2026

2026 (MMXXVI) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2026th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 26th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2020s decade.

The year began with escalating crises and conflicts in the Americas and the Middle East. In January, the United States launched a military operation in Venezuela and captured sitting President Nicolás Maduro. The intervention led to a blockade of Venezuelan oil exports, contributing to a crisis in Cuba. In Iran, authorities violently suppressed ongoing protests that had begun in the previous year, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. In February, Pakistan launched airstrikes against Afghanistan, leading to open conflict between both nations. In the weeks after the mass killings in Iran, the United States began to increase its air and naval presence in the region, reaching levels not seen since the beginning of the Iraq War. On 28 February, Israeli and US forces launched a major military campaign against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of other Iranian leaders. Iran subsequently launched thousands of drones and missiles at multiple countries in retaliation, while the United States and Israel continued sustained airstrikes. The conflict has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, large-scale evacuations, widespread economic disruption, and a spillover of the conflict into Lebanon.