Iran is working out new security arrangements with its Gulf neighbors and seeking support from China and Russia, with all these countries reportedly agreeing that the United States no longer has a role in the region.
Five separate defense stories this week describe the same trend: countries doubting that powerful allies or old rules will protect them.
Saudi Arabia says a strike by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Riyadh's international airport killed 12 people and wounded more than 300, the kingdom's deadliest attack in a decade.
Five reports published this week show governments promising military deterrence, the idea that a strong defense stops enemies from attacking, without paying for it.
Iran launched missiles and drones at US-linked targets, ignoring a direct warning from President Trump, the Washington Post reports.
Finland's government secretly extended a defense-cooperation deal with Israel for ten years, through 2034, covering joint weapons research and purchases — even as it has publicly accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza war.
The United Arab Emirates has stopped all financial transactions and trade with Iran after an Iranian missile reached its territorial waters, the sea area a country controls near its coast.
President Trump said the US would bomb Oman if the Gulf country 'gets in the way' over the standoff with Iran, the BBC reports.
Oman has given Iran a plan, backed by other Gulf countries, to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that much of the world's oil ships through.