جنگ ایران ، امریکا را درسراشیبی سقوط قرارخواهد داد. جنگ امریکا واسراییل دربرابرایران که اکنون وارد چهارمین هفته اش شده است ، بی تردید همانند تمام جنگ ها و درگیری های دیگر، به پایان خواهد رسید . این جنگ ازهمین اکنون حقایق زیادی را به جهانیان روشن تر کرده است . ــ این جنگ به ما ثابت خواهد کرد که توانایی نظامی امریکا آنگونه که ازسوی پنتاگون و ترامپ تبلیغ شده و ازآن به جهانیان تصویرهولناک وشکست ناپذیری ارئه داده بودند ، آنچنان هم نیست . نتنها آنچنان قدرتمند نیست ؛ بلکه بسیارآسیب پذیرهم است . وقتی امریکا جمع اسراییل ــ دوقدرت بزرگ نظامی جهان نتوانستندایران تحت تحریم و کمرشکسته را به زانو درآورند ، چگونه می توانند در برابرکوریای شمالی ، روسیه و یا چین تاب بیاورند ؟ ــ این جنگ این حقیقت را هم واضح نمود که امریکا هیچگاهی اینچنین منزوی نبوده است ــ چنانکه حتا نزدیک ترین متحدان استراتژیک اش چون جاپان ، جرمنی ، کوریای جنوبی ، استرالیا ، کانادا ، انگلستان ، تمام اتحادیه ی اروپا و کل کشورهای ناتو ؛ هیچکدام حاضر به حمایت و همراهی با او درین جنگ نشدند . همه به تقاضاهای پیهم و مکرراش جواب رد داده وهمه به او گفتند که جنگ علیه ایران ، جنگ ما نیست . این جنگ غیر قانونی وخلاف تمام موازین بین المللیست . ــ وبالاخره این جنگ به آن شعارمیان خالی دونالد ترامپ خط بطلان کشید که می گفت من بدنبال جنگ نیستم ، من می خواهم برنده ی جایزه ی صلح نوبل شوم . من می خواهم از راه صلح عظمت را به امریکا برگردانم . دونالد ترامپ که با شعار « امریکا اولتر و باعظمت تر ازهمه » جنبش « ماگا » را براه انداخت ، بجای رونق بخشیدن کار و تولید در امریکا وبجای برگردان سربازان امریکایی ازجنگها به خانه هایشان که وعده داده بود ، گاهی گرینلند و کانال پاناما را تهدید به تسخیروتصرف به زور کرد ، گاهی کانادا را ایالت پنجاه و یکم خود اعلان نمود ، زمانی در ونزویلا شبانه رییس جمهور دزدی کرد و بالاخره حالا هم دوبارهمراه با اسراییل درحین گفتگوهای صلح ، بر ایران مستقل و عضو دایم سازمان ملل متحد چنان یورش برد و چنان قتل و ویرانی به بارآورد که تاریخ نظیر اش را ندیده است . درست با درک غیرقانونی بودن این جنگ است که حتا هواداران جنبش « ماگا » این آتش افروزی ترامپ را خیانتی عقیدتی پنداشته و روزتاروزبا کمیت بیشتردربرابر ترامپ موضع می گیرند . نظرسنجی های اخیرنشان می دهد که حمله برایران باعث ایجاد شگاف عمیق دربین طرفداران ترامپ شده وهم اکنون ازهرچهارجمهوریخواه یک نفر با حمله برایران ، مخالفت جدی دارند. همه شاهدیم که درگرماگرم جنگ " جوکنت " رییس مرکزملی مبارزه با تروریسم، یکی ازنزدیکترین دوستان ترامپ ، استعفا داد و در استعفا نامه اش بصراحت نوشت که : « ایران تهدید قریب الوقوع برای امریکا ایجاد نکرده و او نمی تواند وجدان خود را با حمایت ازین جنگ بفروشد ...» به همین سان است موضعگیری های صاف و شفاف " جو روگان " ، " مگان کلی " ژورنالیستان اثرگذار امریکا و " تاکر کارلسون " مجری نامدار سابق فاکس نیوز که با صراحت صدای رسای مخالفت با این جنگ و تجاوزبرایران را بلند نموده گفتند : « این جنگ به خواست و نیت اسراییل براه افتاده و لابی های حامی اسراییل ، ترامپ را هم وارد این جنگ ویرانگر نموده اند .» به هرحال ، این جنگ هرزمانی ختم شود ، جهان را دگرگون خواهد کرد . دیگر تحمیل تحریم های غیرعادلانه برایران وسایرکشورهای جهان و تسلط غیرعادلانه و تحمیلی استراتژی پترو دالر، به پایان خواهد رسید . دیگرارز دالر تنها ارز مورد معامله درجهان نخواهد بود و دیگر اتحاد چندین ساله ی امریکا و اروپا ، آمریکا و جاپان ، امریکا و کوریا و امریکا با کانادا و استراليا آخرین ماه های عمرشان را سپری می نمایند . و شاید حتا تا پایان حکومتداری دونالد ترامپ ، اتحاد امنیتی ناتو و ایالات متحده ی امریکا هم آخرین نفس های شان را کشیده باشند . فروغی ( ماه مارچ 2026 )

