WASHINGTON – U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday the United States wants to de-escalate tensions with Iran, but the country is ready to finish any war that could be started. "We are not looking to start a war with Iran, but we are prepared to finish one," he said. "What we'd like to see is the situation de-escalated." The U.S. drone strike on Friday that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has sharply escalated tensions with Iran, raising fears of all-out conflict. Washington says it killed Soleimani in self-defense, aiming to disrupt his plans to attack U.S. personnel and interests.

The news: US startup Agility Robotics has just made its two-legged robot Digit available to buy for the first time. The first customer is car giant Ford, which has been testing the robot for vehicle-to-door delivery since May 2019. Digit's digits: It's similar in size to a small adult, able to carry items weighing up to 40 pounds (18 kilograms), and can navigate semi-autonomously, using cameras and lidar sensors. The robot is able to pick boxes up and put them down without guidance, but tasks like avoiding obstacles still require help from humans via a teleoperation system. You can see a video of Digit in action here.

The news: US startup Agility Robotics has just made its two-legged robot Digit available to buy for the first time. The first customer is car giant Ford, which has been testing the robot for vehicle-to-door delivery since May 2019. Digit's digits: It's similar in size to a small adult, able to carry items weighing up to 40 pounds (18 kilograms), and can navigate semi-autonomously, using cameras and lidar sensors. The robot is able to pick boxes up and put them down without guidance, but tasks like avoiding obstacles still require help from humans via a teleoperation system. You can see a video of Digit in action here.

The visit to Syria, a key ally of Iran, came amid soaring tensions in the Middle East between Iran and the United States. On Friday, a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general who led forces supporting Assad in Syria's civil war. Iran has vowed revenge for the slaying, and with some 600 American troops deployed in Syria, the country is a potential site of conflict with Iran. While the official statements made no mention of the U.S. killing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Friday, the timing was conspicuous. Soleimani had led Iran's armed support for Assad as armed rebels neared the capital, Damascus, and he helped seize key cities, preventing the collapse of Assad's state.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused Iran of working to thwart efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, but he offered no specific details to support his allegation. Pompeo leveled his charge amid an escalating crisis with Iran following a U.S. drone strike on Friday in Iraq that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite foreign paramilitary and espionage service, the Quds Force. "Iran has refused to join the regional and international consensus for peace and is, in fact, actively working to undermine the peace process by continuing its long global effort to support militant groups there," Pompeo said at a State Department news conference. Pompeo named the Taliban as one of the militant groups he accused Iran of using to undermine Afghanistan peace efforts. He also referred to the "Tora Bora and the Mullah Dadullah Group," little-known organizations whose strengths, relevance and contacts with Iran were not immediately clear.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo scoffed Tuesday at a suggestion that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was on a diplomatic mission to Baghdad when a U.S. drone strike killed him, insisting that the story is "fundamentally false" and "propaganda." "Anybody here believe that?" Pompeo asked reporters when the claim was brought up during a Tuesday press briefing. "We know that wasn't true." The notion that Soleimani was on some sort of peace mission was first floated by Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who reportedly said at a Sunday session he was scheduled to meet with Soleimani and discuss a message from Saudi Arabia regarding possible agreements in the region. Pompeo addressed the claim that Soleimani was supposed to work on a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, stating that he spoke to Saudi officials about this.

NYU Tandon School of Engineering professor Justin Cappos talks about Iran's cyberwar capabilities following the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a US strike and what we should do to protect ourselves. Cybersecurity expert Justin Cappos warns that Iran has already "proven it's both adept at launching cyberattacks and that those attacks can cause real damage" in the wake of the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike. In an interview with Fox News, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering professor pointed to previous cyberattacks launched by Iran that he says illustrate the country has both the means and the willingness to go on the attack and damage American interests. In 2016, the Justice Department charged seven hackers linked to the Iranian government with executing large-scale coordinated cyberattacks on dozens of banks as well as a small dam outside New York City -- intrusions that law enforcement officials said reached into America's infrastructure, disrupted the nation's financial system and cost tens of millions of dollars. Professor Cappos said that because of the previous attacks and current turmoil, it is vital that people take measures to protect their systems.

Our series on drones, known formally as "unmanned aircraft systems" or "UAS," addresses the growing use of drones in numerous industries across the United States. Many sectors in the United States have embraced drones due to their ability to significantly reduce costs, execute a variety of tasks traditionally performed by human labor, access places that humans and larger aircraft are incapable of reaching and provide enhanced reliability and accuracy of data. Furthermore, commercial drone use in the U.S. is expected to become more prevalent as federal government decision-makers and industry stakeholders work together to encourage drone use in commercial operations and to foster the integration of drones into the nation's airspace. Here's the fifth installment of our series, which focuses on the rapidly increasing integration of drones into the insurance and real estate industries. The insurance industry increasingly is relying on drones to identify and assess risks, as evidenced by the fact that insurance companies employ 17% of all commercial drones. All of these benefits can facilitate shorter claim processing time and more precise risk management.

Our series on drones, known formally as "unmanned aircraft systems" or "UAS," addresses the growing use of drones in numerous industries across the United States. Many sectors in the United States have embraced drones due to their ability to significantly reduce costs, execute a variety of tasks traditionally performed by human labor, access places that humans and larger aircraft are incapable of reaching and provide enhanced reliability and accuracy of data. Furthermore, commercial drone use in the U.S. is expected to become more prevalent as federal government decision-makers and industry stakeholders work together to encourage drone use in commercial operations and to foster the integration of drones into the nation's airspace. Here's the fifth installment of our series, which focuses on the rapidly increasing integration of drones into the insurance and real estate industries. The insurance industry increasingly is relying on drones to identify and assess risks, as evidenced by the fact that insurance companies employ 17% of all commercial drones. All of these benefits can facilitate shorter claim processing time and more precise risk management.

TEHRAN – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept Monday over the casket of a top general killed last week in a U.S. airstrike, his prayers joining the wails of mourners who flooded the streets of Tehran demanding retaliation against America for a slaying that has drastically raised tensions across the Middle East. The Tehran funeral for Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani drew a crowd said by police to be in the millions, filling thoroughfares and side streets as far as the eye could see. Although there was no independent estimate, aerial footage and journalists suggested a turnout of at least 1 million, and the throngs were visible on satellite images of Tehran taken Monday. Authorities later brought his remains and those of the others to Iran's holy city of Qom, where another massive crowd turned out. The outpouring of grief was an unprecedented honor for a man viewed by Iranians as a national hero for his work leading the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force.