Eurasia

Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan said Wednesday that China remained his top defense priority, but that message could ring hollow during his current trip to Asia as Iranian threats loom over American plans to focus on great-power competitors.

In prepared remarks delivered Wednesday at a Hudson Institute event, Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley, Jr., the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, stated that “The United States believes that Russia probably is not adhering to its nuclear testing moratorium in a manner consistent with the ‘zero-yield’ standard” outlined in …

A top U.S. military official has said that U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russia is likely conducting low-yield nuclear testing that may be violation of a major international treaty.

Russian military police last week reportedly carried out a raid against Iranian-backed militiamen stationed at Syria’s Aleppo international airport, local media reported.

Analysis: U.S. sanctions on Iran are taking toll on its Lebanon-based proxy: fighters’ salaries are sliced, assets sold off and even prized Al-Manar TV station is laying off staff; meanwhile, the group itself has not escaped American scrutiny

The only consistency in the Trump administration’s Middle East policy has been to support autocratic regimes and strongmen, as it has in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.The Trump administration’s top national security officials met with Congress multiple times in May to discuss how the President interprets the threat posed by Iran.U.S. …

An Israeli airstrike on a Syrian anti-aircraft position near the Golan Heights Monday killed one soldier and wounded three, Syria said. Israel called the rocket strike on Tal al-Shaar retaliation for a Syrian missile fired at an Israeli military jet it said was a routine flight.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that any increase in the US military presence in the Middle East would result in new risks. “As for [US] President [Donald] Trump’s decision to send 1,500 troops in addition to those deployed in the Middle East and North Africa region, well, you …

US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are currently paying a four-day state visit to Japan. Donald Trump announced on Monday that Japan plans to buy 105 US-made stealth warplanes; this would make it home to the largest F35 fleet of any US ally.

A senior German diplomat headed Thursday to Tehran to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. and increasing pressure from Washington.