough to a nuclear weapon in 2025.

The fact that it carried out various explosive tests also suggests that Iran is further along in other skills needed for developing a nuclear bomb, besides just enriching uranium, than many observers may have thought.

The United States and Israel agreed that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon must cease its operations in southern Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post confirmed Sunday, following reports.

The American administration has decided not to renew UNIFIL’s mandate, and Israel reportedly “did not try to convince them otherwise.”

The vote on the mandate in the United Nations Security Council is expected to occur within a few months.

A Texas event for Christians supporting Israel had to move venues following ‘extremely concerning’ security threats. When the location of the new venue became public, prompting more threats, the group was forced to cancel the event.

A pro-Israel Christian event scheduled to take place in Dallas, Texas, was indefinitely postponed due to threats reportedly made by “radical jihadist” elements in the United States.

The HaYovel Israel Summit, which was initially planned for the Arlington Expo Center and later moved to Eagle Mountain International Church, was canceled on Thursday. According to Tim Miller, CEO of the LionHeart International Services Group, a private security company, security intelligence indicated that “there was active planning to target this event.”

(image: KABC)

The Trump administration is calling in the California National Guard in response to protests in Los Angeles over immigration operations that have resulted in some clashes between demonstrators and authorities.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum "deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness" in California as demonstrations opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations continue in the state, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Saturday.

Hamas on Saturday warned the Israel Defense Forces not to attempt to rescue hostage Matan Zangauker, claiming that the military is “besieging” the location in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli is being held.

Shortly after the warning, the terrorist organization published a photo of Zangauker, 25, in captivity with an “explicit threat,” Hebrew-language outlet Ynet News reported.

“We make it absolutely clear that the enemy will not be able to get him out alive. If he is killed during an attempt to rescue him, the occupying army will bear responsibility for his death, after we safeguarded his life for 20 months,” Hamas said in a statement, according to Ynet.

With improved intelligence and advanced drones, the IDF is breaking into the main arteries of Hamas's tunnel network. An Israel Hayom correspondent joined the 7th Brigade forces in Khan Younis to hear how doctrine has changed and what has made underground warfare more effective.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and two other Trump administration officials will meet with their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for renewed trade talks, President Donald Trump said.

Bessent, who has been leading the administration’s efforts to craft a deal with Beijing, will be joined by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Trump said.

“The meeting should go very well,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Friday afternoon. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

(photo: AP)

Iran has ordered from China large quantities of materials for producing ballistic missiles, according to a Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal that said the Islamic Republic is seeking to reestablish itself and its proxy network militarily.

The report came amid ongoing Iran-US nuclear talks, which began in April. Israel has informed the White House that it will not strike Iranian nuclear sites unless the talks fail, according to a separate report by Axios.

The Journal report, which cited people familiar with the transaction, said Tehran had ordered enough ammonium perchlorate to potentially manufacture up to 800 missiles. The material is used to produce solid-fuel missiles.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday evening that it said were used by Hezbollah to manufacture drones, and in a separate instance, also issued evacuation warnings for two areas in a southern Lebanon town.

The strikes in Beirut hit several underground drone manufacturing facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s aerial forces, also know as Unit 127, according to the military.

Ahead of the strikes, which began shortly after 10 p.m., the IDF said it had “identified that Hezbollah’s aerial unit is working to produce many thousands of UAVs, under the guidance and funding of Iranian terror officials.”

Israel assured the White House it won't launch an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities unless US President Donald Trump signals that negotiations with Iran have failed, two Israeli officials told Axios on Friday.

According to the officials, the message was delivered during a visit to Washington last week by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Mossad director David Barnea, and National Security Council Head Tzachi Hanegbi, Axios reported.

One official told Axios that Israel made it clear to the US that they wouldn't surprise the Trump administration with any attacks on Iran without informing the US first.

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the release of all the hostages and unhindered aid access across the enclave.

“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.

“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.

U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, a day after terrorists in Syria fired two rockets at the Golan Heights.

“Israeli Prime Minister @Netanyahu and I met in Jerusalem today to discuss Syria and the broader region,” Barrack, who also serves as ambassador to Turkey, posted to X.

“@POTUS envisions a Syria that cannot be used as a Platform by any 3rd party nation state, or non nation state, to threaten Syria’s neighbors, including Israel,” he added.

(photo: Iran Government via AP)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the Trump administration's offer for a nuclear deal on Wednesday, saying it compromised the country's "national independence."

In an address marking the 36th anniversary of late leader Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei said that the "proposal contradicts our nation’s belief in self-reliance and the principle of 'We Can.'"

Last weekend, US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff submitted a proposal to Iran for a nuclear deal, with the Trump administration urging Tehran to accept it or face the consequences.

(photo: AFP / Getty)

Hezbollah head Naim Qassem met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beirut on Wednesday, according to the Iranian-backed terrorist group.

According to a Hezbollah statement cited by Lebanon’s LBC TV outlet, Qassem thanked the Islamic Republic for its regional influence and its support for Palestinian “resistance” groups. Qassem was also said to have emphasized his commitment to Lebanon’s “progress, stability, sovereignty, and the expulsion of occupation from its territory.”

During the Beirut meeting, which reportedly was focused on “regional developments,” Araghchi stressed “the importance of bilateral relations with Lebanon and reiterated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s commitment to supporting Lebanon economically, politically and socially, based on mutual respect and enhanced cooperation between the two countries.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who leads Israel’s negotiating team in hostage talks, spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on the phone over the weekend, a source familiar with the matter told Walla on Tuesday. 

Sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that this was the first direct contact between the two. Al-Thani is considered a key mediator between Israel and Hamas in the ongoing negotiations. Dermer’s office declined to comment on the matter.

The Post previously reported that US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, attempted to arrange a meeting between Dermer and Al-Thani after Dermer took office, but it never came to fruition.