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Middle East
US-Iran strikes: Latest developments
The United States launched a third night of strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and proposed ...
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Middle East
Trump says US to charge cargo ships in Hormuz and reinstate blockade
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to charge all cargo shipped through Hormuz to pay for keeping the strait open, and to reinsta...
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President Donald Trump said Wednesday the ceasefire with Iran was over, calling Tehran "sick" after Washington launched strikes on the Islamic Republic and Iran said it targeted U.S. bases in the Gulf.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump said at a NATO summit in Ankara when asked if the truce with Iran was now finished. "It's just a waste of time dealing with them."
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Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Ankara Wednesday where he is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of NATO summit, Turkish television stations reported.
The summit of the military alliance, which closes on Wednesday, has brought 36 heads of state together.
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Funeral processions for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf with thousands of mourners present.
The Islamic Republic's dayslong funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body will later be taken from Najaf to the city of Karbala before returned to Iran.
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The U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, part of an American effort that also revoked the Islamic Republic's ability to openly sell crude oil in the world market. Iran retaliated with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.
The regional crossfire raised the risks that an interim agreement to halt fighting in the war could break down, putting the Middle East again at risk of a wider conflict. However, the fire followed a pattern of similar attacks during the deal's shaky ceasefire, and neither country immediately signaled they'd leave the negotiating table.
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U.S. forces launched strikes on Iran after three commercial vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said, sharply escalating a confrontation that has already shaken efforts to end the Middle East war.
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Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Tuesday that he is counting on an "active French role" to halt Israeli escalations against his country.
During a joint press conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Damascus, Sharaa condemned "systematic Israeli attacks", saying "we are counting on an active French role to stop this escalation and ensure respect for international agreements".
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Gulf emirate Qatar on Tuesday condemned Iran for an attack on one of its liquefied natural gas tankers as was transiting off the coast of Oman.
"The targeting of the Qatari vessel 'Al-Rekayyat' while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz constitutes an unacceptable attack on the security & safety of international maritime navigation," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on X adding Qatar holds Iran "fully legally responsible for this attack & for any resulting damages & consequences".
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was "very disappointed" by the response of NATO allies in Europe to his war with Iran after arriving in Turkey for the alliance's summit.
"I was very disappointed with NATO," Trump told journalists as he met Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Tuesday that he wants France to be a primary partner for Damascus, which he said has regained its role as a transit hub after the Strait of Hormuz closure.
"After the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the world realized the value of safe and stable corridors... here the importance of Syrian geography is highlighted, which today has regained its vital role as an indispensable link in the global corridors market, and we want France to be our primary partner in this path," Sharaa said in an economic forum with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and representatives from both countries.
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Two explosions were heard in central Damascus on Tuesday as French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Syrian capital, AFP journalists said, with witnesses reporting smoke rising near a high-end hotel where the leader spent the night.
At least one blast was heard before ambulances rushed to the scene, while Macron, the first Western European leader to visit Syria since the 2024 fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, held talks with Syrian counterpart Ahmad al-Sharaa at the presidential palace.
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