As new operations unfold, Tehran appears cornered—its highest military leadership decimated, banking networks disrupted, and supreme leader underground. With Western powers weighing escalation, the coming days could determine whether this conflict ends in negotiation or spreads further across the region.

Two oil tankers collided and caught fire near the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday night. Electronic interference was reported in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz is the gateway to the Persian Gulf, where major oil-producing nations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Iran load up tankers with crude and send them out via Hormuz to their end buyers. After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran last week, concerns that the Islamic Republic would block the chokepoint intensified.

As grainy videos of Israel’s strikes on Iran spread in WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels used by the Iranian diaspora, Persian Jews in the U.S. are viewing this moment with a mix of trepidation and excitement — the first time in decades, some say, that the Iranian regime truly appears vulnerable.

Employees of Voice of America’s Persian-language, who were on administrative leave, were recalled by The U.S. Agency for Global Media after Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear and military targets The post Voice of America Rehires Persian-Language Staff After Iran Strike appeared first on TheWrap.

London-based Iran International quoted an unnamed Israeli official who said the raid “targeted the homes of senior military and political officials.”

Kharg Island is a small island in the Persian Gulf. It lies 16 miles off the northwest coast of Iran. It's 451 miles from Tehran, Iran's capital — roughly the distance from Detroit to New York City. It is just five miles long,