US appears to be significantly increasing its military presence in the Middle East
The United States appears to be significantly increasing its military presence in the Middle East with the deployment of highly sophisticated aircraft and a second aircraft carrier to the region.
In recent days, at least five B-2 stealth bombers have deployed to Diego Garcia, a British military base used by the US in the Indian Ocean. More are reportedly en route.
Map: OpenStreetMap
Seven C17 aircraft have also been tracked landing on the remote atoll, suggesting transportation of equipment, personnel and supplies, and refuelling aircraft have been repositioned to strategic locations.
The Pentagon recently ordered the USS Harry S Truman carrier strike group to extend its deployment in the Red Sea by a month, and a second strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, is heading for the Middle East.
The USS Harry S Truman carrier strike group was told to extend its Red Sea deployment by a month. File pic: Reuters
Both groups have support ships, including destroyers, as part of the group.
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group is also heading for the Middle East. File pic: Reuters
It is an unusual surge in military assets and an indication, perhaps, that the US is planning heavy strikes on the Houthis in Yemen and possibly looking to send a strong message to Iran.
The Houthis, an Islamist group that controls a large part of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a, have repeatedly attacked Red Sea shipping and Israel during the war in Gaza.
Those attacks stopped while the ceasefire was in force but have restarted following a resumption of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
The Houthis have vowed to strike Israel’s Ben Gurion airport and have fired ballistic missiles towards Israel on an almost daily basis in recent weeks, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
They claimed to have launched drones at Israel on Tuesday night, but the Israeli military hasn’t confirmed that.
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The Trump administration has launched attacks against the Houthis to restore freedom of shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial waterway for global commerce as it’s linked to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.
The first wave of those attacks was the subject of a major security breach when a journalist was mistakenly included in discussions between senior US government personnel on the messaging app Signal.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has promised to continue striking the Houthis for as long as it takes, and President Trump has warned Iran he might be forced to take military action against their nuclear facilities if Tehran doesn’t agree to talks.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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