Middle East

The Revolutionary Guards practiced shooting down American helicopters with RPGs and exploding drones – but their only real experience with US ground combat ended in an embarrassing failure.

According to the Fars news agency, Tehran also demands a relief from international economic sanctions and formal control over the critical Strait of Hormuz.

US intelligence assessments say Iran has restored most of its missile sites and underground facilities. The report contradicts statements by Trump and the Pentagon that Iran’s military has been “crushed” and no longer poses a threat.

UK defense secretary announces deployment of Typhoon jets, mine-clearing drones, and the destroyer HMS Dragon; Lithuania said Monday it will contribute 40 sailors to the mission.

According to Kuwait's Interior Ministry, four suspects affiliated with Iran were arrested after attempting to reach Bubiyan Island in a fishing boat. Two security personnel were injured during the arrest. Kuwait blamed Tehran and demanded an end to its "hostile actions."

Reports from Beirut point to an effort to persuade the US to pressure Israel to return to the ceasefire and stop its strikes. If a ceasefire is not in place before the talks begin on Thursday, the Lebanese delegation is expected to focus on ending the war before any other issue

The US president’s visit to China has become the central axis on which the continuation of the war with Iran depends, as a power that proved in the past that it can influence Iran and set limits for it is a key player. After being harmed by the blockade of Hormuz and helping the Iranians with intelligence, China could advance the US terms in negotiations in exchange for demands of its own on Taiwan.

As the regime hardens its stance against Washington and presents a facade of "business as usual," life for the people of Iran have become a nightmare. The technology and industrial sectors have laid off hundreds of thousands of workers, and 2 million people have been pushed out of the labor market. Medicine prices have jumped 400%, and patients are giving up treatment. As the economy collapses, the regime is only tightening the pressure.

The meeting between a US president and Xi will be the first in nearly a decade. On the agenda: pressure on Iran, trade and Taiwan. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called the US sanctions on Chinese companies "illegal." A senior Taiwanese official told Bloomberg: "We fear being on the menu."

Against the backdrop of the dramatic Wall Street Journal report on a secret Israeli military base that operated in the heart of Iraq, tensions in the country show no sign of subsiding. A parliamentary source revealed that the Iraqi army approached the alleged base and assessed that the forces there were American.