Go to content

"Where you can find almost anything with A Click A Pick!"
Skip menu
Skip menu
Skip menu
World Monthly Headline News Page 1
Story by Yousef Saba, Jaidaa Taha and Jonathan Saul

DUBAI/LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - At least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Iranian retaliation that put merchant ships at risk of collateral damage, shipping sources and officials said on Sunday.

Risks to commercial shipping have surged in the past 24 hours, with more than 200 vessels including oil and liquefied gas tankers dropping anchor around the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, shipping data showed on Sunday.

Iran has said it has closed navigation through the critical waterway.

"The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran dramatically increases the security risk to ships operating in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters," said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at shipping association BIMCO.

'SHIPS MAY BE TARGETED DELIBERATELY OR IN ERROR'

"Ships with business connections to U.S. or Israeli interests are more likely to be targeted, but other ships may also be targeted deliberately or in error."
Story by MICHELLE L. PRICE, MARY CLARE JALONICK, BEN FINLEY, JOSEF FEDERMAN and DAVID KLEPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S., three people familiar with the briefings said.

The administration officials instead acknowledged there was a more general threat in the region from Iran’s missiles and proxy forces, two of the people said. The third person, however, said the administration emphasized that Iran’s missiles and proxy forces posed an imminent threat to U.S. personnel and allies in the region.

The officials did not provide any clarity about what would happen next in Iran after the joint U.S.-Israeli operation, the two people said. All three people insisted on anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.

The information conveyed to the congressional staff contrasts with the message from President Donald Trump. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. A vicious group of very hard, terrible people," he said in a video message after launching strikes on Iran.
At least 11 people have been killed in Israel as Iran launches retaliatory strikes against countries across the Persian Gulf. CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman reports from Tel Aviv and CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes has the latest on what President Trump is saying about the war.
Story by Joshua Rhett Miller

The founder of Blackwater has criticized the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran, saying the conflict isn’t in “America’s interests” and will lead to more death and destruction across the Middle East.

Erik Prince—a former Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater, the private military contractor later rebranded as Constellis—provided a blunt assessment to conservative influencer Steve Bannon on Sunday, a day after the killing of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and more than 40 top Iranian security and regime officials.

“Look, Steve, I’m not happy about the whole thing,” Prince said on Bannon’s War Room podcast. “I don’t think this was in America’s interests. It’s going to uncork a significant can of worms and chaos and destruction in Iran now.”

Prince said Khamenei’s assassination on Saturday would likely lead to tens of thousands of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vying to replace the former leader.
Story by Donald Macintyre

The sirens were blaring in the morning as we approached the site of Iran’s deadliest attack on Israel so far. They must have done the same less than 24 hours earlier, minutes before the ballistic missile razed a synagogue and the neighbouring housing, killing 11 and wounding dozens. This time, the residents were able to emerge from the shelters soon afterwards, three audible, but relatively distant booms, indicating that the incoming fire had been blocked by missile defences.

Yesterday had been a very different story. Looking across the tottering slabs of dislocated concrete and mangled masonry that had once been the heart of this close community in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, you could see the large, shallow depression in the ground that marked what had been the public shelter under the synagogue.

The missile somehow evaded Israel’s formidable air defences. For all their precision, they cannot stop everything.

Among the dead – including three teenage siblings as well as a mother and son – there were several who had sought safety there. The sheer force of Iran’s half-ton ballistic missile meant they did so in vain.
Story by Ireland Owens

As the conflict in Iran intensifies, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke on the phone Monday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about working towards “de-escalation” together.

The phone call came days after the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against the Islamic regime early Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a statement released Tuesday, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said both ministers agreed to “work towards de-escalation, in conjunction with the Gulf countries” and to “find a path to a political resolution guaranteeing collective security interests and provision for the Iranian people’s aspirations.”

Barrot also stated “the Iranian regime’s responsibility in the ongoing escalation, after it unjustifiably struck several countries in the region,” according to the statement.

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to its statement from Tuesday when reached for comment.

Barrot noted that the ongoing U.S.-Israel military operations in Iran were begun “without France participating or being informed,” per the statement. He also emphasized that each of the aforementioned countries were responsible for prioritizing “international institutions to resolve disagreement” and to use force “if necessary.”

“Who takes over?” Prince asked on the podcast. He added: “I don’t see how this is in keeping with the president’s MAGA commitment. I’m disappointed.”

Prince then questioned the preparation of U.S.-Israeli forces following Khamenei’s death and suggested ground troops would eventually need to partake in Operation Epic Fury.
Story by Charlie Jones

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to hit a U.S. oil tanker in the northern part of the Gulf as the war brings global oil supplies through the all-important Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC had warned that any vessels, military or commercial, linked to the U.S., Israel or supporting European countries will not be allowed to pass through the Strait, the narrow body of water between Iran and Oman.

"If they are observed, they will certainly be hit," the IRGC said in its statement. It comes as a haunting new map reveals the 4 safest US states to live in during a nuclear war.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that the U.S. tanker was anchored off the coast of Kuwait when it was hit on Wednesday morning. Oil is gushing into the water and an environmental impact is feared. Witnesses say they heard a large explosion and saw a small craft leave the area. There are no reports of fire and the crew are all safe.

"We had previously said that, based on international laws and resolutions, in times of war, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have the right to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz," IRGC said, Iran's Tasnim News reports.
Story by Kathrine Frich

Military bases and strategic installations increasingly coming under attack.

Iranian forces have launched waves of missiles and drones targeting American assets across the region.

One of those strikes appears to have hit a critical piece of US military infrastructure.

