The U.S. Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California early Wednesday, saying the long-planned test was designed to verify the readiness of America’s land-based nuclear deterrent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing late Tuesday for high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Moscow and Beijing prepare to advance a joint statement promoting what they call a “multipolar” world order.

Despite the White House publicly urging the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to approve the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan housing bill, House lawmakers have put forth their own version of the bill that strips provisions reining in private equity.

President Donald Trump has given Iran only a “limited period of time” to present an acceptable peace proposal after calling off planned U.S. strikes, even as the Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran’s negotiating position remains largely unchanged from earlier failed talks.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei used a series of posts on X Tuesday to describe Tehran’s war with the United States and Israel in terms one counterterrorism analyst called “jihad — sacred religious war,” even as ordinary Iranians remain largely cut off from the internet since the war began.

Israeli leaders are preparing for the possibility that war with Iran could resume within days, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a second limited security cabinet meeting in 24 hours amid growing coordination with Washington.

Global oil inventories are being drained at an alarming pace as the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to disrupt energy markets, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces has destroyed roughly 60% of Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Lebanese villages where Israeli forces are operating in southern Lebanon, a senior Northern Command officer told Walla on Monday.

A Wall Street Journal exclusive is drawing renewed attention to the imprisonment of Pastor Ezra Jin, the founder of Beijing’s Zion Church, whose arrest has become a flashpoint in China’s intensifying campaign against unregistered Christian congregations.

President Donald Trump is weighing whether to restrict a multibillion-dollar arms package for Taiwan after his two-day visit to China, a move that could mark a significant shift in Washington’s long-standing security posture toward the island democracy.