US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • "Do not test our resolve to defend our land."
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - 'Do not test our resolve' - Iran's powerful parliament speaker on Wednesday warned Washington not to test the Islamic republic's determination to defend its territory after the United States was reported to be sending more troops to the Middle East. 
  • "Do not test our resolve to defend our land."
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

'Do not test our resolve'

Iran's powerful parliament speaker on Wednesday warned Washington not to test the Islamic republic's determination to defend its territory after the United States was reported to be sending more troops to the Middle East. 
"We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments. What the generals have broke, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's delusions," said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in an X post in English. 
"Do not test our resolve to defend our land."

Deadly 'mistake'

The leader of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region told local media on Wednesday that Tehran acknowledged that a strike that killed six security personnel a day earlier was a "mistake".
On Tuesday, six members of the Kurdistan region's peshmerga forces were killed in a ballistic missile strike, the first deadly attack of its kind since the outbreak of the Middle East war.

'Far worse' than Iraq

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 that is far broader and far deeper," he told parliament.

No talks

Iran's ambassador to Pakistan said Tehran and Washington have not held talks, after US President Donald Trump signalled tentative progress in diplomatic efforts to end the war. 
"We have also heard such details through the media, but according to my information -- and contrary to Trump's claims -- so far no negotiations, direct or indirect, have taken place between the two countries," said Reza Amiri Moghadam, adding that it was "natural that friendly countries are always engaged in consultations with both sides to end this illegitimate aggression".

'Unmitigated catastrophe'

Strikes around Iran and Israel's nuclear sites risk unleashing an "unmitigated catastrophe", the UN rights chief said, warning that "recent missile strikes near nuclear sites in both Israel and Iran underscore the immense danger of further escalation."
- Gulf shipping - 
China's shipping Giant Cosco said it was resuming new bookings for shipments to some Gulf countries, which it halted because of the war.
The state-owned firm "resumed new bookings for general cargo containers for shipments" to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq "with immediate effect", according to a company statement.
Earlier Iran said "non-hostile vessels" can transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement released to the International Maritime Organization.

Missile sites hit

The Israeli military said it had struck two naval cruise missile production facilities in Tehran that were used to "develop and manufacture long-range naval cruise missiles".

Deadly Iraq strike

A new strike in western Iraq targeted the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi has killed seven.
The coalition is part of Iraq's armed forces but includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups.
The previous day, a similar attack killed 15 Iraqi fighters, the deadliest attack in Iraq since the start of the war and blamed on the US, while a strike blamed on Iran in the autonomous Kurdistan region killed six fighters.
After those strikes, Baghdad granted former paramilitary groups the "right to respond" and summoned US and Iranian diplomats.

IEA on oil release

The head of the International Energy Agency said he was "ready to move forward" with an additional release of oil reserves "if and when necessary".
Fatih Birol's comments in Tokyo came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked the agency "to prepare to implement an additional release in case the situation drags on" with the war in the Middle East.

US bases targeted

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had fired missiles and drones at military bases hosting US forces in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as targets in Israel, according to a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

Oil prices drop

Brent crude oil, the global market benchmark, was down 6.3 percent at $97.90 per barrel at around 0200 GMT. 
Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.2 percent at $87.52.

Kuwait airport fire

Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport, the Gulf state's civil aviation authority said, reporting no casualties.
burs-st/db

US

Iran, Israel trade strikes as diplomats work behind the scenes

BY AFP TEAMS IN TEHRAN, WASHINGTON, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT AND DUBAI

  • Iran fired a volley of "precision-guided" missiles and drones at Israel and bases hosting US forces in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, the country's Revolutionary Guards said early Wednesday.
  • Iran and Israel traded fresh missile and drone strikes Wednesday, with countries across the Middle East coming under fire as diplomats worked in the background to end the nearly four-week war.
  • Iran fired a volley of "precision-guided" missiles and drones at Israel and bases hosting US forces in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, the country's Revolutionary Guards said early Wednesday.
Iran and Israel traded fresh missile and drone strikes Wednesday, with countries across the Middle East coming under fire as diplomats worked in the background to end the nearly four-week war.
The conflict that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran has mushroomed throughout the region, sending world energy markets into tailspin and threatening to torpedo the global economy.
US President Donald Trump signalled talks were underway, with a 15-point peace plan reportedly sent to Tehran, but an Iranian official slapped this down, saying no negotiations had taken place.
With the official status of talks uncertain but diplomats indicating mediation was ongoing behind the scenes, the daily salvoes of strikes across the region continued unabated.
Iran fired a volley of "precision-guided" missiles and drones at Israel and bases hosting US forces in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, the country's Revolutionary Guards said early Wednesday.
AFP images captured rocket trails streaming over the skies of Israeli coastal city Netanya, as air raid sirens blasted across much of the country's central region.
Drones hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport sparking a fireball, while authorities in Jordan reported shrapnel falling near the capital Amman and air raid warnings rang out in Bahrain.
Iran has lashed out at Gulf nations, long seen as a relative safe haven in a volatile region, hammering the tourism industry and crippling global air travel as their major hubs come under attack.
The war has also drawn in Lebanon, with Israeli forces aiming to take control of ground up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, stepping up its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In the Lebanese town of Sahel Alma, north of Beirut, AFP images showed shattered windows and rubble lining the streets after an explosion.
"We have two-year-old children scared and crying and going through this," local resident Gaia Khouiri told AFP.
The Israeli campaign has killed at least 1,072 people in Lebanon, with more than one million people displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, again overnight.
An AFP correspondent saw a street covered in debris including shattered cement and and warped pieces of metal after the early morning strike, while an apartment building's upper floors appeared badly hit.

'Unmitigated catastrophe'

Israel also said it was launching fresh missile strikes on the "infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime".
Shayan, a 40-year-woman living in Tehran, told AFP: "There is gasoline, water, and electricity. But there is a sense of helplessness in all of us. We don't know what to do and there's really nothing we can do."
In Geneva, United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that strikes around Iran and Israel's nuclear sites risked unleashing an "unmitigated catastrophe."
As the fighting on the ground showed little sign of respite, Trump appeared to be ramping up efforts to end the conflict.
The US president, whose daily statements on the war have swung wildly from threatening to conciliatory, said Washington was "in negotiations right now" with Tehran.
He told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran had given him "a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money", which he said demonstrated that "we're dealing with the right people".
Trump did not elaborate further but said it related to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blockaded in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, sending global energy prices soaring.
Several media reported Trump had sent a 15-point plan to Iran via Pakistan, which has offered to mediate a possible end to the war.
But Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said that "contrary to Trump's claims -- so far no negotiations, direct or indirect, have taken place between the two countries."
The Javan newspaper in Iran splashed a caricature of Trump with a "Pinocchio"-style nose, under the headline: "The world's most failed and disgraced liar."
One diplomatic source in the region however said mediators were shuffling messages between the two sides, who were both open to negotiation.
"There is hope but it's too early to be optimistic," said this source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.
Both sides need to be able to climb down without losing face, this source noted.
In public, Iran kept up its belligerent rhetoric, with the speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warning the US: "Do not test our resolve to defend our land."

