BEIRUT, March 5 (Reuters) - Israel warned residents to leave Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs on Thursday, sparking panic as people fled a swathe of the Lebanese capital on the fourth day of full-scale hostilities between the Iran-backed group and Israel. An
The US House of Representatives was expected Thursday to reject an effort to curb Donald Trump's authority to wage war against Iran, as the president faces fierce criticism over launching the conflict without seeking approval from Congress. Lawmakers are due to vote on a
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that four additional Typhoon fighter jets would be sent to Qatar as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, insisting that the UK has the right plan for defence. Britain's cautious response to
By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, March 5 (Reuters) - More than 20,000 Israelis have returned to the country since the start of the Iran air war that began on Saturday, the Transportation Ministry said on Thursday, adding that about 120,000 more Israelis currently abroad are seeking
PIRAEUS, Greece, March 5 (Reuters) - Greek seafarers began a 24-hour strike on Thursday, halting local ferry services, as they protested over vessel crews stranded in the Gulf amid the escalating Middle East war, and demanded the area is declared a war risk zone to enable their
(Clarifies Iranian ambassador's title) GENEVA, March 5 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization chief said on Thursday that it has verified 13 attacks on health infrastructure in Iran amid a U.S.-Israeli campaign, killing four health care workers and injuring 25 others. "WHO
By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY, March 5 (Reuters) - Pope Leo released a video on Thursday praying that God would help world leaders renounce war as a means of resolving conflicts in an unusual appeal as the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran pressed on for the sixth
By Laila Bassam BEIRUT, March 5 (Reuters) - Hezbollah has deployed elite fighters to confront Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sending them back into the border region from which they withdrew after a war in 2024, three Lebanese sources familiar with the deployments said, as
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will address a press conference on Thursday afternoon to give an update on the escalating conflict in the Middle East, his spokesman said. Starmer will speak to journalists at 1400 GMT in London, his spokesman
By Jonathan Saul and Anna Hirtenstein March 5 (Reuters) - More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the U.S.–Iran war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers in the region. A Bahamas-flagged
By Alexander Cornwell and Rami Ayyub TEL AVIV, March 5 (Reuters) - Israel's war in Iran is entering a second phase that will see its fighter jets attacking ballistic missile sites buried deep underground, two sources familiar with Israel's military campaign said. The joint air
BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday the alliance was vigilant and ready to defend every inch of its territory after Iran fired a ballistic missile towards NATO member Turkey. Rutte also addressed France's shift in nuclear
As far as Cypriots are concerned, the alliance with Israel provides it with security against Turkish threats. But during this week's drone attacks, Israel did not provide assistance. A Cypriot source says that may be a good thing
ROME, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran which sparked the latest Middle East crisis were clearly in breach of international law, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday. It was the strongest criticism to date from Italy's right-wing
By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to expand his country's nuclear deterrent but said the U.S. nuclear umbrella would remain the ultimate guarantor of European security.
RIYADH, March 5 (Reuters) - Diplomats and staff at embassies in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter have been told to shelter in place due to a potential threat, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. They did not have further details. (reporting by Timour Azhari in
By Andrew MacAskill, Kate Holton and Alistair Smout LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Britain's cautious response to the escalating conflict in the Middle East and its hesitancy in defending its allies from attack have renewed doubts among partners about its military effectiveness
By Sarah Young and Marissa Davison LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - In an area of London known as Little Tehran, the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prompted spontaneous street parties, dancing and fireworks. Shoppers still smile as some stores hand out sweet pastries, traditional
Iranians in exile who spoke with Haaretz describe growing support for Reza Pahlavi, the shah's son. But experts say Iran's elite sees him as an Israeli-American pet project and would oppose a return to monarchy: 'They're desperate – that's the word'
By Saurabh Sharma NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. attack on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean this week was the first time since World War Two that the United States has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo. The following details are based on accounts from Sri
Azerbaijan condemns strike on Nakhchivan airport and summons Iran's ambassador, warning it reserves the right to retaliate; Iran denies targeting the country
By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - The shooting down of a ballistic missile headed for Turkey by NATO air defences does not provide immediate reason to trigger the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause, its Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday.
BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO allies will keep supporting Ukraine despite the situation in Iran, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday. "Many leaders in Europe and the United States, Canada say it has to be 'and, and': make sure that as allies we
The attacks damaged an airport in the Nakhchivan exclave and slightly wounded two civilians.