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  War with Iran
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LIVE UPDATES

Iranian source acknowledges US ‘outreach’ as war rages on

Updated 12:00 PM EDT, Tue March 24, 2026

Drone footage shows severe damage to Tel Aviv buildings

00:45

Here's the latest

• US-Iran contact: An Iranian source told CNN there had been “outreach” between the United States and Tehran and that Iran is willing to listen to “sustainable” proposals to end the war. Other countries are pushing for a diplomatic solution, with Pakistan offering to host talks involving Iran, Israel and the US.

• Israel and Iran trade strikes: An Israeli official said a deal to stop the war “does not appear to be tangible right now,” as Israel carried out another wave of strikes across Iran and Tehran launched attacks on Tel Aviv.

• Oil climbs again: Oil prices rose to back over $100 a barrel after the fresh fighting diminished hopes that hostilities would cease.

• In Lebanon: The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut, hours after Israel’s defense minister ordered the destruction of all bridges over the river that links southern Lebanon to the rest of the country.

40 Posts

12 min ago

What we know about the "talks" between the US and Iran

By Christian Edwards

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing West Palm Beach aboard Air Force One on Monday. 

There are conflicting accounts about whether the United States and Iran are speaking about ending the war, causing confusion in financial and energy markets. Here’s what we know.

What has Trump said?: On Saturday, Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours.

But on Monday, Trump abruptly announced a five-day pause on those strikes, claiming that the US had held “productive conversations” with Iran.

Later, Trump told CNN that Iran wanted to “make a deal.” He claimed the US had spoken to a “top person” in Iran’s regime, without saying who, and that there were “major points of agreement,” without elaborating.

What was Iran’s response?: Iran denied any talks with the US. As reports circulated that the US had liaised with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ghalibaf himself denied the rumors.

“No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews (sic) is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,” he wrote on X.

But on Tuesday, an Iranian source told CNN there had been “outreach” between the Washington and Tehran, and that Iran is willing to listen to “suitable” proposals to end the war.

What would Iran want from a deal?: Having twice been bombed by the US and Israel while talks were ongoing, Tehran will struggle to trust Washington, according to Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House.

“The Iranians have been ‘Trumped’ twice now,” Vakil told CNN. “They will be extremely skeptical.”

Iran will want “credible assurances” that it will not be attacked by either the US or Israel, she added.

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has previously said that Iran’s conditions for ending the war include compensation for the destruction. Iran has also insisted that it will not relinquish its missile and drone arsenals or industry, which Trump had pledged to “raze … to the ground.”

How have others responded?: Some are seizing on the faint prospects for diplomacy. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has spoken with Iran and Egypt, as well as the US and European Union, about ending the war, a Turkish diplomatic source told CNN.

Meanwhile, Pakistan says it is “ready to host talks” between the US and Iran. Sources told CNN that Vice President JD Vance could attend proposed talks in Islamabad this week.

But Israel is showing little sign of wanting to end the war – either against Iran, or against Hezbollah in Lebanon. An Israeli source said a deal to end the Iran war was not “tangible right now.”

