Headlines

Key Middle East energy sites under fire

Qatar's main gas facility has suffered extensive damage after several rounds of Iranian strikes, causing new energy supply fears as the Middle East war grinds on. Here is a look at some of the key energy facilities that have been targeted in the US-Israel war with Iran. - Ras

Japan PM meets Trump under pressure on Hormuz

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi risks the wrath of US President Donald Trump at the White House Thursday after rebuffing his call to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The first female premier in Japan's history, conservative Takaichi has had a strong supporter in Trump,

Iran targets Gulf energy sites after gas field strike

Iran targeted energy facilities across the Gulf and threatened further destructive attacks after a key gas field was hit, raising fears Thursday of a wider assault on fuel supplies that could jolt already rattled global markets. The warning came after Israel killed the Islamic

Sweden says Iran has executed a Swedish citizen

STOCKHOLM, March 18 (Reuters) - Iran executed a Swedish citizen on Wednesday, Sweden's foreign minister said, adding that she had summoned the Iranian ambassador in Stockholm to condemn the decision. The person, who was not named, was arrested in Iran in June of last year and

Syria unveils plan to eliminate Assad's chemical weapons

NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - Syria on Wednesday launched a plan supported by Washington to rid the Middle Eastern country of legacy chemical weapons that were used against its people by forces under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. For decades, Assad ran a large-scale program

From Faraja to Sepah: Iran's multiple security forces

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has taken steps to ensure it is not reliant on a single security force but rather multiple structures to defend the Islamic republic against external and internal threats. All these forces have been mobilised since the start of the war between

‘Not our war': Europe says no to Trump

By Andreas Rinke, Ludwig Burger and John Irish BERLIN/PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) - For a self-described Transatlanticist like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the language has been unusually blunt. When President Donald Trump asked countries to join a global effort against Iran

Iraqi Kurdish shepherds stoic in face of yet another war

Through one conflict after another, herders in Iraqi Kurdistan have grazed their animals under the endless blue skies of the Zagros Mountains -- a lifestyle they are stoically trying to maintain as yet another war engulfs the region. Since the beginning of the US and Israeli

How many cargo ships are passing Hormuz strait?

Just a trickle of cargo ships and tankers has made it through the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian forces blocked the crucial trade route in the Middle East war. Here are facts and figures about vessels that have passed through the 167-kilometre (104-mile) strait since the war

Guards consolidating power in Mojtaba Khamenei's Iran

The upheaval in Iran's leadership since the start of the war with Israel and the United States has further strengthened the political influence of the Islamic republic's ideological army, the Revolutionary Guards, analysts said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was