By Sarah El Safty and Maha El Dahan DUBAI, March 5 (Reuters) - Wealthy Gulf states are facing their biggest food security challenge since the 2008 global food crisis, as the Iran conflict threatens ports and disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The war is testing
MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday accused the United States and Israel of trying to drag Arab countries into a wider Middle East conflict by provoking Iran into striking targets across the region and said there was no sign Washington and Tel Aviv would let up. Arab
(Refiles story to change dateline to March 5) By Saleem Ahmed and Asif Shahzad QUETTA, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistanis fleeing Iran described explosions and missile strikes across Tehranshaking the ground under their feet and engulfing buildings in fire and smoke in a
MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Iran has not approached Moscow with a request for arms supplies, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Russia has condemned U.S.-Israeli strikes and called for an immediate ceasefire against a country it has drawn closer to in recent years. Iran last year
BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Countries in the Middle East have told European officials they are concerned about the risk of civil war in Iran as a result of the conflict between Tehran and the United States and Israel, EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.
By Nailia Bagirova BAKU, March 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's foreign ministry lodged an official protest with the Iranian embassy on Thursday after a pair of Iranian drones flew across the border into Azerbaijan and injured two people at an airport in the Nakhchivan exclave. "This
The Israeli and Lebanese governments now seek to weaken and disarm Hezbollah. Whether that convergence leads to negotiations will depend on Israel's plans for a new buffer zone in south Lebanon and how forcefully Washington pushes developments in Beirut
ANKARA, March 5 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Thursday that it was closely following the actions of the Iranian Kurdish PJAK militant group, which it said threatened Iran's security and regional stability, amid reports of discussions between Iranian Kurdish militias and Washington
By Mubasher Bukhari and Saad Sayeed LAHORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan's efforts to preserve close ties with President Donald Trump are being put to the test after protesters stormed the U.S. consulate in Karachi last week and poured onto streets elsewhere over the killing
Africa hosts military bases within reach of Iranian missiles and is feeling the impact of rising oil prices and threats to shipping, as the continent again suffers from events largely beyond its control. The continent is "structurally exposed" to the Middle East war, said
GALLE, Sri Lanka, March 5 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is trying to "safeguard lives" on another Iranian ship off its coast, the country's cabinet spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that the vessel was in the economic zone beyond the South Asian island nation's territorial waters.
Many Israelis hope to be among the fortunate ones who secure a ticket to Taba, Egypt and from there to return home. 'There are people here who arrived yesterday, couldn't get a ticket and spent the night at the airport,' says one passenger
Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East: - Blasts in Jerusalem - Air raid sirens blared and two blasts were heard in Jerusalem on Thursday, AFP journalists reported, after Israel said it had identified missiles launched from Iran. The blasts came
Israel on Thursday launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, which stepped up its attacks on Gulf nations Qatar and Bahrain, as the Middle East war spread throughout the region and beyond. AFP reporters in Tehran and Doha heard huge explosions over the cities, with a thick
Israel pounded Tehran with fresh strikes and Iran targeted Kurdish guerrilla groups in Iraq on Thursday as a spiralling war engulfed the Middle East. A conflict ignited Saturday with US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has spread rapidly
Fresh blasts were reported in Iran's capital on Thursday as Tehran said it had targeted Kurdish groups in Iraq and warned "separatist groups" against action in the widening war. The conflict that began Saturday with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader has
Coordinated barrages by Iran and Hezbollah suggest the axis is still functioning. Washington signals escalation ahead, but diplomacy remains on the table
By Allison Lampert, Lisa Baertlein and Julie Zhu March 5 (Reuters) - Shipments ranging from fresh produce to airplane parts are in limbo as an escalating Middle East conflict reduces the world's air cargo capacity by more than one-fifth and pushes up freight rates, with
By Uditha Jayasinghe GALLE, Sri Lanka, March 5 (Reuters) - Iranian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said on Thursday, a day after at least 87 were killed in the
By Parisa Hafezi, Pesha Magid and Tuvan Gumrukcu DUBAI/JERUSALEM/ANKARA, March 5 (Reuters) - Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its sixth day and just hours
LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Wednesday identified two more soldiers who were killed in the war against Iran. The two Army Reserve soldiers died on Sunday in a drone attack on a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait that also killed four other
March 4 (Reuters) - A Pakistani man accused of planning to kill President Donald Trump told jurors on Wednesday that he did not willingly work with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to devise the plot, media said. The Justice Department accused Asif Merchant of
By Ismail Shakil March 4 (Reuters) - The impact of the Iran conflict on energy markets will be temporary and a "small price" to pay for U.S. military goals, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Wednesday. U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent
Cancelled flights, postponed trips and a great deal of uncertainty: the war in the Middle East is casting a long shadow over the tourism outlook for a region that has become a prized destination for travellers worldwide. "My last group of tourists left three days ago, and all
By Ryan Patrick Jones March 4 (Reuters) - The Canadian government is working to repatriate citizens who are stranded in the Middle East by organizing seats on commercial flights, contracting charter flights and offering ground transportation options to neighboring countries,