https://www.rferl.org/z/645 The latest news from RFE/RL's broadcast region. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/645 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 15:29:25 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and Iranian service, Radio Farda, deliver ongoing updates and analysis. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-live-blog-trump-middle-east/33803414.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-live-blog-trump-middle-east/33803414.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 05:30:00 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories US strikes on Iran widened early on July 18 from the Strait of Hormuz hotspot to multiple sites throughout central and southern Iran, including through the use of fighter jets, while Iran continued to pound US Gulf allies, as a fragile cease-fire further tattered. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-attacks-hormuz-infrastructure-centcom-jets/33806044.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-attacks-hormuz-infrastructure-centcom-jets/33806044.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 01:07:48 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories With the US and Iran launching fresh strikes in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz is back under the spotlight. Naval strategist Joshua Tallis says restoring commercial confidence -- not military force alone -- will determine when shipping returns to normal. https://www.rferl.org/a/hormuz-strait-confidence-naval-tallis-us-iran/33805855.html https://www.rferl.org/a/hormuz-strait-confidence-naval-tallis-us-iran/33805855.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:28:06 +0200 IranNewsFeaturesThe Rundown Stories Senate Republican leadership has thrown its weight behind a renewed bipartisan push to impose sweeping new sanctions on Russia that supporters say marks the strongest congressional effort yet to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its war against Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/senate-russia-sanctions-legislation-graham-war/33805545.html https://www.rferl.org/a/senate-russia-sanctions-legislation-graham-war/33805545.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:02:57 +0200 NewsRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories US forces stepped up attacks on Iranian sites, reportedly striking key bridges and an airport, prompting retaliatory action by Tehran, even while the White House said talks between the warring sides were still under way and that diplomacy was still a viable option. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-washington-tehran-hormuz-trump-centcom/33805272.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-washington-tehran-hormuz-trump-centcom/33805272.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:24 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories Crowds gathered in Ukraine's major cities on July 16 after news broke that Mykhaylo Fedorov, the country's widely respected defense minister, had been dismissed. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-defense-minister-fired-protests-controversy-war/33805012.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-defense-minister-fired-protests-controversy-war/33805012.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:52:38 +0200 Russia Invades UkraineNewsRussiaPhoto GalleriesThe Rundown Stories Ukrainians reacted with fury to the abrupt ouster of Mykhaylo Fedorov, the tech-minded defense minister whose embrace of drone warfare innovation for many signaled a break from old-school military thinking and shady business interests. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-military-fedorov-zelenskyy-firing-ouster-defense-ministry/33804946.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-military-fedorov-zelenskyy-firing-ouster-defense-ministry/33804946.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:16:10 +0200 NewsUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked Mykhaylo Fedorov as defense minister, a dramatic shakeup of his Cabinet that sent shockwaves through Ukrainian political and military circles and stoked new questions about oversight of Ukraine's stubborn defense against Russia's all-out invasion. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-defense-minister-fedorov-sacked-zelenskyy-cabinet-shuffle/33804467.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-defense-minister-fedorov-sacked-zelenskyy-cabinet-shuffle/33804467.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:25:19 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories A bipartisan group of US senators on July 14 introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, unveiling a revised package of sanctions and tariffs aimed at squeezing Moscow's war finances while seeking to overcome concerns that had stalled earlier versions of the legislation. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-senate-russia-sanctions-bill-lindsey-graham/33804044.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-senate-russia-sanctions-bill-lindsey-graham/33804044.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 08:09:27 +0200 RussiaNewsUkraineThe Rundown Stories US President Donald Trump said air strikes on Iran will continue until he says "it's enough," as Tehran and Washington stepped up attacks in a battle to control the Strait of Hormuz, in what the United Nations called a "huge setback" for civilians in the region. https://www.rferl.org/a/trumps-strikes-iran-battle-strait-of-hormuz-escalates/33803719.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trumps-strikes-iran-battle-strait-of-hormuz-escalates/33803719.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:11:10 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories France will allow Ukraine to produce French-made ​cruise missiles, precision guided bombs and air defense interceptor ‌missiles on top of orders for the next-generation Franco-Italian air defense system SAMP/T and 16 Rafale fighter jets. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-france-defense-systems-patriot/33803618.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-france-defense-systems-patriot/33803618.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 18:04:01 +0200 NewsUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Former US Ambassador to Qatar Timmy Davis tells RFE/RL in an interview that, despite the military confrontation, negotiations remain the only viable way out of the crisis between the US and Iran. https://www.rferl.org/a/33802919.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33802919.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:43:48 +0200 IranNews US President Donald Trump has walked back his plan to charge a 20 percent fee on cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, replacing it with proposed trade and investment agreements with Persian Gulf states while maintaining a blockade on Iranian shipping. https://www.rferl.org/a/33802915.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33802915.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:00:10 +0200 NewsIranThe Rundown Headline Thousands of Afghan families, fearing an uncertain future, have begun pouring into Afghanistan amid a fresh push from Pakistan against what officials describe a “crackdown" on undocumented aliens. https://www.rferl.org/a/afghans-under-pressure-again-in-new-pakistani-deportation-drive/33802798.html https://www.rferl.org/a/afghans-under-pressure-again-in-new-pakistani-deportation-drive/33802798.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:57:09 +0200 NewsAfghanistanPakistanThe Rundown Stories President Donald Trump said he is reinstating a blockade of the straight of Hormuz after the United States and Iran traded a new wave of air strikes sparked by activity in the key waterway, rocked the Gulf region. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-threatens-to-take-control-of-hormuz-strait-after-fresh-round-of-attacks-rock-the-gulf/33802722.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-threatens-to-take-control-of-hormuz-strait-after-fresh-round-of-attacks-rock-the-gulf/33802722.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:08:34 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories The European Union will not impose sanctions on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the chief of Russia’s largest private oil company, after Bulgaria vetoed the proposal. https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-russia-sanctions-patriach-kirill-lukoil/33802579.html https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-russia-sanctions-patriach-kirill-lukoil/33802579.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:00:36 +0200 NewsRussiaWider Europe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on July 12 that he intends to replace Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko as part of a broader government reshuffle https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-yulia-svyrydenko-reshuffle/33802078.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-yulia-svyrydenko-reshuffle/33802078.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:41:59 +0200 NewsUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories US Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the Republican Party's most influential voices on foreign policy and among Ukraine's strongest supporters in Washington, died on July 11 after what his office described as a "brief and sudden illness." https://www.rferl.org/a/south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-dies-at-71/33801981.html https://www.rferl.org/a/south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-dies-at-71/33801981.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:40:08 +0200 NewsThe Rundown Headline The United States struck targets around southern Iran in response to Tehran's attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iranian attacks on its Gulf neighbors, sparking claims from Bahrain that civilians were targeted. https://www.rferl.org/a/centcom-iran-strikes-hormuz-shipping-irgc/33801945.html https://www.rferl.org/a/centcom-iran-strikes-hormuz-shipping-irgc/33801945.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:08:23 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories Russian ultra-fast ballistic missiles continued to create havoc in Ukrainian cities, combining with drones and guided bombs to kill at least six people in the latest attacks, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to urge Western allies to speed delivery of air defense weaponry. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-ukraine-russia-ballistic-missiles-patriot-trump/33801659.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-ukraine-russia-ballistic-missiles-patriot-trump/33801659.html Sat, 11 Jul 2026 18:18:49 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories