President Biden's nominee as the State Department's No. 2 declared on Thursday the Obama-era nuclear deal is dead, suggesting the administration has quit trying to revive the accord.
A series of escalating clashes between U.S. troops and Houthi rebel forces adds even more fuel to an already combustible powder keg in the Middle East, with analysts warning that the Iran-backed militant movement in Yemen is that most dangerous of adversaries an unpredictable force with little to lose and no particular stake in stability in one of the world's most dangerous regions.
The House approved in a veto-proof vote Thursday a bill that would permanently freeze $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue previously unfrozen by President Biden as part of a hostage swap deal with the Islamic Republic.