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US sailors conduct routine maintenance on a jet blast deflector on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on July 9, 2025. (US Navy)
Middle East
Middle East
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A US infantry carrier vehicle crosses a river during a South Korea–US joint military exercise in Yeoju, South Korea, on August 27, 2025. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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A view of the Port of Kharg Island Oil Terminal in Iran on March 12, 2017. (Getty Images)
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A combine harvester gathers crops in Farbovane, Ukraine, near Kyiv on July 9, 2026. (Getty Images)
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Taliban security personnel stand guard atop armored Humvees along a road in the Green Zone area in Kabul on August 12, 2026. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz on August 10, 2026. (Getty Images)
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Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev is greeted by North Korean Minister of Public Security Pang Tu-sop at Pyongyang International Airport in North Korea on April 20, 2026. (Getty Images)
Experts
James Barnett
Research Fellow
Michael Doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
