EU leaders blast Viktor Orbán over Ukraine loan veto, accusing him of election games

BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union leaders on Thursday lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, accusing him of hijacking critical aid for Ukraine and undermining EU decision-making in an effort to win an election at home.

Israel is rapidly killing Iran's top leaders. Experts warn the strategy could backfire

Israel has killed one senior Iranian leader after another in airstrikes as it seeks to topple the Islamic Republic. But its past experience of targeting senior militants shows the strategy has limits and can sometimes backfire. Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The group still fires rockets.

Middle East War: The Latest Updates

Iran intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, dramatically raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy. Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked to as high as $118 a barrel, up more than 60%.

EU leaders balk at joining Middle East fight, grapple with high energy prices

BRUSSELS (AP) – European leaders doubled down Thursday on refusing to join the United States and Israel military campaigns in the Middle East as they met in Brussels to grapple with rising oil and gas prices caused by the war.

Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money. The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Trump: The Latest Updates

The director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned on Tuesday, saying he ” cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in Iran. Kent posted that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Lindsey Graham got a war with Iran. What will it cost the country and his party?

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – More than three decades after Lindsey Graham first arrived in Washington, he has everything he could ever want. The senator has President Donald Trump’s ear, a war in Iran and a well-funded path to reelection in his home state of South Carolina.

Trump's failed strong-arming of allies on Iran shows pressure is losing its effect

PARIS (AP) – We’ve long had your back, now it’s our turn. That is how the famously transactional U.S. President Donald Trump is framing his demands that allies help him with the Iran war. He wants to call in IOUs for decades of U.S. security guarantees.

Ex-counterterrorism official wasn't allowed to share concerns with Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Kent, the former counterterrorism director who resigned this week over concerns about the Iran war, said Wednesday that he and other senior officials with doubts about the airstrikes “were not allowed” to share them with President Donald Trump.