'Aggressor parties'

Focus remained on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the key route through which one fifth of the world's crude oil flows.
Tehran, in a message circulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), assured safe passage through the strait to "non-hostile vessels".
However, the IMO cited a statement from Iran's foreign ministry as saying no passage would be granted to vessels belonging to "the aggressor parties -- namely the United States and the Israeli regime".
The economic impact of the crisis has begun to bite around the world, with governments looking to cut energy consumption and airlines scaling back flights.
But Iran's pledge, plus Trump's more conciliatory tone, pushed stocks higher and sent oil prices lower in Asian trade.
burs-ric/jsa

US

US reportedly sends peace plan as Iran opens to 'non-hostile' oil vessels

BY AFP TEAMS IN TEHRAN, WASHINGTON, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT AND DUBAI

  • Iran, in a message circulated by the International Maritime Organization shortly afterward, assured safe passage to "non-hostile vessels" going through the strait, the gateway for one-fifth of the world's oil.
  • Washington sent a peace plan to Iran, US media reported, as Donald Trump voiced optimism Tuesday at ending nearly a month of warfare and Tehran announced that it will let "non-hostile" oil vessels go through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
  • Iran, in a message circulated by the International Maritime Organization shortly afterward, assured safe passage to "non-hostile vessels" going through the strait, the gateway for one-fifth of the world's oil.
Washington sent a peace plan to Iran, US media reported, as Donald Trump voiced optimism Tuesday at ending nearly a month of warfare and Tehran announced that it will let "non-hostile" oil vessels go through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The tentative signs of a diplomatic solution came despite new violence, with an Iranian missile causing injuries in Israel, which in turn pressed on multiple fronts and vowed to seize control of a strip of southern Lebanon.
Trump, whose pronouncements in recent days have swung wildly from vowing massive attacks on Iran to declaring the nearly month-long war virtually over, said the United States was "in negotiations right now" with Iran -- which has not confirmed any formal talks.
"They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"That meant one thing to me -- we're dealing with the right people."
He did not explain further but said it related to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blockaded in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, sending global energy prices soaring.
Iran, in a message circulated by the International Maritime Organization shortly afterward, assured safe passage to "non-hostile vessels" going through the strait, the gateway for one-fifth of the world's oil.
Iran had already in recent days said it was not targeting friendly nations, although many vessels have shied away as insurance companies refuse to take risks.
The benchmark price of crude oil dropped close to six percent after the latest developments. Prices at the pump have soared in the United States after the war by Trump, causing him a political headache.

New nuclear deal?

Trump had earlier threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants, which some argue would be a war crime, if it did not open the strait by late Monday Washington time. Before US markets opened Monday, Trump abruptly extended that deadline by five days, citing diplomatic progress.
Pakistan's prime minister has offered to host US-Iran talks, which Trump said involved top officials including Vice President JD Vance.
Trump said it "all starts with, they cannot have a nuclear weapon."
The New York Times, quoting unnamed officials, said that the United States had sent the 15-point plan to Iran through Pakistan.
Israel's Channel 12 said that Trump was proposing a one-month ceasefire during which the sides would discuss a proposal that would include handing over Iran's enriched uranium and banning further enrichment.
Iran would also ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran in turn would see an end to all sanctions, which have been in place in various forms for years, the Israeli report said.
Iran would also receive assistance in developing civil nuclear energy at Bushehr, a key site which dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran on Tuesday accused Israel of carrying out a second strike on Bushehr, which lies perilously close to Gulf Arab population centers. 
"The sounds, the explosions, the missiles -- they are part of our daily life now," a 35-year-old woman in Tehran told AFP by telephone. "Our one real worry now is that our oil and gas infrastructure isn't targeted by missile strikes."
Iran had agreed in 2015 to broad restraints on its contested nuclear program in a deal that Trump ripped up during his first term as he joined Israel in applying pressure to the cleric-run state.
The reported new proposal would keep in place the Islamic republic which weeks earlier ruthlessly crushed mass protests, killing thousands, despite earlier vows of regime change by Trump and especially Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Troops en route despite diplomacy

Despite Trump's stated hopes for diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is planning to send 3,000 soldiers from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
Trump's envoys were negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran just two days before the United States and Israel launched the massive attack on February 28, killing Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day.
Iranian missiles have found growing success penetrating Israeli defences, with AFP images showing rubble-strewn streets in the commercial hub Tel Aviv. On Tuesday, more than a dozen people were injured in Israel, including an infant, first responders said.
Israel said it conducted a "large wave" of airstrikes across several areas of Iran. Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said his country's war plan was "unchanged" despite Trump's remarks and that it would continue "to deepen the damage and remove existential threats". 
Israel has also stepped up its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, saying its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani river, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.
Israel -- which occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000 -- carried out new strikes across the country. The Israeli military late Tuesday warned residents of Beirut's southern suburbs, strongholds of Hezbollah, to evacuate in the face of imminent strikes.
The Israeli campaign has killed at least 1,072 people in Lebanon, with more than one million people displaced, according to authorities. Another nine people died in Israeli strikes in the south, officials said.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Khamenei.
Lebanon, whose central government has long been fragile, grew increasingly assertive by announcing it was ordering the Iranian ambassador to leave by Sunday, accusing the Islamic republic of meddling and commanding Hezbollah operations.
Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all said they had intercepted renewed drone and missile attacks as Iran kept up retaliatory strikes on US-allied Gulf states.
Kuwait reported a fire at its main airport after drones hit a fuel tank.
burs-sct/jgc

politics

Trump has destroyed Venezuela's socialist ideology: opposition leader

BY MOISéS ÁVILA

  • She said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.
  • Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Tuesday that her country's formerly all-powerful socialist ideology has been fatally "wounded" by US President Donald Trump.
  • She said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Tuesday that her country's formerly all-powerful socialist ideology has been fatally "wounded" by US President Donald Trump.
The regime known as "Chavismo" that held Venezuela in its grip for a quarter of a century under Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro is "wounded irreparably and is being dismantled," Machado said.
The oil-rich Latin American country was thrown into turmoil this January when US military forces toppled the leftist Maduro, who has been replaced with his former deputy Delcy Rodriguez.
While Rodriguez served under Maduro, she has proved eager to bend to Trump's demands, including reopening the country to US oil companies. Last week, she ordered a wide-ranging reshuffle of senior military leaders.
"Following President Trump's instructions, they are dismantling their own repressive and corrupt structures -- a crucial step toward the transition," Machado said during an interview with AFP in Houston, Texas, where she was attending the CERAWeek global energy forum. 
Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said that when presidential elections are held again in Venezuela, she will participate "in that electoral process" but did not specify whether she would run.
She said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.
Machado was banned from running for president in the 2024 election. After Maduro claimed a reelection victory, a wave of repression forced her to remain in hiding for more than a year.
She has remained in the United States for most of her exile.
In January, just two weeks after US forces snatched Maduro and brought him to New York for trial, she met with Trump in the White House and presented him with her Nobel prize. 
Trump has said he would like to "get her involved" in Venezuela's political process. But he has so far sidelined Machado and backed Rodriguez as interim leader.
Machado said she had spoken with Trump since that visit, but declined to disclose details, saying only that they "discussed all issues affecting Venezuela."
Machado said that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have proposed a three-stage transition in Venezuela. The third stage would be "a transition that will include clean, free elections, which will produce legitimate authorities."
Despite the political uncertainty, Machado said the time was right to invest Venezuela, which has the world's largest oil reserves. She cited its competitive production costs and location "in the heart of the Americas."
What was lacking until now -- the institutional framework and security conditions for long-term investments -- is being built, she said.
"The opening of the oil sector, as we're proposing it, has never been seen in the country," she said.
"That is, going 100 percent private, where the state assumes a regulatory role and incentivizes, promotes, and protects foreign investment."
mav/mel/mjf/sms

Israel

Trump says Iran gave US 'gift' linked to Strait of Hormuz

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Tehran has denied being part of any talks to end the war, which is now in its fourth week and has disrupted global oil supplies passing through the strategic Hormuz Strait.
  • US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran gave him a "very big present" related to the Strait of Hormuz, boosting his confidence that he was talking to the right people in Tehran to end the war.
  • Tehran has denied being part of any talks to end the war, which is now in its fourth week and has disrupted global oil supplies passing through the strategic Hormuz Strait.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran gave him a "very big present" related to the Strait of Hormuz, boosting his confidence that he was talking to the right people in Tehran to end the war.
The cryptic announcement came a day after Trump unexpectedly postponed threatened attacks on Iran's power plants and said Washington was in negotiations with unspecified figures in Iran. 
Tehran has denied being part of any talks to end the war, which is now in its fourth week and has disrupted global oil supplies passing through the strategic Hormuz Strait.
"They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"That meant one thing to me -- we're dealing with the right people."
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for new US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Trump said the "gift" was "very significant", adding that it was "oil and gas-related." 
Asked if it was related to his demand that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic, Trump replied: "Yeah, it was related to the flow and to the strait."
The US president added that the "present" was not related to Iran's nuclear program, but repeated his claim that the Iranian side "agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon."

'We negotiate with bombs'

Trump has not yet revealed who the United States is negotiating with in Tehran, saying only on Monday as he postponed a threat to attack Iran's energy sites by five days that it is a "top person." 
"We're actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly," Trump said. 
Former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the joint Israeli-US air campaign, and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public.
But Trump said that the killing of Khamenei senior and a host of other top Iranian officials meant "we have really regime change. The leaders are all very different with the ones that we started off with."
US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, global envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were all involved in the Iranian talks, Trump said.
But he did not confirm reports that Witkoff and Kushner were headed to Pakistan for talks with Iran, with Vance possibly to follow afterward if the negotiations appeared serious.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered on Tuesday to act as a mediator to end the conflict.
He said he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region. 
Trump meanwhile joked that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "didn't want it to be settled" because he wanted to keep striking Iranian targets.
"We see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs," Hegseth said when he was called to the podium by Trump.
dk/md

immigration

US Supreme Court hears migrant asylum claim case

BY CHRIS LEFKOW

  • The policy allowed federal US agents on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border to turn away potential asylum seekers before they reached US soil.
  • The US Supreme Court on Tuesday examined a former policy of turning away migrants before they crossed the US-Mexico border to present an asylum claim.
  • The policy allowed federal US agents on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border to turn away potential asylum seekers before they reached US soil.
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday examined a former policy of turning away migrants before they crossed the US-Mexico border to present an asylum claim.
The policy, known as "metering," has not been in place since 2021, but President Donald Trump is seeking a ruling validating it as legal in the event it may be reinstated.
The policy allowed federal US agents on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border to turn away potential asylum seekers before they reached US soil.
The Immigration and Nationality Act allows an "alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States" to apply for asylum.
A divided appeals court ruled in 2024 that this applies to potential asylum seekers at ports of entry "whichever side of the border they are standing on."
The Trump administration is asking the conservative-dominated Supreme Court to reject this interpretation.
The question before the Supreme Court is "whether an alien who is stopped on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border 'arrives in the United States.'"
Addressing the court on Tuesday, Vivek Suri, an assistant to the solicitor general, said: "You can't arrive in the United States while you're still standing in Mexico. That should be the end of this case."
Suri said that although the turnback policy is not currently in place, the administration is seeking a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court in case it wants to use it in the future.
"This is an important tool in the government's toolbox for dealing with border surges when they occur," he said. "It's not something the court should leave to future uncertainty."
Kelsi Corkran, an attorney for Al Otro Lado, an immigration rights group representing asylum seekers, said it was an "unusual scenario" to have "officers standing there (on the Mexican side of the border) and turning people back."
"I think it's important to remember that from 1917 to 2016 -- 99 years -- there was not a single example of a turnback," Corkran said. "People would come through the port. At that point when they were in the port, they would be inspected and processing would happen."

'Break the law in order to obtain it'

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the three liberals on the nine-member court, said the turnback policy would seem to incentivize illegal border crossing and require "people to break the law in order to obtain it."
Asylum seekers who cross into the United States illegally can have their requests entertained but those who try to "do everything by the book" are turned away before reaching the border, Jackson said.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative, sought some clarity on what it means to "arrive" in the United States.
"If it's not crossing the physical border what is the magic thing, or the dispositive thing, that we're looking for where we say, 'Ah, now that person, we can say, arrives in the United States,'" Coney Barrett said.
Trump campaigned for the White House on a promise to expel millions of undocumented migrants and has taken a number of actions since returning to the White House aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings.
The asylum case is one of a number of immigration-related cases the Supreme Court has agreed to hear this year.
On April 1, the justices are to hear a challenge to Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship. They have also agreed to rule on the administration's bid to strip temporary legal protections against deportation from Haitian and Syrian migrants.
cl/msp

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided.
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Iran arrests -  Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity. 
  • The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
- Iran arrests - 
Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity. 
The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided. Internet has been shut down in Iran since the start of the war on February 28.

New Iran chief

Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as the new chief of the Supreme National Security Council to replace Ali Larijani, killed in an Israeli strike, state television said.

Gulf 'breakdown'

The Gulf states will need to re-evaluate their shared security after the war, which has resulted in a "breakdown of the security system," a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said.

Iran envoy out

Lebanon withdrew the accreditation of Iran's ambassador and gave him until Sunday to leave the country.
The move came after Beirut accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of commanding the operations of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah in its war against Israel.

Isfahan strikes

Israel's military said that it had completed a "large wave of strikes in Isfahan." 
- 'Security zone' - 
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River as a "security zone", as it presses its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The hundreds of thousands of south Lebanon residents who have been displaced by the war "will not return south of the Litani River until security is guaranteed for the residents of the north" of Israel, he said.

UN rights meet

The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries in the Gulf region.

Iran energy sites hit

Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.
In an interview with state TV, Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said that Iran is less vulnerable to attacks on energy infrastructure because it was spread out, with 150 power plants across the country. 
- Iraqi Kurdistan targeted - 
A rocket attack in Iraq's north killed six fighters from the peshmerga armed forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, officials said. 
The region's armed forces ministry blamed Tehran, saying "six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted" the troops in two attacks.
- Wounded in Tel Aviv - 
Four people were wounded in Tel Aviv, where police reported several impact sites after the military warned of incoming missiles from Iran. The city's mayor said the hit in an upscale neighbourhood in the north was a "direct strike".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to conduct "heavy missile and drone strikes" in what it described as support for Palestinian and Lebanese civilians hit by Israeli fire.

Two killed near Beirut

An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, a town south of Beirut which lies outside of the traditional strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah, killed at least two people, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Iraq deaths

A strike in western Iraq on Tuesday killed 15 fighters, including Saad Dawai al-Baiji, provincial commander and head of operations in Anbar for the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).
The PMF is now part of Iraq's regular army, but also includes some pro-Iranian groups. It has blamed the attack on the US.

Syrian base targeted

Syria's army said Monday that one of its bases in the northeast was targeted by a missile strike from neighbouring Iraq, while an Iraqi official said a local armed group was behind the attack.
The Iraqi official, requesting anonymity, told AFP that "an Iraqi faction fired seven Arash-4 rockets, an improved version of the Grad rocket, towards a base in the Hassakeh region".
burs/yad/st

US

US-Israeli war on Iran is 'breach of international law': German president

  • He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
  • German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".
  • He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".
In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "there will be no going back to before January 20, 2025", when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time.
"The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but... worldwide," he said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German foreign ministry.
Although Steinmeier's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry weight in Germany, which has not officially condemned the war against Iran.
Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, said: "Our foreign policy does not become any more convincing simply because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law."
He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
"There is little doubt that, in any case, the justification of an imminent attack on the US does not hold water," he added.
Germany's head of government, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has harshly criticised Iran's leadership and backed several key US-Israeli war goals but also stated that, had Berlin been consulted in advance, it "would have advised against" the war.
Merz has repeatedly said Germany shares "the objective that Iran should no longer pose a threat in future", while also making clear Germany would not enter the conflict.
Steinmeier called the military campaign "a politically disastrous mistake" and "a truly avoidable, unnecessary war".
"Realism means we must be pragmatic in our dealings with this US administration and focus on our core interests," he said.
"But realism also means we must not compromise our own principles. 
"The US government has a different world view to ours, one that shows no regard for established rules, partnership or hard-won trust. 
"We cannot change that. We must deal with it. But this is my conviction: we have no reason to align ourselves with this world view."
fec/fz/gil

defense

Pentagon tightens press restrictions after court ruling

  • But the Pentagon responded with even tighter restrictions, announcing Monday that it would close a press area called the Correspondents' Corridor and that "all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel."
  • The Pentagon beefed up restrictions on journalists covering the US military on Monday, days after a court ruled that its earlier overhaul to press access was unconstitutional.
  • But the Pentagon responded with even tighter restrictions, announcing Monday that it would close a press area called the Correspondents' Corridor and that "all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel."
The Pentagon beefed up restrictions on journalists covering the US military on Monday, days after a court ruled that its earlier overhaul to press access was unconstitutional.
The clampdown is the latest in a string of measures by President Donald Trump and top officials against journalists and news outlets often derided as "fake news" when their reporting displeases the administration.
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Defense Department's changes to press access last year, which saw accreditations from a host of prominent media outlets withdrawn, violated the constitution.
But the Pentagon responded with even tighter restrictions, announcing Monday that it would close a press area called the Correspondents' Corridor and that "all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel."
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell cited security risks for the change, and said the department would appeal Friday's court ruling.
"Effective immediately, the Correspondents' Corridor is closed," Parnell posted on X.
He said a new press workspace will be established "in an annex facility outside the Pentagon, but still on Pentagon grounds."
The Washington-based National Press Club said the new policy restricted reporters' ability to do their work.
"Closing the Correspondents' Corridor and forcing escorted access undermines independent reporting at the Pentagon at a moment when the public needs clear, unfiltered information about the U.S. military," National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr said in a statement.
The Pentagon announced last year that eight media organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC and NPR had to vacate their dedicated office spaces in the Pentagon, alleging that there was a need to create room for other -- predominantly conservative -- outlets.
It also required journalists to be accompanied by official escorts if they go outside a limited number of areas in the Pentagon.
US media including the Times and Fox News, and international news outlets such as AFP and AP, declined to sign the new policy, resulting in the stripping of their Pentagon credentials.
bur-cms/lga

conflict

Too old? The 92-year-old US judge handling Maduro case

  • Hellerstein has handled the sprawling drug trafficking case linked to Maduro for over a decade, which has already seen the conviction of Venezuela's former intelligence chief, Hugo Armando Carvajal.
  • Alvin Hellerstein, the US judge overseeing the case against deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, is a no-nonsense 92-year-old with a long list of high-profile cases on his CV. But as one of the oldest US federal judges -- born in 1933 -- some are unsure he is best suited to preside over what could be a prolonged trial for Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
  • Hellerstein has handled the sprawling drug trafficking case linked to Maduro for over a decade, which has already seen the conviction of Venezuela's former intelligence chief, Hugo Armando Carvajal.
Alvin Hellerstein, the US judge overseeing the case against deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, is a no-nonsense 92-year-old with a long list of high-profile cases on his CV.
But as one of the oldest US federal judges -- born in 1933 -- some are unsure he is best suited to preside over what could be a prolonged trial for Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
"The issue of age cannot be ignored," Shira Scheindlin, a former federal judge in New York, told AFP. 
Still, she praised Hellerstein as a "very smart and savvy" courtroom operator. 
His lengthy career includes overseeing the civil cases arising from Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, often rejecting deals he saw as unfair to complainants. 
Hellerstein has also tangled with Donald Trump, rejecting a request by the US president to have his New York hush money case moved to federal court.
And last year, he blocked the Trump administration from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without a court hearing.
"Hellerstein possesses a well-deserved reputation for seeking to do justice in every case and for being independent and fair-minded," said law professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond.
In a noteworthy 2015 ruling, Hellerstein ordered the US government to release a trove of photos depicting abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also presided over a trial last year in which a jury found French banking giant BNP Paribas's work in Sudan had helped prop up the regime of former ruler Omar al-Bashir, awarding $20.75 million in damages to three plaintiffs from Sudan.
Hellerstein has handled the sprawling drug trafficking case linked to Maduro for over a decade, which has already seen the conviction of Venezuela's former intelligence chief, Hugo Armando Carvajal.
Maduro's stunning arrest in January following a US raid on his compound in Venezuela has drawn public eyes to the case -- and the aging judge in charge. 
According to The New York Times, Hellerstein was seen falling asleep during a trial last year and needed to be roused by his colleagues. 
His attentiveness will be closely watched in the Maduro case, as tussling between the defense and prosecution has already threatened to draw out proceedings. 
"This case may not go to trial for at least a year and maybe two years.  By that time, he would be either 93 or 94," said Scheindlin.
"I have no doubt that he would be fit to try the case tomorrow. But the case will not be tried tomorrow," she added. 
A graduate of Columbia University law school, he served as a lawyer in the US Army from 1957 to 1960 before entering private practice.
He was nominated by former president Bill Clinton in 1998 to be a district court judge for the Southern District of New York.
Maduro's next scheduled court appearance is Thursday, when he is due before the judge, along with his wife who has also pleaded not guilty.
bjt/sla

immigration

US Senate confirms new Homeland Security chief, a Trump ally

  • At his confirmation hearing before the Senate last week, Mullin said one of his goals would be to steer DHS and its flashpoint Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency away from the spotlight. 
  • The US Senate on Monday confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new chief of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency reeling from a partial government shutdown as it works to enforce President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. 
  • At his confirmation hearing before the Senate last week, Mullin said one of his goals would be to steer DHS and its flashpoint Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency away from the spotlight. 
The US Senate on Monday confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new chief of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency reeling from a partial government shutdown as it works to enforce President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. 
Senators voted 54-45 for 48-year-old Republican Mullin, a former wrestler and martial arts fighter who previously served as a senator for Oklahoma. 
Mullin replaces Kristi Noem as DHS head, after she was fired earlier this month in part for her handling of the recent large-scale operation against undocumented migrants in Minnesota, during which federal immigration agents shot dead two protesters who were US citizens. 
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate last week, Mullin said one of his goals would be to steer DHS and its flashpoint Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency away from the spotlight. 
"My goal in six months is that we're not the lead story every single day," Mullin said. 
"I want to protect the homeland," he added. "I want to bring peace of mind. I want to bring confidence back to the agency." 
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois expressed skepticism of Mullin's promises, saying in a statement: "While the problems at DHS are larger than any one person, I remain concerned that Senator Mullin will not rein in ICE abuses."
"I voted no, because I will not vote to install another yes-man to enable Donald Trump's worst instincts."
Mullin had also signaled openness to requiring judicial warrants for immigration enforcement operations, a potential shift from current policy and a key demand from Democrats in ongoing funding negotiations.
DHS funding has been lapsed since February 14, as Democratic lawmakers seek to implement reforms to immigration enforcement. 
The monthlong DHS shutdown has impacted other services overseen by the department, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency responsible for airport security screenings. 
TSA staff around the country have worked for weeks without pay, with more than 300 quitting since the start of the shutdown, leading to extended travel delays as airports struggle to screen air travelers. 
Trump on Sunday announced ICE agents would be deployed to airports impacted by the travel delays, with his top border adviser Tom Homan confirming to CNN the plan. 
While ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security, it has nonetheless been able to maintain operations using funds approved by Congress last year. 
bur-jgc/sla

conflict

Ousted Venezuela president to return to New York court

BY GREGORY WALTON

  • - 'Prisoner of war' claim - Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to the US drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a "prisoner of war" in a hearing on January 5.
  • Lawyers for the ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro are expected to push for the dismissal of his drug trafficking charges when he appears in a New York court Thursday.
  • - 'Prisoner of war' claim - Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to the US drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a "prisoner of war" in a hearing on January 5.
Lawyers for the ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro are expected to push for the dismissal of his drug trafficking charges when he appears in a New York court Thursday.
The Manhattan hearing comes as Washington cautiously warms ties with Caracas, with the question of who will pay the legal fees of the former autocrat and his wife expected to take center stage.
Venezuela's government is seeking to pay Maduro's legal fees but because of Washington's sanctions on the oil-rich south American nation, Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack must obtain a US government license that has not been issued.
Pollack argued in a court submission that the license requirement violated Maduro's constitutional right to legal representation, and demanded the case be thrown out on procedural grounds.
Maduro, who autocratically ruled Venezuela since March 2013, was ousted as president in a January 3 raid by the United States.
Detained in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions, Maduro is alone in a cell, with no access to the internet or newspapers. 
The man some of his fellow detainees call "president" in the hallways reads the Bible, according to a source close to the Venezuelan government. 
He is only allowed to communicate by phone with his family and lawyers, for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added. 
"The lawyers told us he is strong. He said we must not be sad," said his only son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, quoting his father as saying "we are fine, we are fighters."

'Prisoner of war' claim

Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to the US drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a "prisoner of war" in a hearing on January 5.
He is accused of having allied himself with guerrilla movements, particularly Colombian groups Washington considers "terrorist," as well as with criminal cartels to ship tons of cocaine to the United States.
Pollack previously said that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, responsible for enforcing sanctions, initially granted licenses on January 9 allowing him to take payment for representing Maduro and his wife, co-accused Cilia Flores.
But Pollack said that three hours later, OFAC issued an amended license that blocked him from taking payment for the former president.
"By its failure to allow the government of Venezuela to pay Mr Maduro's defense costs, OFAC is interfering with Mr Maduro's ability to retain counsel and, therefore, his right under the Sixth Amendment to counsel of his choice," Pollack said in a letter to the court dated February 20.
He said his team had lodged a challenge with OFAC and that if it failed to act, he would formally complain to the court, saying that Maduro "cannot otherwise afford counsel."
Prosecutors fired back, saying a court filing that "even if the defendants' constitutional rights were violated -- which they were not -- dismissal of the indictment would be far too drastic a remedy."
Venezuela is now led by Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro's vice president since 2018 but is now working closely with Washington.
This month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations after Maduro's ouster.
Security is expected to again be heightened for the hearing, with a security cordon of steel imposed around the downtown courthouse for his first appearance in January.
Presiding over the case is Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old judge credited with presiding over several trials during his decades on the bench.
gw/js

CPAC

Iran war, midterm elections hang over US conservative summit

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • Yet the event unfolds against a backdrop of mounting political headwinds for Republicans, with strategists increasingly warning of difficult months leading up to November's midterm elections amid economic pressures and the risks of a prolonged conflict in Iran.
  • American conservatives converge on Texas this week for what organizers bill as their largest and most influential gathering, with the Iran war and fears of a punishing midterm election cycle heightening the stakes.
  • Yet the event unfolds against a backdrop of mounting political headwinds for Republicans, with strategists increasingly warning of difficult months leading up to November's midterm elections amid economic pressures and the risks of a prolonged conflict in Iran.
American conservatives converge on Texas this week for what organizers bill as their largest and most influential gathering, with the Iran war and fears of a punishing midterm election cycle heightening the stakes.
The four-day Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), opening Wednesday near Dallas, is expected to draw top figures from across the Republican Party and its global allies, even as Washington is consumed by conflict abroad and political uncertainty at home.
President Donald Trump -- always the marquee draw -- is expected once again to dominate an event where his appearances typically serve as both rallying cry and directional signal for the party. His keynote speech is expected on Saturday.
But this year's lineup has an added geopolitical edge, with exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi emerging as a figure of intense interest.
Pahlavi, who has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader following the killing of Iran's supreme leader, is expected to use the platform to press his case for regime change -- aligning with a broader hawkish mood among many attendees as the war deepens.
CPAC organizers have framed the gathering in expansive terms, calling it "the culmination of a year spent strengthening alliances, elevating new voices and reinforcing the message that freedom begins -- and must be protected -- here at home."
Yet the event unfolds against a backdrop of mounting political headwinds for Republicans, with strategists increasingly warning of difficult months leading up to November's midterm elections amid economic pressures and the risks of a prolonged conflict in Iran.
The war -- now in its fourth week -- is likely to dominate conversations both onstage and in the corridors, shaping debates over foreign policy, energy security and America's global role.
Republican strategists fear that a drawn-out conflict will inflict further pain on a party already expected to lose the House of Representatives in November to the Democrats, and desperately defending its slim 53-47 advantage in the Senate.  

