The United States believes Iran is preparing to carry out a major exercise in the Gulf in the coming days, apparently moving up the timing of annual drills amid heightened tensions with Washington, U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Source: Reuters
Washington has made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq after warning Baghdad it could shut its embassy, two Iraqi officials and two Western diplomats said, a step Iraqis fear could turn their country into a battle zone. Source Reuters
Russia and Turkey are in constant contact about the situation in Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin said Monday.
Urging Azerbaijan and Armenia to stop all military activity that could further heighten tensions in the territory, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the fighting was a cause for serious concern in Moscow. Source Daily Sabah
A ballot-harvesting racket in Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Minneapolis district — where paid workers illegally gather absentee ballots from elderly Somali immigrants — appears to have been busted by undercover news organization Project Veritas. Source NYPost