5 min ago

What each side wants: The competing visions for the Middle East

By Mostafa Salem

United States

The United States remains unclear in its immediate goals, but it has for decades sought to change Iran’s behavior and is seeking to extract stringent guarantees that the Islamic Republic will neither pursue a nuclear weapons program nor continue backing proxies that target Israel. Washington also aims to impose strict limits on Iran’s ballistic missile program while demonstrating sufficient military power to deter future Iranian leaders from challenging the regional order.

Iran

Iran is seeking to impose a seismic shift in the regional status quo while guaranteeing its own survival. For years, it has watched Gulf Arab states prosper under the US security umbrella while the Islamic Republic endured crippling all sanctions. From that perspective, Tehran aims to leverage its control over the critical Strait of Hormuz, demand war reparations, and secure the lifting of sanctions – all while inflicting economic and strategic global pain to demonstrate how costly any future conflict with Iran could become.

Israel

Israel is seeking to topple the Iranian regime, which for half a century has designated Israel as its primary global enemy. Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has also made clear its ambition to reshape the Middle East by neutralizing all potential threats to its security, including Iran’s-backed regional proxies. It has backed Iranian monarchists deposed by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, infiltrated the country. Israel sees this war as a culmination of a process that started after it was attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023, to which is began to eliminate its primary regional threats.

Gulf Arab states

For Gulf Arab states, the war has proven that Iran is their ultimate threat. They remain united in their desire for stability and economic prosperity, yet their cities have borne the brunt of most Iranian missiles and drones, leaving their sense of security shaken and sowing deep distrust with their Iranian neighbors for years to come. The majority of countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, now view the Iranian regime as a direct and a long-term threat to their safety and could now require an end to the war with guarantees to their security. In contrast, countries such as Oman have expressed discontent with Israel and the United States for launching the war against Iran.

33 min ago

A look at how different countries are responding to rising energy costs

By Catherine Nicholls

A worker uses black tape to adjust the prices of their sign as the digital board on top cannot accommodate the additional digits at a gasoline station as oil prices continue to rise, on Tuesday in Quezon city, Philippines. 

As oil prices continue to rise as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, governments around the world are implementing measures to minimize the effects of this price increase.

Countries including South Korea, China, Croatia and Hungary have introduced price caps on oil.

Here’s a look some other measures being put in place:

• Philippines: The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., declared a “national energy emergency” today, Filipino state media People’s Television Network reported. This will help the government “to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,” Marcos said, according to PTV.
• Pakistan: On March 9, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a series of extreme austerity measures, including the closure of schools, a ban on overseas visits by Pakistani officials, and requiring half of public and private sector employees to work from home.
• Sri Lanka: Last week, Sri Lanka introduced a system where people can only fill up their car’s fuel tank on specific days, according to state-owned Daily News. Vehicles with registration plates ending in an even number can only get fuel on even-numbered days of the month, it reported, with the same concept in place for odd numbers.
• Indonesia: Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto wants to increase the country’s coal production, Reuters reported, as the country has also implemented a work-from-home plan, according to Antara, Indonesia’s government-run news agency.
• Greece: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that his country will be providing subsidies for fuel and fertilizers, as well as discounted ferry tickets, according to Reuters.

1 hr 14 min ago

Iranian source says there has been US "outreach" and Tehran "willing to listen"

By Frederik Pleitgen

An Iranian source told CNN on Tuesday that there had been “outreach” between the United States and Tehran and that Iran is willing to listen to “sustainable” proposals to end the war.

“There has been outreach between the United States and Iran, initiated by Washington, in recent days, but nothing that has reached the level of full-on negotiations,” the source said. “Messages have been received through various intermediaries to scope out whether an agreement to end the war can be reached.”

“The proposals being looked at are aimed not merely at achieving a ceasefire, but a concrete agreement to end the conflict between the US and Iran,” they added without going into further detail.

The source refused to comment on US President Donald Trump‘s public statements on the negotiations, and emphasized Iran’s position has been always clear that Tehran is ready to consider any viable proposal.

“Iran is not asking for a meeting or direct talks with the United States but is willing to listen if a plan for a sustainable deal comes within reach that would preserve the national interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the source said.

“Iran is ready to provide all the necessary guarantees that it will never develop nuclear weapons but is entitled to peaceful use of nuclear technology.” The source insisted that any proposal must also include ending all sanctions imposed on Iran.

1 hr 24 min ago

Saudi Arabia wants Iran’s missile capabilities degraded before war ends, official says

By Becky Anderson

Downtown Riyadh is seen on October 31, 2023. 

Saudi Arabia wants an end to the Iran war with Tehran’s cruise and ballistic missile capabilities degraded “as much as possible,” a regional official familiar with the Saudi position told CNN.

Riyadh however does not want Iran’s civilian infrastructure harmed, the official added.

“(We) can’t have an aggressive neighbor but also can’t have a population in Iran that is destitute,” the official said. “At the end of the day, we are neighbors and want a peaceful neighborhood.”

1 hr 46 min ago

4 injured, including 2 infants, as Iranian missile fragment hits southern Israel

By Dana Karni and Oren Liebermann

Four people were injured as an Iranian missile fragment hit a Bedouin community in southern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, according to Israel’s emergency response service.

Magen David Adom (MDA) said one man was moderately wounded and two infants suffered minor injuries when the fragment fell in what they described as a portable structure. One woman also suffered minor injuries.

Bedouin communities usually do not have shelters or safe spaces which are common in the rest of the country.

Iran has launched missiles at southern Israel multiple times in recent days, including direct hits on the cities of Dimona and Arad that injured more than 100 people in total.

Another alert warning of incoming missile fire sounded in the same area shortly after the strike that hit the Bedouin structure.

2 hr 17 min ago

Iran war hits businesses in Europe and the UK

By Hanna Ziady

Shoppers on Oxford Street in London on March 1. 

The war in Iran has driven up costs, hurt confidence and curbed output growth among businesses in Europe and the United Kingdom, new survey data shows.

The early indication of the conflict’s economic impact around the world comes from the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data, based on surveys of executives in the manufacturing and service sectors.

“The war in the Middle East has hit the UK economy in March, stalling (output) growth while driving inflation sharply higher,” said Chris Williamson, a senior economist at S&P Global, which compiles the PMI data. The full impact on inflation and economic growth will depend on the duration of the war, as well as the length of disruptions to energy markets and shipping, he added in a report.

The war has also had a markedly negative economic impact on the neighboring eurozone. Output growth across the 21 countries that use the euro “slowed to near-stagnation” in March, thanks to a slump in business confidence, Williamson said.

“Firms’ costs are rising at the fastest rate for over three years amid the surge in energy prices and choking of supply chains resulting from the war,” he wrote in a separate report.

The data is “ringing stagflation alarm bells (in the eurozone),” he added, referring to a situation where economic growth stagnates even as inflation rises. That nightmare scenario often means salary increases can’t keep pace with rising prices, which central banks combat by hiking interest rates that further weigh on economic output.

The surveys showed that initial readings of the UK and eurozone PMIs remained in expansionary territory – that is, above 50 – but they fell sharply from the previous month, to six- and 10-month lows respectively.

2 hr 53 min ago

Israel steps up strikes on Beirut as minister calls for seizure of southern Lebanon

Eugenia Yosef

A man looks at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Tuesday. 

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut on Monday night, hours after Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the destruction of all bridges over the Litani River that link southern Lebanon to the rest of the country.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday morning that Israel launched seven airstrikes overnight, one of the largest salvos the capital has endured in recent days.

The overnight offensive follows increased Israeli evacuation warnings across southern Lebanon as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intensify strikes on infrastructure, in line with Katz’s order.

“In the strikes conducted in Beirut, several Hezbollah headquarters were targeted,” the IDF said in a statement Tuesday.

The IDF said a strike on Nur Radio had targeted the Radwan Forces, a special operation forces unit of Hezbollah that the IDF claimed used the Lebanese broadcaster’s premises as its headquarters.

On Monday, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the IDF was “expanding the buffer zone” in southern Lebanon as he called for redrawing the border and seizing more Lebanese territory.

“We are rebuilding and developing our northern communities, and destroying the terror villages in Lebanon,” said Smotrich, who is one of the most radical members of the Israeli government.

“The current campaign in Lebanon must end with a fundamental change: the Litani must become our new border with the State of Lebanon, like the Yellow Line in Gaza and like the buffer and Hermon perimeter in Syria,” he added.

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh contributed reporting.

3 hr 17 min ago

Shakira's Qatar concert among events called off due to conflict

By Tim Lister

Colombian singer Shakira performs during her 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour' concert at Jose Amalfitani stadium, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 9. 

A concert by Shakira due to take place in Qatar has been postponed because of the “regional situation,” according to the official events platform Qatar Calendar.

The Colombian pop star was scheduled to perform in Doha on April 1 as part of her world tour.

The OFFLIMITS Music Festival in Abu Dhabi at which Shakira and the Jonas Brothers were due to perform on April 4 has also been postponed to November, the organizers announced Tuesday.

The cancellations are the latest in a number of cultural and sporting events to have been scrapped or postponed in the Gulf states since they became caught up in the conflict between Iran and the United States.

Singer Josh Groban canceled concerts in Dubai and Bahrain that were due to take place in the coming days.

Formula 1 has canceled both of its Gulf races scheduled for April – in Bahrain and the Saudi city of Jeddah – because of the ongoing conflict.

A football match between the reigning European and Latin American champions – Spain and Argentina – that was due to take place in Qatar has also been canceled.

2 hr 15 min ago

Lebanon to expel Iran’s ambassador, claiming he "violated diplomatic norms"

Charlotte Reck

Lebanon has withdrawn accreditation for the appointed Iranian ambassador, giving him until Sunday to leave, Lebanon’s foreign ministry confirmed.

In a statement published on X, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said:

“Today I asked the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to summon the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires in Lebanon, to inform him of the decision to withdraw approval of the accreditation of the appointed Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani and to declare him persona non grata, obliging him to leave Lebanese territory by March 29, 2026.”

The action comes after Lebanon’s moves at the beginning of the war to ban Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) activity and demand Iranians obtain visas to enter the country.

Lebanon’s foreign ministry later asserted that the decision is not a severing of diplomatic relations with Iran, saying in a post on X: “Rather, it is a measure taken against the ambassador for violating diplomatic norms and obligations as an appointed ambassador to Lebanon.”

“Ambassador Sheibani made statements that interfered in Lebanon’s internal politics and criticized decisions made by the government,” the statement reads. “Furthermore, he held meetings with unofficial Lebanese entities without consulting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded favorably to the news. “This is a justified and necessary step against the state responsible for violating Lebanon’s sovereignty,” Sa’ar said in a post on X before calling on the Lebanese government to “take practical and meaningful measures against Hezbollah.”

Tehran has also withdrawn the Lebanese ambassador to Iran.

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh and Charbel Mallo contributed reporting. This post has been updated with additional reaction.

3 hr 5 min ago

Iran appoints veteran IRGC commander to lead national security

Mostafa Salem

Iran's Deputy Revolutionary Guards Commander Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr speaks to journalists after anti-US conference in Tehran, Iran, on November 8, 2004. 

Iran has appointed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard veteran to lead its national security in the latest sign of the group expanding influence at a moment of acute vulnerability in the Islamic Republic.

Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr, a veteran regime operator was appointed as the new head of its Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli strike last week, Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications and information at Pezeshkian’s office said on X.

Zolqadr is a veteran regime insider who has held numerous high-level positions across Iran’s military, civilian and judicial institutions. His rise stems from his experience commanding a division in the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War, where he was tasked with building relations with cross-border paramilitary groups, including Kurdish factions in Iraq.

The veteran rose to become second-in-command of the Revolutionary Guards for several years. More recently, he took charge of the Expediency Discernment Council, which advises Iran’s Supreme Leader and arbitrates between parliament and the Guardian Council.

His diverse institutional positions over four decades led observers to believe that he enjoyed the trust of the now-slain supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

His wartime experience also led him to work closely with paramilitary groups inside Iran, such as the Basij and Ansar-e Hezbollah, which have been used to suppress opposition and dissent.

The appointment of a battle-tested and hardline figure like Zolqadr signals Tehran’s intention to maintain its posture on national security in the wake of Larijani’s death amid the IRGC expanding control over the nation.

This post has been updated with additional developments.

3 hr 7 min ago

Why an end to the war won't take fuel prices back to normal overnight

By Hanna Ziady

Bulk carriers sit anchored at Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman, upstream from the Strait of Hormuz, on Monday. 

An end to the Iran war will bring immediate relief to oil and natural gas markets, but it could take months before prices fall back to the levels they stood at before the conflict started.

For a start, shipping companies and their insurers will need to feel confident that it is safe to travel through the vital Strait of Hormuz, ordinarily the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply. And even once tanker transits restart, it will take time to clear the backlog: Nearly 2,000 vessels are trapped inside the adjacent Persian Gulf, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The war has also shuttered many oil and natural gas facilities, and resuming production could take several weeks. It’s “not like you switch the light button and everything comes back online,” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, told CNN.

Worse still, attacks on production sites mean it could take months, or even years, to return to previous levels of output. QatarEnergy, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said last week that Iranian missile attacks on its facilities had reduced its export capacity by 17% and that the damage would take up to five years to repair.

Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Group, which owns oil refineries in Nigeria, told CNN’s Eleni Giokos Monday that it would take at least six months for oil supply to return to “normal” once the war ended. Oil prices might then stabilize but would likely remain at $75-80 for the rest of the year, he said.

For context, a barrel of Brent crude oil was trading at $73 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. WTI, the US benchmark, was trading at $67 a barrel. Crude prices had already begun rising before the war, from around $60 and $57 respectively at the start of the year, as tensions between the United States and Iran ratcheted up.

In the United States, gasoline prices have surged in recent weeks as a result of higher oil prices. They are likely to fall much more slowly than they’ve risen.

3 hr 58 min ago

Israel strikes Iran as defense minister says attacks continue “with full force”

By Oren Liebermann

Israel carried out another wave of strikes across Iran after Defense Minister Israel Katz said attacks are continuing “with full force.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they attacked production sites belonging to the regime, including in Isfahan, home to one of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israel has repeatedly targeted ballistic missile production facilities and other elements of Iran’s defense industrial base.

Earlier, the IDF said it had attacked missiles sites in western and central Iran in the past day, as well as sites associated with Tehran’s Intelligence Ministry.

4 hr 26 min ago

Airstrikes on Iran-backed forces in Iraq kill at least 15

By Mohammed Tawfeeq and Christian Edwards

Apparent US-Israeli airstrikes targeting a military headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) – an umbrella group for Iran-backed Shiite militias – in western Iraq killed at least 15 people early Tuesday, according to Iraq’s Joint Operations Command.

The PMF said the attack in the Iraqi province of Anbar was a “flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” which shows “disregard for international law.” The attack marks an escalation of US-Israeli strikes against one of Iran’s main regional allies.

Saad Duwai Al-Baiji, the PMF’s operations commander in the province, was among those killed in the strike, the group said.

The PMF said “the blood of the martyrs will not be wasted,” urging Iraqi political leaders to respond to the strike.

Some background: The PMF comprises mostly Shiite militias which formed in 2014 to fight ISIS, after Iraq’s top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for mobilization. The group was later incorporated into Iraq’s state security structure but includes factions with ties to Iran.

The US has previously struck some PMF factions, particularly those accused of attacking US forces in Iraq and Syria.

4 hr 25 min ago

"Choking" Strait of Hormuz is "economic terrorism" against the world, says UAE energy CEO

By Olesya Dmitracova

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), attends India Energy Week in Goa, India, on January 27, 2026. 

The effective closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz by Iran is “economic terrorism against every nation,” the head of a state-owned energy giant in the United Arab Emirates has said.

“Much of the oxygen of the global economy runs through a single throat. And yet there are those who believe that choking that throat is an acceptable strategy,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of ADNOC (the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), referring to the waterway that is ordinarily the conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply. He avoided naming Iran, however.

“When Hormuz is squeezed, the pressure is immediately felt around the world,” Al Jaber said Monday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Texas, noting a sharp rise in the price of oil since the start of the Iran war on February 28. Brent crude, the global benchmark, has jumped by nearly 40% in that time.

“This is raising the cost of living for those who can least afford it and slowing economic growth everywhere. From factories to farms to families around the world, the human cost is mounting by the day,” said Al Jaber, who is also the UAE minister of industry and advanced technology.

“So let me be absolutely clear: Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It’s economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage. Not now. Not ever.”

4 hr 19 min ago

Iran issues warning to Israeli forces in Gaza and northern Israel over continued strikes

Mostafa Salem

People gather around a destroyed Palestinian police jeep that was targeted by an Israeli air strike in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza, on Sunday. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that it will target the Israeli military in Gaza and northern Israel if the “crimes against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine continue.”

