US moves to strengthen forces in Middle East to counter Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will send hundreds of additional troops and a dozen fighter jets to the Middle East in the coming weeks to counter what the Pentagon said is an escalating campaign by Iran to plan attacks against the U.S. and its interests in the region. And for the first time, Pentagon officials...

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric hold sit-ins against war

BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of supporters of an Iraqi populist Shiite cleric held sit-ins around Iraq on Friday night, saying their country should not be a battlefield between the United States and Iran. The sit-ins come days after a rocket slammed into Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile...

US officials: White House notifies Congress it plans to send 1,500 troops to Middle East amid Iran tensions

WASHINGTON (AP) — US officials: White House notifies Congress it plans to send 1,500 troops to Middle East amid Iran tensions.

Analysis: Iran supreme leader comments signal strategy shift

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — For years, Iran's supreme leader only criticized the West over Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Now, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is publicly chastising the country's elected president and his foreign minister as the accord unravels amid heightened tensions with the...

U.S. officials say Pentagon will present plans to White House to send up to 10,000 troops to Mideast amid Iran tension

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say Pentagon will present plans to White House to send up to 10,000 troops to Mideast amid Iran tension.

The Latest: Top officials say US doesn't want war with Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Trump administration's Iran policy (all times local): 9:35 p.m. Top Trump administration officials have told Congress that recent actions by the U.S. have deterred Iranian attacks on American forces. But some lawmakers remain deeply skeptical of the White House approach...

Iraqi Shiite figures warn US-Iran war could 'burn' Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — Leading Iraqi Shiite figures warned Monday against attempts to pull their country into a war between the U.S. and Iran, saying it would turn Iraq into a battlefield yet again, just as it is on the path to recovery. The warning came hours after a rocket slammed into Baghdad's heavily...

Saudis say they will defend themselves, as Trump warns Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia does not want war but will not hesitate to defend itself against Iran, a top Saudi diplomat said Sunday after the kingdom's energy sector was targeted this past week amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, warned...

US: Iran military could misidentify airliners amid tension

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and...

Report: Iran detains members of 3 modeling networks

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has carried out its latest series of arrests targeting online modeling, part of the hard-line group's efforts to confront what it sees as Western mores seeping into the Islamic Republic. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday that...