June 23, 2025 12:34 PM

UN chief warns of ‘a rathole of retaliation’ after US strikes on Iran

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned of "a rathole of retaliation" in the wake of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling, Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. "From the outset of the (Israeli-Iranian) crisis, I have repeatedly condemned any military escalation in the Middle East. The people of the region cannot endure another cycle of destruction. And...

June 23, 2025 11:15 AM

Airlines weigh Middle East cancellations after US strikes in Iran

Commercial airlines around the world on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights as a conflict which has already cut off major flight routes entered a new phase after the U.S. attacked key Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran vowed to defend itself. The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights thr...

June 23, 2025 11:03 AM

Oil surges to five-month high after US hits Iran’s key nuclear sites

Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January as the United States' weekend move to join Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities stoked supply concerns. Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97% to $78.53 a barrel as of 0503 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04% to $75.35. Both contracts jumped by more than 3% earlier in the session to $81.40 and $78.40, respectively, touching five-month highs before giving up some gains. The rise in prices came a...

June 23, 2025 9:36 AM

Pakistan condemns Trump’s bombing of Iran – a day after nominating him for Peace Prize

Pakistan condemned on Sunday the strikes ordered on its neighbour Iran by Donald Trump, a day after Islamabad had said it would nominate the U.S. President for the Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan on Sunday said Trump's decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities violated international law and that diplomacy was the only way to resolve the Iran crisis. “The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of te...

June 23, 2025 9:14 AM

Iran Parliament Approves Strait of Hormuz Closure Following U.S. Nuclear Strikes as Global Energy Crisis Looms

Iran’s parliament has unanimously approved a dramatic proposal to close the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s most critical oil and gas shipping route—in direct retaliation for U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. While the decision signals a potentially catastrophic escalation with global repercussions, final authority to implement the closure lies with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which has not yet issued a formal order. U.S. Secretary ...

June 22, 2025 4:28 PM

PM Modi speaks to Iranian President, reiterates call for de-escalation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and reiterated call for immediate de-escalation and diplomatic measures to restore regional peace in the region. "Spoke with President of Iran @drpezeshkian. We discussed in detail about the current situation. Expressed deep concern at the recent escalations. Reiterated our call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and for early restoration of regional peace, security and stabil...

June 22, 2025 2:00 PM

Iran Launches True Promise 3 Wave 20 Missile Strike on Israel, Targeting Ben Gurion Airport and Military Facilities

Iran executed its most significant missile barrage of the year against Israel early Sunday morning as part of Operation "True Promise 3," with Wave 20 targeting Ben Gurion Airport, biological research centers, and command and control facilities. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed the strikes were launched in response to recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory, marking a dangerous escalation in the ongoing West Asian conflict that has now entered its second week. At ...

June 22, 2025 1:18 PM

Israel under missile attack, Iran says all options open after US strikes

Israel faced a missile attack on Sunday as Iran said it reserved all options to defend itself after unprecedented U.S. strikes that President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" its key nuclear facilities. Hours after Trump dramatically escalated Middle East tensions by sending B-2 bombers to Iran, the Israeli military warned people to seek cover from a barrage that appeared heavier than the Iranian salvoes fired in the past few days. "The events this morning are outrageous and will have everl...

June 22, 2025 12:14 PM

Airlines keep avoiding Middle East airspace after US attack on Iran

Airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East on Sunday after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges. "Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week," FlightRadar24 said on social media platform X. Its website showed airline...

June 22, 2025 12:07 PM

Strikes on Iran mark Trump’s biggest, and riskiest, foreign policy gamble

With his unprecedented decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, directly joining Israel’s air attack on its regional arch-foe, U.S. President Donald Trump has done something he had long vowed to avoid - intervene militarily in a major foreign war. The dramatic U.S. strike, including the targeting of Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear installation deep underground, marks the biggest foreign policy gamble of Trump’s two presidencies and one fraught with risks and unknowns. Trump, who in...