Iran has ramped up efforts to target US personnel, and lethal plots by Tehran against American citizens have reached "advanced stages", a senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by Reuters. The alert from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton came after Washington scaled back staffing at its mission in Saudi Arabia earlier this week in response to intensified attacks by Iran-allied Houthi forces. Those attacks on one front of the nearly [Read more]

BP announced a deal on Friday that provides Louisiana an accelerated, lump-sum $350 million payment to resolve claims over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and that also settles long-running coastal damage litigation by local parishes. • BP agreed in 2015 to pay up to $18.7 billion to the federal government and five states to resolve claims arising out of the oil spill. That money includes $4.9 billion payable over 18 years to settle economic and other claims by the states. • While [Read more]

President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States would take care of Cuba after dealing with Iran and would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finish the deal. * "We'll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran... then we're going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal," Trump told a rally in Florida. * Trump predicted last month the US and Cuba would reach an ​agreement and that he did not think military action would ‌be necessary. * The Trump administration has [Read more]

US President Donald Trump said on Friday Washington may carry out another military operation against Iranat a time when the war is nearing its eight month mark and as rise in fuel prices weigh on the US midterm elections. "We may do another little Epic Fury," Trump said in remarks at a rally in Florida as he spoke about the war. He did not elaborate. * "Operation Epic Fury" is the name used by the US military for its war against Iran. * Earlier on Friday, Trump said the US could end the war [Read more]

President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States could end the war with Iran quickly, but questioned whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down. "We could end it very quickly," Trump said. "Do we want to finish it off or just want to let it wither?" Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn as he left on a trip to Florida, Trump said oil is getting out through the Strait of Hormuz. "We are getting everything we want,' he [Read more]

October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways, according to data compiled by a Washington-based think tank that has tracked maritime security incidents worldwide since 2017. "October has seen the highest number of ship attacks on record," said Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Raydan, who maintains the institute's interactive shipping incident map, has recorded 28 confirmed and [Read more]

France's foreign minister said on Friday that any renewed escalation between Iran and the United States would only have losers and raise oil prices. "A further escalation between Iran and the United States would leave no winners and would likely have very serious consequences for hydrocarbon prices," Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters in Istanbul after a meeting with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) [Read more]