Trump threatens Oman, Iran war in stalemate as 60-day talks window ends
CBS News · LC · trust 64/100
Updated on: August 17, 2026 / 12:56 PM EDT / CBS News
Two officials in northern Iraq were targeted in drone attacks that the regional counterterrorism service said were launched from the border with Iran.
One was fired at the office of Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. The other targeted the home of a top regional intelligence official, the counterterrorism service said.
There were no casualties and no immediate claim of responsibility.
Barzani on X called the attack "a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region."
Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, said the U.S. strongly condemns the attack "on our friend and valued Kurdish partner" Barzani.
"Such aggression against our trusted Kurdish allies is unacceptable and a direct threat to regional stability," he said, adding, "We will not condone or tolerate these hostilities."
Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi militant groups have launched regular attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq and on bases of exiled Iranian Kurdish dissident groups since the start of the Iran war, but Monday's direct attack on regional government buildings was unusual.
Wall Street stocks were mostly lower early Monday to open a week that includes earnings from large retailers and Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
Oil prices ticked higher as markets monitored back-and-forth between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz, which remains without normal tanker traffic.
"It's going to be a bit of a quiet week with very few inputs," B. Riley Wealth Management's Art Hogan said of the tempo in mid-August, a popular time for vacations.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% at 53,585.28.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 7,774.62, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was flat at 26,724.05.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell last week, according to two maritime monitors, with no end in sight to the grinding conflict between Iran and the United States.
Crossings through the key waterway fell 19.5%, according to Marine Traffic and Kpler , declining from a high of 19 on Aug. 11 to just three on Aug. 16.
Of the total 95 crossings, 51 vessels used the route established by Iran, while 44 used other routes, according to Marine Traffic.
Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, the gateway to the Red Sea, where Iranian-backed Houthi forces have attacked Saudi ships, increased slightly to 254, up from 238.
"Yet security conditions remain volatile," said Kpler. "Two attacks on 11 August resulted in six seafarer fatalities and 10 injuries, underscoring the gap between resilient traffic volumes and persistent regional risk."
The Pentagon announced a $22.9 billion contract with weapons manufacturer Raytheon on Monday for Tomahawk missiles amid reports of a shortfall due to the war with Iran .
Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the contract will "accelerate Tomahawk missile delivery to our warfighters at unprecedented speed."
"Guaranteeing our naval and joint forces have the lethal firepower they need to deter aggression and protect the homeland is paramount," Cao said in a statement. "The Department is utilizing every available tool to meet the demands of our current operations."
An analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank released last month found that U.S. stocks of Patriot and THAAD air defense missiles have been slashed by the conflict with Iran.
Before it began in late February, the United States had more than 2,300 Patriot and more than 450 THAAD interceptors - figures that CSIS estimated have been roughly halved or more in the subsequent months of war.
The Washington Post reported this month that President Trump had demanded answers from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth about munitions shortages at a recent cabinet meeting. Mr. Trump and Hegseth both later denied that the U.S. was faced with dwindling missile stocks.
Tomahawk missiles are mainly launched from submarines and warships and can travel more than 1,000 miles.
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis claimed Monday to have targeted a Saudi military vessel and four accompanying military vessels off the coast of Mokha, Saudi Arabia, in the Red Sea.
Houthi forces "managed to target a military landing ship belonging to the Saudi enemy, along with four accompanying military boats in the Red Sea off the coast of Mokha, using a number of ballistic missiles," Houthi military spokesperson Yehya Saree said in a post on X .
"The strike was accurate and direct, resulting in the complete burning of the ship, the sinking of a number of the boats, and the burning of the remainder," he added.
The Houthis said several weeks ago that they would enforce a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports. The two sides have been at war since 2015, when Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's civil war on the side of the Western-backed government, against the Houthis.
A ceasefire had been holding until last month, when the Houthis opened a new front in the regional war in support of their benefactor, Iran. Saudi forces last month joined with U.S. forces in airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said Monday that President Masoud Pezeshkian had decided the country's censorship of the internet should be brought to an end, although he said the process would take time due to the involvement of myriad legal bodies and councils.
Aref was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim News agency as saying the government considered improving the quality of Iranians' internet connectivity a priority, but he warned that Iran's enemies were seeking to use economic pressure to undermine social resilience.
He called on Iranian media to take a more assertive role in what he called a hybrid war, saying: "The media…
Read the original at CBS News →
Open in TruthVane →