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Lebanon, France Postpone Conference to Support Lebanese Army

01 March 2026, Lebanon, Qliyaa: Smoke trails left by interceptor missiles launched from Israeli air defense systems to counter Iranian missiles is seen over the Israeli settlement of Metula as seen from the Lebanese southern border village Qliyaa.(dpa)
01 March 2026, Lebanon, Qliyaa: Smoke trails left by interceptor missiles launched from Israeli air defense systems to counter Iranian missiles is seen over the Israeli settlement of Metula as seen from the Lebanese southern border village Qliyaa.(dpa)
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Lebanon, France Postpone Conference to Support Lebanese Army

01 March 2026, Lebanon, Qliyaa: Smoke trails left by interceptor missiles launched from Israeli air defense systems to counter Iranian missiles is seen over the Israeli settlement of Metula as seen from the Lebanese southern border village Qliyaa.(dpa)
01 March 2026, Lebanon, Qliyaa: Smoke trails left by interceptor missiles launched from Israeli air defense systems to counter Iranian missiles is seen over the Israeli settlement of Metula as seen from the Lebanese southern border village Qliyaa.(dpa)

Lebanon and France postponed on Sunday an upcoming conference to support the Lebanese army and security forces, a joint statement by both countries' presidencies said, citing unfavorable conditions in the region.

The statement said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron "decided to postpone until April the conference... which was to be held on March 5 in Paris" after discussing "the latest developments affecting the security of the entire region".

"The conditions were not met to hold the meeting on the scheduled date."

The decision comes after the United States and Israel began strikes against Iran on Saturday, sparking swift retaliation from Tehran.

Lebanon, which is still reeling from a 2024 war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, fears the group may intervene in the conflict.

The conference is meant to support the military, whose mission is to disarm Hezbollah after Beirut committed to doing so last year.

Aoun and Macron stressed that "the gravity of the regional situation reinforces the need to preserve the stability of Lebanon, to support its legitimate institutions and to guarantee the full restoration of its sovereignty".

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Arab World

Lebanon's Hezbollah Vows to 'Confront Aggression' of US, Israel

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
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Lebanon's Hezbollah Vows to 'Confront Aggression' of US, Israel

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah vowed Sunday to confront the United States and Israel over their strikes on the group's key backer Iran.

"We will undertake our duty of confronting the aggression," Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a statement, adding that his movement would not leave "the field of honor and resistance".

The Lebanese group has so far not taken action since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday.

It is nonetheless organizing a gathering on Sunday afternoon in its stronghold in Beirut's southern suburb in a show of support for its ally Iran.

Hezbollah also called on mosques to recite the Koran and organize mourning ceremonies to mark the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, both in the Beirut suburb and other areas of Lebanon where the group wields influence.

Khamenei was killed on Saturday as the United States and Israel jointly launched a barrage of ongoing strikes on the Iranian republic.

Having emerged heavily battered from its own war with Israel, Hezbollah did not intervene on behalf of Iran during its 12-day war with Israel last June.

Qassem, who succeeded Hassan Nasrallah as the group's chief following his death in an Israeli strike in September 2024, on Sunday said the assassination of Khamenei and other Iranian officials was "the height of crime".

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday rejected the prospect of being dragged into war following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Arab World

Hamas Mourns Iran’s Khamenei, Condemns ‘Heinous’ US-Israel Attack

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, third right, leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday, during their funeral ceremony at the Tehran University campus, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, third right, leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday, during their funeral ceremony at the Tehran University campus, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
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Hamas Mourns Iran’s Khamenei, Condemns ‘Heinous’ US-Israel Attack

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, third right, leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday, during their funeral ceremony at the Tehran University campus, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, third right, leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday, during their funeral ceremony at the Tehran University campus, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)

Hamas on Sunday mourned Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, a firm supporter of the Palestinian movement, after his death in what it described as a "heinous" US-Israeli attack. 

"We in Hamas mourn the passing of Ali Khamenei. He provided all forms of political, diplomatic and military support to our people, our cause, and our resistance," it said in a statement. 

"The US and the fascist occupation government bear full responsibility for this blatant aggression and heinous crime against the sovereignty of Iran, as well as for its serious repercussions on the security and stability of the region." 

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, described Khamenei as the "main supporter of the Resistance Axis and its mujahideen". 

"All the support the Islamic Republic has provided over decades to our people and our resistance ... was delivered by his direct decision and under his full supervision," the Brigades said in a separate statement. 

"This substantial support has been a key factor in the development of the resistance and its tactics, culminating in the remarkable achievements" during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the group added. 

Armed group Islamic Jihad, which along with Hamas and its armed wing fought a war against Israel in Gaza for two years, said the killing of Khamenei was a "war crime" by the US and Israel in a "treacherous and malicious attack". 

Arab World

Thai PM Says Preparing Evacuation of Citizens in Middle East

A projectile lights up the night sky over Tel Aviv, Israel, 01 March 2026. (EPA)
A projectile lights up the night sky over Tel Aviv, Israel, 01 March 2026. (EPA)
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Thai PM Says Preparing Evacuation of Citizens in Middle East

A projectile lights up the night sky over Tel Aviv, Israel, 01 March 2026. (EPA)
A projectile lights up the night sky over Tel Aviv, Israel, 01 March 2026. (EPA)

Thailand is readying to evacuate its citizens from the Middle East by military or charter flights, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Sunday, after the US and Israel attacked Iran -- which answered with its own missile strikes.

The government has "coordinated with the Royal Thai Air Force to prepare aircraft to evacuate Thai citizens, prioritizing those in Iran", Anutin told reporters in Bangkok, adding that charter flights were also under consideration.

"We have to check the closure of airspace, whether we need to evacuate them to the third country first," he added.

Anutin said there were tens of thousands of Thai workers in the region, citing the labor ministry.

Nearly 59,000 Thais were registered with Thailand's labor office in Israel, and more than 11,000 were registered with Thailand's labor office in Abu Dhabi -- which covers the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Iran, according to the ministry.

"The Thai government will do everything to bring Thai citizens back safely. If they want to return, we will take them back," Anutin said.

The United States and Israel began launching waves of strikes against Iran on Saturday, sparking swift retaliation by Tehran.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to continue striking Iran until its government falls.

Iranian state television confirmed the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday, after Trump said he had been killed.

Fresh explosions were heard in Doha, Dubai and Manama on Sunday.

Amid the bombardments, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel all have closed their airspaces to civilian traffic, at least in part, and multiple airlines cancelled flights to and from the region.