The IRGC said the “gathering places” of “enemy forces” will be subjected to “heavy missile and drone attacks.”

It accused the Israeli military of taking advantage of the conflict to commit “war crimes” against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians.

5 hr 7 min ago

Expert explains why Iran would enter new negotiations with "higher leverage"

Mustafa Qadri

Iran now has more leverage over the US as it can “bring chaos to the entire region” and “control the Strait of Hormuz,” a former Pentagon adviser said.

“Because they [Iran] have remained standing against the US and Israel” and “have been controlling the Strait of Hormuz, they are entering new negotiations with higher leverage,” Jasmine El-Gamal, a former Middle East adviser for the US Defense Department said.

Some of the conditions Iran may be looking to pursue include “security guarantees” and ensuring the regime is tied to Iranian soil, as they can threaten to “bring chaos to the entire region” when provoked, she told CNN’s Rosemary Church.

Her comments come amid conflicting signals over diplomacy, as US President Donald Trump said there were “major points of agreement” regarding a truce while Iran publicly denied direct negotiations.

Pakistan is reportedly preparing to host talks between the two sides, with Vice President JD Vance expected to attend.

5 hr 11 min ago

Iranian strikes hit Israel as conflict continues despite Trump's claims. Catch up here

By Catherine Nicholls

Drone footage shows severe damage to Tel Aviv buildings

00:45

Despite US President Donald Trump saying yesterday that his country and Iran have reached “major points of agreement,” the conflict is the Middle East is continuing.

Tehran has launched waves of missiles at Israel this morning, with Israel also continuing to bombard cities across Iran and Lebanon.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know about the developments so far today:

• Buildings have been damaged and cars left burning in Tel Aviv, Israel after an Iranian missile attack this morning. Debris from intercepted projectiles also fell at several sites in the south of the country earlier, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
• After plummeting yesterday, oil prices rose again today after the fresh fighting between Israel and Iran diminished hopes that an end to the war might be imminent.
• A deal to end the Iran war “does not appear to be tangible right now,” an Israeli official said yesterday, as Israel’s military continued to carry out strikes in Iran and Lebanon.
• China’s envoy to the Middle East said his country “will not rest” in trying to act as a diplomatic mediator in the region, though he also downplayed Beijing’s ability to resolve the conflict despite its close ties to Iran.

CNN’s Jessie Yeung, Eugenia Yosef, Hanna Ziady, Tal Shalev, Simone McCarthy and Steven Jiang contributed to this reporting.

3 hr 6 min ago

Global oil price is back above $100 a barrel as hopes fade of a quick end to the war

By Hanna Ziady

An oil tanker docked at an Eneos Corp. oil refinery in the Keihin industrial area in Yokohama, Japan, on Tuesday. 

Oil prices rose Tuesday after fresh fighting overnight between Israel and Iran diminished hopes that an end to the Middle East war, now in its fourth week, might be imminent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.6% to $101.5 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, rose 2.7% to $90.5 a barrel.

Brent had reached more than $114 a barrel at one point Monday before plunging to settle at $99.94, after Trump hailed “very good and productive conversations” with Iran about ending the war.

Iran has denied any dialogue with Washington, however, though sources have told CNN that mediation efforts are underway, including by Turkey and Egypt.

Stock markets were mixed Tuesday, as traders weighed hopes for a prompt end to the war against evidence of attacks overnight. Asian markets pared some of Monday’s losses to close higher in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

In Europe, major indexes in London, Frankfurt and Paris were broadly flat in morning trade, following gains Monday. US futures were also flat. “The peak optimism from yesterday didn’t last long and has not really followed through today,” Neil Wilson, a strategist at investment platform Saxo, said in a note.

5 hr 55 min ago

Drone video shows destruction in Israel after Iran missile attacks

Niamh Kennedy

Drone footage shows severe damage to Tel Aviv buildings

00:45

Drone footage from Reuters news agency shows several buildings damaged in central Tel Aviv following Iranian missile attacks today.

At least four sites in the capital were hit by strikes, Israeli emergency services said, with several people who sustained light injuries receiving treatment on site.

Israeli authorities said Iran launched seven waves of missiles in less than 10 hours.

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