Radar system destroyed
Iranian forces reportedly destroyed a US early-warning radar system stationed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

According to reports cited by CNN, the system — valued at roughly $500 million — was hit during the first days of Iranian retaliation following US-Israeli airstrikes.
Story by Noah Robertson, Ellen Nakashima, Warren Strobel

Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication that another major U.S. adversary is participating — even indirectly — in the war, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

The assistance, which has not been previously reported, signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America’s chief nuclear-armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities.

Since the war began Saturday, Russia has passed Iran the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft, said the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

“It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one of the people said.

Reached by The Washington Post on Friday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, declined to comment on the intelligence findings. Moscow has called for an end to the war, which it labeled an “unprovoked act of armed aggression.”

The extent of Russia’s targeting assistance to Iran was not entirely clear. The Iranian military’s own ability to locate U.S. forces has been degraded less than a week into the fighting, the officials said.
Story by Akhtar Makoii

Iran’s clerics have chosen a new supreme leader, eight days after the death of Ali Khamenei.

The identity of the new leader has not been revealed, hinting at both fears of assassination and internal dispute in the floundering regime.

“This candidate has been reported to the leadership board of the Assembly of Experts and has been verified,” Amirreza Hedayati, representative of Khuzestan province in the Assembly of Experts.

The announcement confirms recent speculation that a new leader was being lined up in secret, potentially to protect him from US-Israeli strikes that have killed senior officials.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said on Sunday it will pursue “every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor” for Mr Khamenei, suggesting strikes on civilian clerics.

The Assembly of Experts must now choose between revealing their new leader and making him and themselves an immediate assassination target or maintaining secrecy.
Iran has reportedly targeted Israel’s Haifa oil refinery with ballistic missiles.Smoke, sirens, and tension are rising across northern Israel — but what exactly happened? Could this mark a major escalation in the 2026 Iran-Israel conflict?On March 8, 2026, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had launched Khaibar Shekan ballistic missiles toward Haifa.The strike, according to Tehran, was retaliation for recent U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, including fuel depots and reserves in southern Tehran.The Haifa refinery is Israel’s largest oil processing facility, operated by the Bazan Group. It’s a critical hub for energy supply, including pipelines, storage, and power generation.
Story by Mike Bedigan

Donald Trump insisted that an airstrike on a girls' school in southern Iran that killed at least 175 people, including children, was carried out by Tehran, despite analysis pointing to the U.S. military being responsible.

“No. In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One Saturday. “We think it was done by Iran because they’re very inaccurate as you know with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was standing behind the president, added that they were “still investigating” the origin of the strike but reiterated: “The only side that targets civilians is Iran.”

“It was done by Iran,” Trump repeated, more confidently.

Neither side has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on February 28 in the town of Minab.

The White House has remained vague and defensive on the school strike, despite growing speculation about who was behind it. On Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt was also asked if the U.S. was responsible, replying, “not that I know of.”

However, on Sunday, Michael Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, declined to fully endorse the president’s assertion that Iran had been to blame for the strike, telling ABC’s “This Week”: “I’ll leave that to the investigators to determine.
Story by Sammy Westfall, Leo Sands

A fast-moving conflict in the Middle East widened along several fronts on Tuesday, as Iran launched a wave of retaliatory strikes across the region. At least five U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf reported drone and missile attacks, prompting the United States to close embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Israel said it carried out fresh strikes against high-profile targets in Tehran, including the presidential office. Israel also said it would deploy ground troops deeper into Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah said it was targeting Israel with drones. As the war stretches into its fourth day, the death toll is mounting — and now includes six U.S. service members. President Donald Trump signaled U.S. forces have capabilities to continue striking Iran for “far longer” than the four to five week duration projected by the military.
Story by Brian Bennett

The U.S. is “accelerating” its attacks on Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday, with the U.S. military soon expecting to control the skies over the country.

Four days into the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the U.S. is pressing its military advantage. “This was never meant to be a fair fight,” Hegseth said. “We are punching them while they are down, which is exactly the way it should be.”

As part of the effort to debilitate Iranian forces, a U.S. attack submarine sank an Iranian naval ship off the coast of Sri Lanka with a torpedo, Hegseth said. It was the first time an American torpedo has sunk a ship since World War II.

“An American submarine sank ​an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” he said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.”
Story by Jon Gambrell, Sam Metz and Kareem Chehayeb

The Iran war’s targets widened dangerously into civilian infrastructure Sunday as Bahrain accused Iran of striking one of the desalination plants that are crucial for Persian Gulf nations’ drinking water.

As Israeli-struck oil depots smoldered in Tehran after a late-night strike, prompting environmental warnings for citizens, Iran’s president vowed to expand attacks on U.S. targets across the region on the ninth day of the war.

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have vowed to press ahead with the coordinated campaign, which has rippled across the region and appears to have no end in sight.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in his latest threat, backtracked from conciliatory comments a day earlier in which he apologized for attacks on gulf neighbors' soil. Iranian hard-liners had swiftly contradicted him, saying war strategy wouldn't change.

In Lebanon, intensifying Israeli strikes pushed the death toll higher as hundreds of thousands were displaced and Israel targeted the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

In Israel, the military said two soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon — the first Israeli military fatalities since the start of the war last weekend. Three people were also injured in Israel in a Sunday afternoon strike.
Story by AFP

On a deserted road not too far from the border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan, Satar Barsirini looked up at the sky, now streaked with jets and drones.

Iraq's Kurdish region has found itself caught in the crossfire of a regional war triggered by US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic.

Dressed like the Kurdish fighters he once served alongside, Barsirini still wears the khaki shalwar, fitted jacket and scarf wrapped around his waist.
Back to content