McDonald’s wants to put more of its business on ice.

The chain behind the Big Mac and Chicken McNuggets is gearing up to offer Creamy Vanilla Cold Brews, Popping Tropic Refreshers and other brightly colored, iced drinks.

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McDonald’s plans to test-launch the range of coffees, refreshers and “dirty sodas”—spiked with add-ins such as dried fruit and flavored syrups—at several hundred of its U.S. restaurants in September. The Golden Arches joins a broader fast-food industry push into premium drinks, which is powering sales for rivals such Taco Bell and Wendy’s.

“The trends are all pointing in the same direction, and we can say that’s driven by Gen Z,” said Charlie Newberger, head of McDonald’s beverage and dessert offerings. The chain intends to learn what customers want to sip, and how the novelty drinks can be worked into the chain’s busy kitchens.

Beverages have been one of the hottest growth businesses for U.S. restaurants at a time when the industry has struggled to draw inflation-fatigued consumers.

Sales at beverage- and snack-focused restaurant chains grew 9.6% in 2024, the biggest annual increase of any restaurant category, according to market-research firm Technomic. Burgers generated higher sales overall last year, but they grew 1.4% over the same period.

That’s putting fast-food chains into competition with coffee chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin’ and Dutch Bros. McDonald’s has estimated beverages could represent a $100 billion consumer market in the U.S., Canada, Australia and parts of Europe. The drinks tend to attract younger consumers and deliver higher profits for operators, according to executives.

McDonald’s took one shot in December 2023 with the launch of an alien-themed spinoff called CosMc’s. The goal was to test the market for novelty beverages without gunking up the works in McDonald’s existing restaurants—Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski’s phrasing at the time.

A CosMc’s restaurant in Bolingbrook, Ill., one of eight McDonald’s launched to sell novelty beverages. – SCOTT OLSON/Getty Images

The company built a total of eight CosMc’s locations in Illinois and Texas. The first stores initially attracted big lines of customers ordering Churro Cold Brew Frappés and dozens of other nonalcoholic drinks, but the sensation faded and McDonald’s pulled the plug in May, saying CosMc’s had served its purpose.

The remains of an Iranian missile lie near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank in the aftermath of the war.

Israel’s recent war with Iran served as a cautionary tale for countries with sophisticated missile defenses and those that seek to have them. Over 12 days, Iran pierced Israel’s defenses with increasing success, showing that even the world’s most advanced systems can be penetrated.

While most of Iran’s missiles and drones were knocked down, Tehran changed tactics and found gaps in Israel’s armor through trial and error.

Israel’s capacity to intercept aerial threats has been tested by barrages of Iranian ballistic missiles. Here’s how the U.S.-supplied Thaad system has fit into its layered air-defense strategy. Photo Illustration: WSJ

TEL AVIV—The U.S. has seven high-end Thaad missile-defense systems. During the 12-day war with Iran in June, two were deployed to Israel—and it wasn’t enough.

Operating alongside Israeli systems, Thaad operators burned through munitions at a furious clip, firing more than 150 missiles to shoot down the waves of Iranian ballistic missiles, according to U.S. officials. That is nearly a quarter of the interceptors ever purchased by the Pentagon.

Iranian shoppers have grown accustomed to buying counterfeit goods. Photo: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images

Iranians love high fashion, but luxury companies planning to tap Persian appetite for designer clothes and bags are facing stiff competition from their very own brands—albeit fake ones.

In the forked walkways of Tehran’s central bazaar, many shops offer convincing copies of Gucci belts and Cartier handbags. One young vendor sells a fake Louis Vuitton belt made in Turkey for about $8; the authentic product retails for around $400. “I have the box if you want to wrap it as a gift,” he offers as a deal-clincher.