Epstein's shadow

At the same time, CPAC arrives with lingering controversy over the release of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that continues to reverberate in conservative circles.
The inclusion of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon as a featured speaker has drawn scrutiny given his documented past association with Epstein, though Bannon has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Despite the distractions, CPAC remains a central showcase for conservative politics -- a stage where established figures and rising voices compete for attention, and where the movement's priorities are sharpened ahead of November's elections.
Last year's gathering emphasized ideological purity, fights against "woke indoctrination" and a hard-edged "Make America Great Again," or MAGA, identity. 
The main stage -- traditionally featuring right-wing global figures such as Hungary's Viktor Orban, Argentina's Javier Milei, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Trump himself -- has become the central showcase for the movement's evolving mixture of nationalism, populism and identity politics.
Beyond Trump and Pahlavi, the speaker roster underscores the breadth -- and tensions -- within today's conservative movement.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is expected to draw a hometown reception as he leans into hardline messaging on Iran and border security, while Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche offers a direct link to the administration's legal and national security strategy.
North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley, a key Trump ally, is likely to use the stage to sharpen the party's midterm message, particularly on election integrity and turnout.
As in past years, CPAC's appeal lies not just in its headliners but in its ecosystem -- from policy panels to influencer-driven "media row" -- where emerging voices test ideas and audition for a larger role in a movement that has always been defined by loyalty to Trump.
Among the more controversial additions is Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old far-right YouTuber who rose to prominence after posting videos alleging fraud within Minnesota's Somali community -- claims later contradicted by state officials.
ft/mjf

airports

US deploys immigration agents to airports amid shutdown chaos

BY JOHN FALCHETTO WITH FRANKIE TAGGART IN WASHINGTON

  • At Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where fliers have experienced some of the longest waits, travelers voiced hopes that ICE agents would be able to bring some order to the disruption.
  • The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying Monday to major airports, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
  • At Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where fliers have experienced some of the longest waits, travelers voiced hopes that ICE agents would be able to bring some order to the disruption.
The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying Monday to major airports, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
The move places Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel -- already under intense scrutiny after fatal shootings linked to immigration operations -- in highly visible roles at crowded transport hubs across the country.
Officials say the agents are being sent to at least 14 airports, including in New York, Chicago and Atlanta, to assist overstretched Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff, many of whom have gone weeks without full pay.
The agents will not conduct passenger screening but are expected to handle support roles such as monitoring exits and managing logistics, allowing TSA officers to focus on security checks.
The deployment comes as airports struggle with long delays during a busy travel period for the spring break, with some passengers reporting waits of several hours.
Unscheduled absences among TSA staff have surged to their highest levels since the beginning of the shutdown, which has halted the operations of the TSA parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -- raising concerns about safety and system strain.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's point man on border security, told CNN the move was a temporary measure to "help TSA move those lines along," while Trump framed it as part of a broader effort to maintain security during the funding standoff.
The president told reporters he had not ruled out bolstering the deployment with National Guard troops.
At Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where fliers have experienced some of the longest waits, travelers voiced hopes that ICE agents would be able to bring some order to the disruption.

Shutdown talks deadlocked

"I came yesterday for a 5:15 pm flight. I got here at 2:30 and by the time I made it through TSA and got to my gate my plane departed and I missed my flight," nurse Angeline Peart, 27, told AFP. "I had to be rebooked for today."
"We're hopeful to see if they're able to help out and see if we can get on our plane to go home today," added Suez Khan, a 28-year-old artist.
But the deployment has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, rights activists and some Republicans, who warn it risks escalating tensions in already stressed environments.
The controversy reflects broader unease over the administration's immigration crackdown, which has sparked protests and legal challenges in several states.
In Minnesota earlier this year, two US citizens -- Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- were killed in separate encounters with federal immigration officers, incidents that fueled nationwide outrage and scrutiny of enforcement tactics.
Good, a mother of three, was shot by an ICE agent during an operation, while Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was later killed by officers from Customs and Border Protection during a related deployment.
Against that backdrop, the airport deployment has taken on outsized significance, highlighting the increasingly blurred lines between immigration enforcement and domestic security roles.
"The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them," House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Washington remain deadlocked.
Democrats have pushed to reopen most of DHS while demanding new limits on immigration enforcement, while Republicans have resisted those conditions.
Trump has further complicated talks by insisting he will not sign any funding deal unless Congress also passes the SAVE America Act, a contentious bill to overhaul how citizens register to vote in US elections.
With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain.
ft/msp

Global Edition

Oil slides, stocks rebound on Trump's Iran remarks

  • The rebound lost some steam after Iranian media said there had been no talks between Tehran and Washington, and London's FTSE 100 ended the day lower as energy and defence stocks slumped.
  • Oil prices tumbled and stock markets rebounded Monday after US President Donald Trump suddenly ordered a halt to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after initially setting a 48-hour deadline, claiming "very good" talks with Tehran.
  • The rebound lost some steam after Iranian media said there had been no talks between Tehran and Washington, and London's FTSE 100 ended the day lower as energy and defence stocks slumped.
Oil prices tumbled and stock markets rebounded Monday after US President Donald Trump suddenly ordered a halt to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after initially setting a 48-hour deadline, claiming "very good" talks with Tehran.
Crude futures plunged more than 14 percent after Trump's comments on his Truth Social platform, but pared those losses after Iran denied any talks were taking place.
Brent closed down 10.9 percent at $99.94 per barrel, while its US equivalent West Texas Intermediate lost 10.3 percent to $88.13.
Sam Stovall of CFRA Research said the fact that Trump had specified a five-day pause on energy infrastructure strikes "means we probably could see some additional strength through this week" in the equity markets.
Asian and European stock markets had kicked off the new week with sharp losses, but Trump's update, which came after the Asian close, saw European and US equities rally.
The rebound lost some steam after Iranian media said there had been no talks between Tehran and Washington, and London's FTSE 100 ended the day lower as energy and defence stocks slumped.
Wall Street's main stock indices closed up, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones all gaining more than one percent. 
"It's incredibly difficult to trade these markets when Trump is swinging between massive escalation and declaring peace/victory... but the market is happy for now that we do not enter a new phase of danger," said Saxo UK investor strategist Neil Wilson.
Stovall of CFRA Research said in an environment of such high uncertainty, investors were making decisions "based on suppositions rather than facts."
XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said that if Trump's comments pointed to be an off-ramp from the conflict, "we could see a move back towards $90 per barrel for Brent in the coming days." 
But she added that oil would not quickly return to the pre-war levels of under $70 a barrel as it would take time to repair damaged energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
Ahead of Trump's update, the International Energy Agency warned of the worst global energy crisis in decades.
Iran warned the Hormuz Strait "will be completely closed" should Trump act on his threat to destroy its energy infrastructure.
The 48-hour ultimatum came as the waterway -- through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows -- remains effectively closed to all but Iranian oil.
Analysts have warned of a potential inflation surge as oil prices remain far above pre-war levels despite Monday's plunge.
That could prompt central banks hike interest rates, putting the brakes on the global economy.
Trump's latest announcement sent the greenback lower against the euro, pound and yen. 
For the markets, Stovall warned that uncertainty remained the name of the game.
"We could just as easily fall tomorrow if the president says something else that contradicts what happened today," he said. "But I don't think that's going to happen."

