Alex Raufoglu is RFE/RL's senior correspondent in Washington, D.C.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended how Washington shifted military forces around the world amid confusion over whether a brigade-size contingent of US troops would be rotated out of Poland.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Sweden for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers as European allies seek reassurances over US troop drawdowns and Washington's shifting rhetoric on the alliance.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Representative Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, backed tough sanctions on Russia, saying that the United States should keep applying financial pressure. He said Ukraine's recent attacks on military targets inside Russia appear to be "a game-changer" in the war.
Republican Congressman Don Bacon warned that uncertainty over US commitments to NATO risks emboldening Russia, Iran, and China, arguing Washington must maintain strong alliances and military deterrence amid growing global instability.
RFE/RL, Mark Cancian, senior adviser with the Defense and Security Department at CSIS, told RFE/RL the US is focused on finding an "exit" from the crisis -- even as major disagreements remain over sanctions, nuclear restrictions, and Iran's claims over the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington is sharply divided over the latest US sanctions waiver for Russian oil. Michael Parker, a former investigator and section chief in the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), explains why sanctions relief remains Washington’s sharpest diplomatic bargaining tool.
The US Treasury Department has extended for another 30 days a sanctions waiver allowing at-risk countries to purchase Russian oil shipments at sea, as supply disruptions linked to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continue to roil global energy markets.
The Trump administration has allowed a controversial waiver on sanctions targeting Russian seaborne oil to expire, reimposing restrictions that had temporarily enabled countries such as India to continue purchasing Russian crude despite Western efforts to curb Moscow’s wartime revenues.
The Trump-Xi summit offered fresh clues about how Beijing is positioning itself on Iran amid growing tensions over sanctions, regional security, and the future of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Representative Brian Mast told RFE/RL during a Council on Foreign Relations event that he believes Europe should take greater responsibility for supporting Ukraine because the war is "in their backyard."
Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute focusing on national security and transatlantic relations, told RFE/RL in an interview that Iran appears to be borrowing directly from Russia’s negotiation strategy.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Sam Brownback argued that Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly operating as part of a “dark alliance” of authoritarian states -- one built on surveillance technology, censorship, ideological control, and the suppression of religious and civil society groups.
A senior US State Department official warned that Russia is likely to reposition forces toward NATO’s eastern flank once the war in Ukraine ends, raising concerns that the Baltic states could face intensified military and hybrid pressure from Moscow in the years ahead.
The United States has announced an additional $1.8 billion in humanitarian assistance for UN-led relief operations worldwide, including continued support for Ukraine.
At the center of the congressional push is the Ukraine Support Act, legislation that would authorize more than $1 billion in direct security assistance for Kyiv, provide $8 billion in loans, tighten sanctions on Russia, and limit presidential authority to unilaterally lift existing sanctions.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Ken Moriyasu, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, says Beijing may tactically help ease tensions between Washington and Tehran, but will resist any effort that could threaten the survival of Iran’s regime.
The latest exchange between Washington and Tehran over a proposed path toward de-escalation has raised new questions about what comes next in the growing crisis around the Strait of Hormuz.
Former senior US diplomat Gordon Gray, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs under President George W. Bush, says indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran are likely to continue despite what he described as significant pain and pressure on both sides.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to steady ties with Italy and the Vatican during a visit to Rome shaped by disputes over Iran, NATO, and migration. He also defended Washington’s military posture in the Middle East and warned Tehran against trying to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Barry Pavel, a former senior director for defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council, who served as a special assistant to the president under George W. Bush, unpacks the strategic meaning behind recent developments in the US war with Iran.
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