Iran

December 24, 2024 3:44 PM

Israel asks diplomats to seek Houthis’ listing as terrorists

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen designated as a terrorist organisation. The Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what the group describes as acts of solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israeli forces in Gaza. The attacks have disrupted international shipping routes, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys that have in turn stoked fears over global inflation...

December 6, 2024 3:42 PM

Turkey, Iran and Russia to meet in Doha on Saturday to discuss Syria, Turkish source says

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran, and Russia will meet in Doha on Saturday to discuss a lightning rebel advance in Syria, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Friday. Syrian rebels have made their biggest battlefield gains since the civil war began 13 years ago, striking a devastating blow to President Bashar al-Assad. After years of being locked behind frozen frontlines, the rebels captured the main northern city of Aleppo last week before pushing as far south as the centre of Hama, t...

November 11, 2024 4:07 PM

Will Trump’s return make Iran go nuclear?

Tensions persist in West Asia and the Gulf. Hostilities between Israel and Iran threaten to spill over. The return of Donald Trump as U.S. President has added an element of uncertainty to the prevailing situation in the region. Why? Because it was Trump who pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Iran Nuclear deal. But Trump did not stop at that. He imposed sanctions on Iran. And, in January 2020, an Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. drone strike inside Iraq. The assassination took...

November 6, 2024 11:22 PM

UN nuclear watchdog chief says he may head to Iran soon as Trump return looms

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he might head to Iran in the coming days to discuss its disputed atomic programme and that he expected to work cooperatively with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Grossi had previously said he hoped to go to Tehran ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. vote as he seeks to resolve several long-standing issues that have dogged relations between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western powers. "We are already talking to colleagues i...

October 28, 2024 10:32 AM

Netanyahu says Israel hit Iran hard; Khamenei says damage should not be exaggerated

Israel's airstrikes "hit hard" Iran's defences and missile production, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country was considering its response. With warfare raging in Gaza and Lebanon, direct confrontation between Israel and Iran risks spiralling into a regional conflagration. But a day after the airstrikes, there was no sign they would spark another round of escalation. However, heavy fighting in Lebanon between Israeli ...

October 26, 2024 8:12 AM

Israel starts ‘precision strikes’ on military targets in Iran, West Asia conflict escalates

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that it is carrying out "precise strikes" on Iranian military targets, around a month after Tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel. The IDF noted that the strikes are being conducted in response to "relentless attacks" from Iran and its proxies since October 7, adding that Israel has the "right and the duty to respond." The Israeli military said, "The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attack...

October 26, 2024 8:27 AM

Israel strikes Iran military targets amid fears of a wider war

Israel said it struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday in retaliation for Tehran's attacks on Israel earlier this month, the latest step in the escalating conflict between the heavily armed rivals. Iranian media reported at least two waves of multiple explosions over more than two hours in the capital and at nearby military bases, playing down the attacks in initial reportsand highlighting Iran's air defenses. The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's retaliation for a ballist...

October 24, 2024 1:32 PM

World powers meet in Paris to push Lebanon aid, ceasefire

World powers are meeting in Paris on Thursday aiming to raise at least 500 million euros in urgent humanitarian aid for Lebanon and push for a ceasefire, but with the U.S. focused on its own efforts, diplomats said they expect little concrete progress. France has historical ties with Lebanon and has been working with Washington in trying to secure a ceasefire. But its influence has been limited since Israel launched a large-scale onslaught on Iran-backed Hezbollah in September that has seen tho...

October 18, 2024 3:28 PM

Lebanese PM says he rejects Iranian interference in Lebanese matter

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said on Friday he rejected Iranian interference in a Lebanese matter, after the speaker of Iran's parliament said Tehran was ready to negotiate with France on implementing a U.N. resolution concerning southern Lebanon. U.N. Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, calls for the border area of southern Lebanon to be free of weapons or troops other than those of the Lebanese state,with the aim of keeping peace on the border with Israel. The speaker of Iran's parliamen...

October 17, 2024 5:21 PM

Iran warns Israel against retaliation for missile attack

The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards warned Israel on Thursday against attacking the Islamic Republic in retaliation for a missile barrage as the Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Lebanon against Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Fears of a wider Middle East conflict have grown as Israel plans its response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran after Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-allied militants. "We tell you (Israel) that if you commit any aggression against any poi...