With even the existing agreements on the Strait of Hormuz subject to conflicting interpretations, Gulf powers feel compelled to forge their own relations with Iran, fracturing the united front the U.S. has sought to build. It is doubtful whether Rubio's visit can mend the
By Renju Jose SYDNEY, June 25 (Reuters) - Australia faces multi-faceted threats from autocratic regimes, hackers and antisemitic extremists that present a systemic challenge to national security and are degrading the security environment, the country's spy chief said. While
The last Australian woman stranded in the Middle East over suspected links to the Islamic State group will be allowed to return home, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Thursday. Dozens of women and children have been returning to Australian from squalid Syrian detention
By Humeyra Pamuk and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a deadly strike on a girls' school in Iran on February 28, the first day of the Iran war, that killed scores of children.
By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to calm tensions with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, using a mix of flattery and gentle pushback to argue that examples of allies' reluctance to support the U.S.
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance indicated on Wednesday that a review was under way to see how the United States could sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets given Ankara's 2019 acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defense systems. "Pete and the entire team
Israel's top defense official said his country would not withdraw from Lebanon despite diplomatic pressure from Washington as it seeks rapprochement with Iran.
By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Three International Criminal Court judges on Wednesday sued U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration over sanctions imposed on themlast year, arguing the measures were unlawful. In the lawsuit filed in the federal
General Chris Donahue -- the last American soldier to depart Afghanistan and the current commander of US Army forces in Europe and Africa -- will leave his position early next month, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. Donahue "will relinquish command on July 2, 2026," Army
BERLIN, June 24 (Reuters) - European leaders reaffirmed on Wednesday their commitment to a stronger defence partnership ahead of next month's NATO summit in Ankara, following a series of spats with U.S. President Donald Trump and tensions among the main European members. They
June 24 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the early restoration of normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to help ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains, state media Xinhua reported on Wednesday. Here are some more details: •
The country's leaders are seeking to translate a flurry of oil and gas agreements into concrete investments and rebuild an industry devastated by more than a decade of war, sanctions and isolation.
According to a recent survey, 80% of Democrats expressed an unfavorable view of Israel, yet party leadership in the House and Senate has remained largely aligned with longstanding US support for Israel.
KUWAIT CITY, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday vowed that the United States will not do anything that would undermine the security of U.S. allies in the Gulf region when it comes to Washington's dealings with Iran. "We're going to be
By Humeyra Pamuk and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration is planning to push ahead with the sale of dozens of jet engines to Turkey worth hundreds of millions of dollars despite objections from the U.S. Congress, four sources
KUWAIT CITY, June 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait resumed operations on Wednesday during a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, months after services were suspended in March by Iranian attacks. The embassy, located in Kuwait City, will immediately resume
Cracked bones, humiliation, sexual assault: Pro-Palestinian activists recounted the abuse they say they suffered from Israeli authorities for taking part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month, which has sparked multiple investigations and international outcry. France, Italy
ROME, June 24 (Reuters) - Italy on Wednesday pushed back against remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that hundreds of U.S. aircraft had taken off from American bases in Italy to support military operations against Iran, saying Rome had authorised only technical and
By Alexander Cornwell, Tala Ramadan and Jana Choukeir TEL AVIV/DUBAI June 24 (Reuters) - Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, highlighting a hurdle to Iran-U.S. peace talks, as the top U.S. diplomat tours the Middle
By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT, June 24 (Reuters) - The biggest casualty of the U.S.-Iran deal may not be Israel's Iran strategy, but the political brand Benjamin Netanyahu spent decades constructing as the Israeli leader who could uniquely bend Washington to his will on Iran,
Defense Minister Israel Katz also said Israel will not withdraw from the territories the IDF captured in Syria either. 'This is the security doctrine. The IDF must be on the enemy's turf and protect the communities from within the territory itself,' he said
ZURICH, June 24 (Reuters) - Switzerland has started contract negotiations with manufacturers from France, Israel and South Korea for a second air defence system following delays to its order of U.S. Patriot missile systems, the government said on Wednesday. Switzerland in 2022
ANKARA, June 24 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he would "most likely" hold bilateral talks with U.S. President Donald Trump when the U.S. leader comes to Ankara for a NATO summit next month. Turkey will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, was trading at $73.81 a barrel at 10:40 a.m. EDT, down 4.2% from Tuesday's close.
The trial follows another session in the case against Atef Najib, also a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, as Syrian authorities continue prosecuting figures linked to the former regime and its remnants.
Heavy equipment operator Bassam Khalil's bulldozers and excavators are in high demand in south Lebanon's Tyre these days, as the seaside city tries to pick up the pieces from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. Residents of destroyed buildings are anxious to comb through the
Iran has said it wants to charge "maritime service fees" in the Strait of Hormuz.
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran has told the United States that no tolls were being sought from ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries, which ended a first round of negotiations in Switzerland on
An Australian citizen living in Iran who was a senior member of its Revolutionary Guards orchestrated a major antisemitic firebomb attack in Sydney, Australia's spy chief said Wednesday. Giving an annual threat assessment, Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian
CAIRO, June 24 (Reuters) - Al-Nazir Al-Sadig sought safety in Egypt from the civil war in Sudan. Instead, the 18-year-old died of pneumonia after more than three weeks in a squalid Cairo jail, where he had suffered beatings and extortion at the hands of other inmates, his
ANKARA, June 24 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that work was underway on a legal framework that will speed up the disbandment of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, and that it would be put on parliament's agenda without delay.
Iran called the deal it struck to end the Middle East war "a declaration of America's defeat" on Wednesday, as the top US diplomat kicked off a tour of Gulf countries hit hardest by Tehran. The war that began with a massive US-Israeli campaign of strikes against Iran on
By Francois Murphy VIENNA, June 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog will carry out inspections in Iran soon following an interim peace accord between the United States and Iran, but modalities have yet to be finalised, the agency's chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.
Factional divisions and opposition to talks with the United States exist within the Iranian hierarchy, but such splits will not suffice on their own to derail the negotiating process, analysts say. After five weeks of war paused by an April ceasefire and ended by an accord this
June 24 (Reuters) - Airlines should continue to avoid the airspace over Iran, Iraq and Lebanon and remain cautious across the region despite the framework deal between Washington and Tehran, because violations remained possible, the EU aviation safety agency EASA said. EASA
One side effect of the daily terror from the hilltop youth against Palestinian pastoralist communities is that the threshold of interest, shock and disgust keeps rising
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, June 24 (Reuters) - Talks between Israel and Lebanon include discussion of a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to hand over some of the territory they have invaded during the war with Hezbollah to the Lebanese military, according to Israeli and Lebanese
By Gram Slattery ABU DHABI, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins a Middle East tour in earnest on Wednesday, seeking to reassure Gulf allies who view concessions in President Donald Trump’s Iran deal that include a proposed $300 billion fund as too