Key figures at around 2015 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 10.9 percent at $99.94 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 10.3 percent at $88.13 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 46,208.47 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.2 percent at 6,581.00 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 21,946.76 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,894.15 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,726.20 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 22,653.86 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.5 percent at 51,515.49 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 3.5 percent to 24,382.47 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 3.6 percent at 3,813.28 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1616 from $1.1550 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3437 from $1.3323
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.34 yen from 159.30 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.45 pence from 86.68 pence
burs-aha/js

US

On Iran, Trump executes his most spectacular U-turn yet

BY AURéLIA END

  • The Republican president issues commercial, diplomatic or military threats -- often accompanied by ultimatums -- that stun the international community.
  • International markets and the world at large have grown used to US President Donald Trump's abrupt reversals, but Monday's about-face on Iran was one of his most spectacular yet.
  • The Republican president issues commercial, diplomatic or military threats -- often accompanied by ultimatums -- that stun the international community.
International markets and the world at large have grown used to US President Donald Trump's abrupt reversals, but Monday's about-face on Iran was one of his most spectacular yet.
Since returning to power last year, Trump has openly embraced governing "by instinct." 
On the Mideast conflict, he has made a flurry of contradictory statements about goals and the timeline, and even declared on March 13 that the war would end when he "felt it in his bones."
"Trump has been a master of sudden pivots and switches. So it's sometimes hard to know if there is a strategy or if it's just always improvisation," said Garret Martin, a professor of international relations at American University in Washington.
These reversals typically follow a pattern. The Republican president issues commercial, diplomatic or military threats -- often accompanied by ultimatums -- that stun the international community.
Then he abruptly reverses course. He claims to have secured decisive concessions that he rarely divulges and promises a resolution to the crisis, causing markets to swing dramatically.
On Monday, oil prices plunged and stocks surged after Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the United States had held talks with Iran about ending the conflict. North Sea Brent crude plummeted by more than 14 percent while its American equivalent, West Texas Intermediate, lost nearly 10 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, jumped 700 points.

TACO

As recently as Saturday, Trump had given Iran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a vital passage for oil shipments out of the Gulf — under threat of massive strikes against the country's power plants. He did not mention dialogue. 
But then on Monday, he declared a new deadline — five days this time — to allow time for the talks to continue.
He spoke of "very productive" discussions with "highly respected" and "very solid" Iranian officials, without identifying them.
But Iranian officials denied that any negotiations were taking place, which partially dampened market enthusiasm. 
Trump bragged about this negotiating skills in a speech Monday in Memphis, Tennessee, highlighting his business instincts rather than specific concessions from Tehran. 
"My whole life has been a negotiation, but with Iran we've been negotiating for a long time," he said. "And this time they mean business."
The pattern is so familiar that it has its own acronym -- "TACO" for "Trump Always Chickens Out" -- coined by The Financial Times journalist Robert Armstrong in May 2025 after Trump backed down on threats to impose global tariffs that caused market havoc.

Shaking up markets

The TACO term originally referred to a stock market strategy involving capitalizing on a decline in assets --  triggered by a bombastic announcement from Trump -- to buy low, in the hope of reselling at a profit once he inevitably changed his mind.
Other examples include Trump backing down from threats on the United States taking over Greenland, or those directed at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over US interest rates.
Quite often, while these U-turns shake up markets, they remain nebulous in terms of actual deals.
US partners and adversaries alike now know "there's always an impermanence with everything with this administration; agreements and promises are only as good as the minute they're made," said Martin.
In the case of Iran, Martin suggests that Trump backed down due to three factors: market jitters, potential pressure from Gulf nations and the emergence of "tensions" within his own Make America Great Again, or MAGA, political movement over the conflict.
aue/vla/mjf/msp

environment

Trump administration seeks to ease oil fears but industry wary

BY NINA ISENI WITH BEIYI SEOW AND ASAD HASHIM IN WASHINGTON

  • His comments came as energy industry leaders converge in Texas this week under the cloud of oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February.
  • A top US official in President Donald Trump's government sought to reassure fears about the oil market Monday as war raged on in the Middle East, but industry leaders remain wary.
  • His comments came as energy industry leaders converge in Texas this week under the cloud of oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February.
A top US official in President Donald Trump's government sought to reassure fears about the oil market Monday as war raged on in the Middle East, but industry leaders remain wary.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston that disruption to global energy flows is "temporary," as costs surged after US-Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran's retaliation that virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
Wright said Washington has adopted "pragmatic solutions" such as by helping oil flow to Asian refineries. The United States also started releasing oil from its strategic reserves on Friday.
"But these are mitigants of a situation that's temporary," he stressed to a packed ballroom.
His comments came as energy industry leaders converge in Texas this week under the cloud of oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February.
More than 10,000 attendees are expected for CERAWeek, the spring gathering that has taken on unexpected importance as fuel prices rocketed after the war began.
Wright said the United States would be able to release up to 1.5 million barrels of oil a day, and this could get close to three million barrels.
Attacks on critical energy facilities in Iran, Qatar and other Gulf countries have exacerbated global supply problems.
Oil prices tumbled Monday as Trump ordered a halt on strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure following "very good" talks. But Tehran denied that negotiations were underway.
Wright told CNBC on Monday that even though the world is undergoing a "short-term period of disruption" now, "the long-term benefits will be enormous."

'Economic terrorism'

Separately, the chief of UAE state energy company ADNOC slammed Tehran's actions to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy supplies.
"Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation," Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said in virtual remarks to the conference.
"It's economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage," he added.
TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne expects "very high" liquefied natural gas prices by the summer, when gas storage in Europe is being refilled, if the strait is not reopened.
US energy giant Chevron's chief executive Mike Wirth warned that oil prices have yet to fully factor in fallout from the blockade.
"In particular, Asia is facing some real concerns about supply," he said, citing government measures to conserve stocks.
Even after the war ends, it will take time to rebuild inventories, he added.

Wind power projects

Outside the conference venue, dozens of demonstrators pushed back on fossil fuel reliance.
Chloe Torres of the Texas Campaign for the Environment said her community in Corpus Christi has been hit by "hyper-industrialization" from the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry. 
"We are rapidly running out of water," she said, adding that industrial demand has strained resources.
At the event, the Trump administration reached a deal with French energy giant TotalEnergies in which it would pay almost $1 billion to end its US offshore wind farm projects, the Interior Department said.
The $928 million reimbursement, which was what TotalEnergies paid for project leases, would instead be invested in US oil and gas projects.
"We're partnering with TotalEnergies to unleash nearly $1 billion" tied up in lease deposits, said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
The weeklong conference gathers experts from industry, finance, government and academia to discuss energy and other topics including trade and artificial intelligence.
Besides the war, much of the attention this year again centers on the profound reorientation of US energy and environmental policy under Trump.
This year's conference also features a plenary event with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who is due to speak Tuesday.
bur-mav-bys/jgc

