President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded the Federal Reserve slash interest rates. But Fed officials have stood pat, waiting to see how his administration’s sweeping policy changes affect the economy first.

The United States is drawing down the presence of staffers who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East and their loved ones due to the potential for regional unrest.

Shapiro served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East until January—charged with, among other things, considering scenarios in which tensions between Israel and Iran escalated into all-out war and preparing U.

The United States has pulled some diplomatic staff and military families out of the Middle East, citing unspecified regional security risks.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claims China could hold the 'moral authority' to negotiate Middle East peace after Israel's strikes on Iran.

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated as Israel employs unprecedented warfare tactics against Iran, according to Louis Libin, a combat technology expert.

As of mid-2025, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 US troops in the Middle East, comprising personnel stationed in both large, permanent bases and smaller forward sites across the region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that the United States has redirected 20,000 missiles, originally intended for Ukraine to combat Russian Shahed drones, to the Middle East. Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with ABC News;