By Nandita Bose and Bo Erickson WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said the United States is tracking "very closely" how to get oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. "As far as tankers through the Strait, it's
By Nandita Bose and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to accept that the country has been "defeated militarily," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday. "President Trump does not
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would visit China for a rescheduled state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15, rescheduling a closely watched trip that was delayed due to the ongoing Iran war.
KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) - Russia sought to blackmail the United States by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if, in return, Washington would cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Zelenskiy, who said
A fireball erupted over Gaza on Wednesday as an Israeli strike tore through a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians, killing one person and injuring seven, the territory's civil defence agency said. The bloodshed was the latest to rock the war-shattered Palestinian territory
By Abdelaziz Boumzar and Yara Nardi NABATIEH, Lebanon, March 25 (Reuters) - Wearing identical uniforms, a dozen paramedics gathered around a pair of caskets in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh, crying so heavily their shoulders shook, as they prepared to bury two of
While Washington has signalled a diplomatic off-ramp from its war with Iran, Israel is preparing for the opposite in Lebanon -- an open-ended military campaign against Hezbollah. Analysts said the message from Israel was a blunt one: Hezbollah must be disarmed, and that will
By Amina Ismail and Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) - The United Nations' refugee chief urged donors on Wednesday to provide more funds to manage the humanitarian fallout from the widening war in the Middle East, saying his agency had so far received less than 10% of
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned Wednesday that the Middle East war presented a "far worse" scenario than the invasion of Iraq in 2003. "This is not the same scenario as the illegal war in Iraq. We are facing something far worse. Much worse. With a potential impact
Filipino Defence Minister Gilbert Teodoro, whose country has declared an energy emergency as a result of the Middle East war, said on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened "immediately". Iran has virtually closed the vital strait since the US-Israeli strikes that
Gulf leaders fear a prolonged war could damage their economies and regional stability, and are seeking de-escalation alongside guarantees of deterrence. Meanwhile, Egypt is trying to promote a pan-Arab security arrangement as Turkey positions itself as a key mediator
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers Wednesday in an effort maximize additional gas supplies from the North African nation.
Israeli authorities evicted 11 Palestinian families from their homes in east Jerusalem on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, a move that settlers have increasingly used to occupy the vacated properties. An AFP correspondent on the scene reported that civilians wearing
Israeli defense sources say that, despite initially aiming strikes at Iranian regime targets to spur a popular revolution, the air force is now seeking solely to damage Iran's military capabilities regardless of regime stability, and is preparing for a long campaign
By David Brunnstrom March 25 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday named veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault to be his personal envoy on the conflict in the Middle East, saying it was "out of control" and the "world is staring down the barrel of a
Britain and Turkey signed a training and support agreement marking “the next phase” of Ankara’s entry into the Eurofighter program, building on a £8 billion jet deal signed last year.
By Maayan Lubell and Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, March 25 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is racing to pass a state budget and stave off early elections he would likely lose, with the war in Iran so far doing little to improve his standing in the polls. In
The move could affect over 7,000 Iranians who currently hold visitors visas but who have not yet arrived in Australia.
Iran has outlined five conditions for a ceasefire, most of which are seen as nonstarters by the Trump administration.
MOSCOW, March 25 (Reuters) - Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom evacuated a further 163 of its staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Wednesday, the state-run RIA news agency reported. It cited Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev as saying about 300 of the
DUBAI, March 25 (Reuters) - Iran's initial response to the U.S. proposal to end the war has not been "positive", a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that Tehran is still reviewing it. The official said that Tehran's initial response has been delivered to
NICOSIA, March 25 (Reuters) - Cyprus has initiated a discussion with London on the future of British bases on the island, its president said on Wednesday, after a drone strike on a military facility this month triggered fears their presence could expose it to the wider Iran
March 25 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's pursuit of negotiations to end the war with Iran and said he hoped the talks would be given a chance to succeed. "It is commendable that the U.S. President has
According to the indictment, the 14-year-old received $1,170 in cryptocurrency in exchange for carrying out several tasks. He was even asked to graffiti the home of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and film it, and he replied that he was busy with school, but could do it during
Israel has failed in the past to change the map of the Middle East. Netanyahu is gambling that this time, he can succeed
March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy hopes to expedite the return to the Persian Gulf of two ships refitted for minesweeping now undergoing maintenance in Singapore, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, as concerns mount over Iranian threats to mine the Strait of Hormuz. The
March 25 (Reuters) - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Wednesday in a televised speech read on his behalf that negotiating with Israel under fire amounts to imposed surrender and called for unity against Israel. The speech, aired on a Hezbollah affiliated television station,
By Victoria Waldersee MADRID, March 25 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday it was unjust for citizens worldwide to bear the cost of what he called illegal U.S. and Israeli actions in Iran, warning the war was inflicting severe global economic
KABUL/WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban government on Tuesday released U.S. detainee Dennis Coyle after more than a year in detention, but Washington said the move was not sufficient to lift its recent designation of Kabul as a "state sponsor of wrongful
Mohamed Salah's long goodbye from Liverpool signals the end of a glorious era and leaves the Premier League giants facing another expensive rebuild. The Egyptian superstar announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season after a glittering
The service connects King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port.
By Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI, March 25 (Reuters) - India has bought its first cargo of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas in years after the U.S. temporarily removed sanctions on Tehran's oil and refined fuels, LSG trade flows and three industry sources said. India had shunned energy
One diplomat explained that the Lebanese fear another civil war, and the Israelis seek to finally disarm Hezbollah. Another reason for the lack of progress is Beirut's fear of being perceived as 'collaborating with the enemy' while Israel attacks across Lebanon
March 25 (Reuters) - Libya’s coast guard has begun towing away a damaged liquefied natural gas tanker that several Mediterranean countries warned posed an environmental risk after drifting unmanned for weeks, the Tripoli‑based Government of National Unity (GNU) said. The
Khalil and his young family are sheltering in a theatre in south Lebanon's Tyre, refusing to leave despite Israeli bombardment on the city that is now almost cut off from the rest of the country. "They'll have to take us by force," said the man in his thirties, who fled his
BAGHDAD, March 25 (Reuters) - Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded in an airstrike on a site belonging to Iraq's Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces near an army medical centre in western Anbar, security sources and the defence ministry said on Wednesday. The
By Emma Farge GENEVA, March 25 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab states told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday they face an existential threat from Iran as they condemned Iranian attacks on their infrastructure, which the U.N. rights chief said might constitute war crimes. The
By Jonathan Spicer ISTANBUL, March 25 (Reuters) - Turkey "is playing a role passing messages" between Iran and the U.S. to encourage de-escalation and direct negotiations, Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, told Reuters on
By Katya Golubkova and Irene Wang TOKYO, March 25 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol for an additional coordinated release of oil stockpiles when they met on Wednesday, as Tokyo seeks to hedge against a
March 25 (Reuters) - Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait's Civil Aviation Authority said on Wednesday. Emergency procedures were activated immediately, with firefighting teams responding to the blaze, it said,
BEIRUT, March 24 (Reuters) - Lebanese state media said on Tuesday that an air strike hit a Christian town north of Beirut, an area that had not yet been targeted in the expanding war between Israel and armed group Hezbollah. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the
By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee TAIPEI, March 25 (Reuters) - Taiwan fears China will exploit the distraction of the United States by its war in the Middle East, with state media citing examples from the conflict to cast doubt on the efficiency of U.S. weapons the island would
By Karen Lema MANILA, March 25 (Reuters) - The Philippines is working with Washington to secure waivers and exemptions that will allow it to obtain oil from U.S.-sanctioned countries and guarantee supplies, its ambassador to the United States said. The Philippines, which relies
March 26 (Reuters) - Win Zaw is among five of a Myanmar family who fan out on motorcycles most nights from their small village in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta to queue at fuel depots that might yield a few jerry cans of diesel for his tractor. "Some even sleep there
Israeli officials fear Trump relenting on Iran's enriched uranium and its nuclear and missile programs, wondering as to the fate of the plan to overthrow the regime. An Israeli official believes Iran talks will be 'substantive' – but it's unclear whether Tehran's flexibility
The Israeli Cyber Directorate said Iran is attempting to mirror prior Israeli operations against Iranian officials, revealing dozens of targeted digital attacks from Iranian agencies that would have resulted in physical harm to Israelis if the Shin Bet had not intervened
March 25 (Reuters) - Countries across Asia are weighing up work-from-home policies and stimulus measures enforced during the COVID pandemic, as they scramble to respond to global fuel shortages triggered by the Iran war. Asia is at the frontline of the fuel crisis, buying more
By Lisa Baertlein and Jonathan Saul LOS ANGELES/LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - The Western allies trying to negotiate a way to protect the Strait of Hormuz for energy shipping face a stark reality: a similar effort in the Red Sea that started years earlier cost billions of
Iran launched a new missile salvo across the Middle East on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump's signals that he was eager to talk with Tehran steadied global markets. Oil prices dropped sharply and stocks in Asia rose on broader de-escalation hopes following nearly