justice

US Supreme Court hears mail-in ballot case that could impact midterms

BY CHRIS LEFKOW

  • The mail-in ballot counting case is one of a number of voting rights cases being heard by the Supreme Court this term.
  • The US Supreme Court appeared likely on Monday to toss out a state law that allows mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted, a case that could have repercussions for November's midterm elections.
  • The mail-in ballot counting case is one of a number of voting rights cases being heard by the Supreme Court this term.
The US Supreme Court appeared likely on Monday to toss out a state law that allows mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted, a case that could have repercussions for November's midterm elections.
The case involves a challenge by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to a law in the southern state of Mississippi that allows ballots to be tallied if they arrive within five business days after Election Day.
Fourteen US states allow mail-in ballots to be counted after the date of the election if they bear a postmark by Election Day. Democrats tend to use mail-in ballots more than Republicans and the practice became more widespread during the Covid pandemic.
Republican President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of mail-in ballots and has falsely claimed that they contributed to his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
A federal judge ruled in favor of Mississippi but was overturned by an appeals court panel which said ballots must arrive by Election Day to be counted.
The Trump administration has joined the opponents of the Mississippi law and a ruling by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court could affect the ballot-counting rules in other states.
Paul Clement, a lawyer representing the RNC, said it was problematic to have mail-in ballots received "with or without a postmark in differing ways in differing states."
"That reality gives the lie to the idea that we have a uniform national election day," Clement said.
"You can't have an election unless you receive ballots and there must be some deadline for ballot receipt," he said. "Nonetheless, Mississippi insists that ballots can trickle in days or even weeks after Election Day."

'Confidence'

Having elections potentially turn through late-arriving ballots is another problem and can damage faith in the electoral process, Clement said, an argument which appeared to find some traction with conservative justices.
"Some of the briefs have argued that confidence in election outcomes can be seriously undermined if the apparent outcome of the election on the day after the polls close is radically flipped by the acceptance later of a big stash of ballots," noted Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another conservative, asked Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart, who was in court to defend the law, whether the tallying of late-arriving ballots could feed perceptions of fraud.
"Is that a real concern?" Kavanaugh said. "Is that something we should be thinking about -- confidence in the election process?"
Stewart said opponents of the Mississippi law "haven't cited a single example of fraud from post-Election Day ballot receipts."
Traditionally "states have broad power over elections," he said. "Congress has respected it and no one challenged it until now."
The mail-in ballot counting case is one of a number of voting rights cases being heard by the Supreme Court this term.
The court, which includes three justices nominated by Trump and has a 6-3 conservative majority, heard arguments last year over the use of race to draw congressional electoral districts.
The Supreme Court is likely to deliver its rulings in the cases by the end of June or early July, which would provide enough time for them to be applied to the November congressional elections.
cl/msp

airports

US deploys immigration agents to airports amid shutdown chaos

  • With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain. ft/msp
  • The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying to major airports on Monday, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
  • With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain. ft/msp
The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying to major airports on Monday, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
The move places Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel -- already under intense scrutiny after fatal shootings linked to immigration operations -- in highly visible roles at crowded transport hubs across the country.
Officials say the agents are being sent to at least 14 airports, including hubs in New York, Chicago and Atlanta, to assist overstretched Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff, many of whom have gone weeks without full pay.
The agents will not conduct passenger screening but are expected to handle support roles such as monitoring exits and managing logistics, allowing TSA officers to focus on security checks.
The deployment comes as airports struggle with long delays during a busy travel period for the annual spring break, with some passengers reporting waits of several hours.
Unscheduled absences among TSA staff have surged to their highest levels since the beginning of the shutdown, which has halted the operations of the Department of Homeland Security - which oversees TSA - raising concerns about safety and system strain.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's point man on border security, told CNN the move was a temporary measure to "help TSA move those lines along," while Trump framed it as part of a broader effort to maintain security during the funding standoff.
But the decision has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, rights activists and some Republicans, who warn it risks escalating tensions in already stressed environments.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN deploying ICE in crowded airports could create new risks, while Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters it was "not ICE's mission" and warned of "additional tension" at airports.
The controversy reflects broader unease over the administration's immigration crackdown, which has sparked protests and legal challenges in several states.
In Minnesota earlier this year, two US citizens -- Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- were killed in separate encounters with federal immigration officers, incidents that fueled nationwide outrage and scrutiny of enforcement tactics.
Good, a mother of three, was shot by an ICE agent during an operation, while Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was later killed by officers from Customs and Border Protection during a related deployment.
Against that backdrop, the airport deployment has taken on outsized significance, highlighting the increasingly blurred lines between immigration enforcement and domestic security roles.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Washington remain deadlocked.
Democrats have pushed to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security while demanding new limits on immigration enforcement, while Republicans have resisted those conditions.
Trump has further complicated talks by insisting he will not sign any funding deal unless Congress also passes the SAVE America Act, a contentious bill to overhaul how citizens register to vote in US elections.
With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain.
ft/msp

energy

US, TotalEnergies reach 'nearly $1 bn' deal to end offshore wind projects

  • In Houston on Monday, TotalEnergies CEO Pouyanne said offshore wind was "not the most affordable way to produce electricity" in the United States, which he identified as being natural gas-fired power plants.
  • The United States and TotalEnergies on Monday signed an agreement to end the French company's offshore US wind farm projects and redirect those funds towards fossil fuel production, with the US interior secretary saying the deal was worth "nearly $1 billion."
  • In Houston on Monday, TotalEnergies CEO Pouyanne said offshore wind was "not the most affordable way to produce electricity" in the United States, which he identified as being natural gas-fired power plants.
The United States and TotalEnergies on Monday signed an agreement to end the French company's offshore US wind farm projects and redirect those funds towards fossil fuel production, with the US interior secretary saying the deal was worth "nearly $1 billion."
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made the announcement at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston, at an event where he appeared alongside TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne, after which both men signed the agreement.
"We're partnering with TotalEnergies to unleash nearly $1 billion that was tied up in a lease deposit that was directed towards the prior administration's subsidies that were pushing expensive weather-dependent offshore wind," said Burgum.
Pouyanne welcomed the deal, saying it redirected TotalEnergies's $928 million investment in two wind farm leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts into US natural gas projects, in particular the Rio Grande LNG plant.
French giant TotalEnergies had four gigawatts (GW) of offshore projects under development, including 3 GW for the New York Bight project and 1 GW in North Carolina.
But at the end of 2024, Pouyanne announced that they were "put on hold" due to the unlikelihood of obtaining federal licenses from the Trump administration.
Under former president Joe Biden, the United States had accelerated progress on wind farm construction as part of its fight against climate change.
US President Donald Trump, however, has reversed course on many of Biden's climate policies, taking particular aim at wind power.
Trump has long complained about the aesthetics of wind farms, and says they produce expensive electricity.
In December, the Trump administration put five wind power projects on hold, citing "national security" risks. 
That order was then nullified by rulings at several US federal courts, allowing work to resume.
In Houston on Monday, TotalEnergies CEO Pouyanne said offshore wind was "not the most affordable way to produce electricity" in the United States, which he identified as being natural gas-fired power plants.
"We could recycle all this money we are dedicating into, I would say US energy policy, and, for us, in I would say smarter investment. So it was a win-win dialog," he said.
According to a TotalEnergies statement, the company has also signed a letter of intent with Glenfarne, the lead developer of the Alaska LNG project, for the longterm offtake of 2 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over 20 years.
aha-ni-nal/mjf