President Trump’s third major shift in military strategy comes as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war.

Tehran (AFP) – The United States is "taking over" the Strait of Hormuz and will be paid for protecting it, US President Donald Trump declared on Monday, as Washington and Tehran once again fought over the vital waterway.

After months of crisis in the Middle East, France is looking to build its influence in the region by strengthening relations with Oman – a small country long seen as a quiet, neutral regional player. On his first state visit to France, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a string of major contracts for French companies. 

A ceasefire agreement with Israel requiring the government to dismantle Hezbollah reignites sectarian tensions

In a tumultuous resumption of violence, Iran had fired several volleys of attacks, while Israel targeted a major Iranian petrochemical facility.

UN peacekeeper among at least 6 people reportedly killed in Lebanon on Thursday

Tehran has also reportedly ordered the Strait of Hormuz to be blocked over the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon

Iran and the US say they have carried out fresh strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, with Kuwait condemning "repeated" Iranian attacks.

US President Donald Trump said Monday it should be "mandatory" for countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords normalising ties with Israel as part of any agreement to end the war with Iran, in a move that could further complicate negotiations with Tehran.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in April secretly carried out a series of air strikes against Iran during the US-Israeli war against Tehran, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported this week. Analysts say these raids – which neither country has confirmed – would have been clandestine counterattacks following Tehran’s drone and missile strikes against Gulf state infrastructure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday reiterated his offer to help move Tehran’s fissile material stockpile

Tehran has delivered its counterproposal to Washington’s conditions for ending the war via Pakistani mediators

Hezbollah is projecting strength in Lebanon. But some see it as a sinking ship

Iran has “not even begun yet” in the standoff over the critical waterway, a top official warned Tuesday, after Tehran attacked ships that were part of the new American "Project Freedom." Trump said Tuesday evening that the operation was being paused.

US and Israeli forces have destroyed more than 13,000 targets in Iran, which in return has discovered a weapon that’s far more effective.

In a bombshell development, Iran has offered Trump a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz and end the war.

Iran said it had been 'victorious in the field' during weeks of war and had only agreed to a temporary truce with the US because its demands had been met, Iranian Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Saturday. The two-week ceasefire is set to end on Wednesday unless it is renewed.

The vessel was attempting to make its way past American forces in the Gulf of Oman, the US president has said