Middle East
Latest stories
Israel says delayed Iran's presumed nuclear program by two years

Israel claimed on Saturday it has already set back Iran's presumed nuclear program by at least two years, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran has a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes.

W140 Full Story
Trump says two weeks is 'maximum' for Iran decision

U.S. President Donald Trump said overnight that Iran had a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible U.S. air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he set a day earlier.

W140 Full Story
Israel-Iran war stretches into a second week without diplomatic breakthrough

Hours of talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war entered its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries.

W140 Full Story
At least 23 Iranian missiles fired at Israel in afternoon barrage, wounding at least 10

At least 23 heavy Iranian missiles were fired at Israel on Friday afternoon, causing extensive damage in Tel Aviv and wounding at least 10 in Haifa, two of them seriously, after six missiles managed to penetrate Israel’s air defenses, Iranian and Israeli media reports said.

Video footage showed a missile causing a big explosion in Haifa, with Israel’s Channel 13 saying there are fears of a possible leakage of dangerous material.

W140 Full Story
Gaza rescuers say 43 killed by Israeli forces

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed at least 43 people on Friday, including 26 who had gathered near an aid distribution center, the latest in a string of deadly incidents targeting aid seekers in the Palestinian territory.

"Forty-three martyrs have fallen as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 26 of whom were waiting for humanitarian aid," Mohammad Al-Mughayyir, director of medical supply at the civil defense agency in Gaza, told AFP.

W140 Full Story
Israel and Iran launch new strikes even as diplomatic effort gets underway

Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war Friday as President Donald Trump weighed U.S. military involvement and new diplomatic efforts got underway.

Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. He said he'll decide within two weeks whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in the war given the "substantial chance" for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.

W140 Full Story
Thousands protest in Tehran against Israel

Thousands of people joined a protest against Israel in the Iranian capital on Friday after weekly prayers, chanting slogans in support of their leaders, images on state television showed.

"This is the Friday of the Iranian nation's solidarity and resistance across the country," the news anchor said. Footage showed protesters holding up photographs of commanders killed since the start of the war with Israel, while others waved the flags of Iran and the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah.

W140 Full Story
European powers to offer Iran 'diplomatic solution' to conflict, Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said France and other European powers would make an offer to Iran of a diplomatic solution to end the escalating conflict with Israel.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will later Friday meet Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva "to make a complete diplomatic and technical offer for negotiations," Macron told reporters, adding that France and allies Germany and the UK were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table".

W140 Full Story
Things to know about Iran's supreme leader as he faces his greatest test

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who crushed internal threats repeatedly during more than three decades in power, now faces his greatest challenge yet.

His archenemy, Israel, has secured free rein over Iran's skies and is decimating the country's military leadership and nuclear program with its punishing air campaign. It is also threatening his life: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei "cannot continue to exist."

W140 Full Story
Europeans see window for diplomacy as they meet Iran's top diplomat

Iran's foreign minister plans to meet in Geneva on Friday with leading European counterparts, who hope to open a window for a diplomatic solution to the weekold war that has seen Israeli airstrikes target Iranian nuclear and military sites and Tehran firing back.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, said his country is not seeking negotiations with anyone as long as Israel continues its strikes on Iran.

W140 Full Story