By Lili Bayer BRUSSELS, April 20 (Reuters) - The Board of Peace’s lead envoy for Gaza told Reuters on Monday that he was “fairly optimistic” a plan for disarmament of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza can be agreed but cautioned that it will still take time. “We've had
The Iranian-run network had allegedly planned attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Azerbaijan. Senior IRGC commanders who headed the network were recently killed in Israeli airstrikes during the Iran war, Israel said
Traffic once again seized up in the Strait of Hormuz as both Tehran and Washington imposed separate blockades, with Iranian vessels continuing to test the US shutdown, tracking data showed Monday. Iran announced on Friday that it would reopen the strategic waterway, but the
ANKARA, April 20 (Reuters) - Turkey will tighten gun-ownership rules and increase penalties for owners whose children find the firearms, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday after last week's rare, deadly school shootings. The second of the two separate attacks by students
The European Union has proposed the full resumption of a decades-old cooperation agreement with Syria ahead of high-level talks next month.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the occupation in the south, even as Hezbollah and its supporters rejected the negotiations. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP it was in Aoun's and Lebanon's
Iran is banking on the Strait of Hormuz as its main card in any peace negotiations with the United States, but using the waterway as leverage is not without risk for the Islamic republic. Iran had for decades talked up the threat of blocking the strait, which is a critical
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - Vice President JD Vance is still in the United States and has not yet departed for Pakistan, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as prospects for a second round of negotiations with Iran remain unclear. President Donald Trump has
By Jonathan Saul LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - The Iranian-flagged container ship Touska, which was boarded and seized by U.S. forces on Sunday, is likely to have what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by the military onboard, maritime security sources said on
By Julia Payne and John Irish BRUSSELS/PARIS, April 20 (Reuters) - The European Union will expand the criteria of its Iran sanctions to include those responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely shut for nearly two months upending global energy and
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel did not persuade him to attack Iran, after news reports that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu influenced the U.S. president's decision and criticism from right-wing commentators. "Israel never
Israel says it has established a "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon near the border, where its forces are operating despite a 10-day ceasefire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. What is the so-called "Yellow Line", how does it resemble an Israeli military demarcation in the
April 20 (Reuters) - Israeli and Lebanese representatives will hold talks in Washington on Thursday, an Israeli source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Reuters on Monday. Israel will be represented by its ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, the source
By Pesha Magid SA-NUR, West Bank, April 20 (Reuters) - A Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank received demolition orders for 15 shops on Monday a day after Israeli ministers celebrated the reestablishment of a settlement on a neighbouring hill. Israel's ruling
By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO, April 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed at least two Palestinians in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials said, and fighters from Hamas clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia, witnesses said. Medics said
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also said that Lebanon will lead the negotiations and that no other party will take part, emphasizing that this track is separate from any other talks.
By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. will host further talks in coming weeks for the Group of 20 major economies on the impact of the war in the Middle East on food and fertilizer, as it continues to push for coordinated action. The U.S., current chair of
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, US President Trump said the US Navy fired at and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.
By Peter Apps April 17 (Reuters) - As U.S. Vice President JD Vance returned to Washington last weekend after unsuccessful peace talks in Pakistan over the crisis in the Gulf, China’s Foreign Ministry was preparing for a bumper slate of visitors including Russian Foreign
BEIJING, April 20 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping called for normal passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained, in a phone call on Monday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held as Beijing steps up efforts to help end the Iran war.
The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Qatar flights - Qatar's aviation authority said it would begin allowing flights from foreign airlines to land at its main airport for the first time since the start of the Middle East war. "Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has
Bending low in the baking sun and sheathed in heavy protective gear, Hussein Idris sweeps a metal detector across a vast minefield in central Khartoum that was once a park beloved by local families. The war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)
By Mubasher Bukhari ISLAMABAD, April 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan has put a $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons and jets to Sudan on hold after Saudi Arabia asked for the agreement to be terminated and said it would not finance the purchase, two Pakistani security sources and a
LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill on Monday with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data. The oil products tanker Nero, which is under British sanctions for Russian oil
TOKYO/LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - British foreign minister Yvette Cooper will cut short an intensive diplomatic tour designed to build consensus around making a ceasefire in the Iran war permanent and on the next steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Cooper's department is at
By Tuvan Gumrukcu ANTALYA, Turkey, April 20 (Reuters) - This year’s U.N. climate summit will seek to turn past decisions into action, with financing the main focus, Turkey’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum told Reuters, as the country prepares to host and
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, April 20 (Reuters) - Israel on Monday told residents of south Lebanon to stay out of a belt of territory running the length of the border and not to approach the area of the Litani River, entrenching its grip over southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in the
By Maayan Lubell and Maya Gebeily JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, April 20 (Reuters) - Israel's foreign minister and military on Monday condemned the desecration of a crucifix smashed by an Israeli soldier in a southern Lebanese village home to Christians. A photo that emerged online over
Iran insisted it has no plan to attend a new round of negotiations with the United States on Monday, as uncertainty grows over a push to stop the Middle East war from resuming. US President Donald Trump said he was sending negotiators to Pakistan for talks on ending the war
Iran on Monday executed two more members of opposition group the People's Mujahedin (MEK), the organisation said, with Iranian authorities saying they had been hanged on charges of spying for Israel. Mohammad (also known as Nima) Masoom Shahi, 38, and Hamed Validi, 45, were put
BEIJING, April 20 (Reuters) - China has expressed concern over the "forced interception" by the U.S. of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, urging relevant parties to abide by the ceasefire agreement in a responsible manner.
DUBAI, April 20 (Reuters) - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that every rational and diplomatic path should be used to reduce tensions with the U.S., but added that vigilance and distrust in interactions with Washington were an "undeniable necessity",
Iran said it would not participate in a second round of negotiations in Pakistan before the cease-fire expires on Tuesday, as the U.S. has maintained a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and seized an Iranian vessel, while both countries have exchanged military threats
SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - More than 20 vessels passed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, data from shipping analytics firm Kpler showed, the highest number of ships crossing the waterway since March 1. • Among the vessels that made it through on Saturday, five of them last
By Daphne Psaledakis and Hatem Maher WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 20 (Reuters) - Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the U.S. said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to
Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week. The country's powerful military chief, Field
To Israelis, the words 'security zone' evoke difficult memories of 18 years in the Lebanese quagmire and continuous friction that exacted a heavy price. Today, it seems the only thing that has changed is the terminology
The IDF said that an initial examination determined that the photograph is authentic, adding that 'the soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops.' Israeli strikes have reportedly hit many religious sites in Lebanon
April 19 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian about the conflict in the Gulf. During the talk, Sharif shared insights with Pezeshkian regarding his recent conversations with the leaders of