عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Khamenei Says Iran's US Policy Not Affected by Who Wins Election

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a virtual speech, on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, in Tehran, Iran November 3, 2020. (Reuters)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a virtual speech, on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, in Tehran, Iran November 3, 2020. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Khamenei Says Iran's US Policy Not Affected by Who Wins Election

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a virtual speech, on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, in Tehran, Iran November 3, 2020. (Reuters)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a virtual speech, on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, in Tehran, Iran November 3, 2020. (Reuters)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday the US presidential election's result will not impact Tehran's policy towards Washington.

"Our policy towards the United States is clearly set and does not change with the movement of individuals. It does not matter to us who comes and goes," Khamenei said in a speech carried live on state TV.

Khamenei was speaking on the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran.

"The students' attack on this den of spies was quite appropriate and wise," Khamenei said, referring to radical Islamist students who stormed the embassy, taking hostage 52 staff for an eventual 444 days. There have been no US-Iranian diplomatic relations since.

Iran this year cancelled rallies and other events marking the embassy seizure because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus which has killed about 36,000 people in the country, the worst hit in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

The Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, has pledged to rejoin Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with six powers if Iran returns to compliance with it.

In 2018 President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, under which Iran international financial sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs to its nuclear program. Iran followed Washington's rejection by reducing its compliance.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Katz: Israel Awaiting US Green Light to 'Return Iran to Stone Age'

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
TT
TT

Katz: Israel Awaiting US Green Light to 'Return Iran to Stone Age'

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel was "prepared to resume the war against Iran", adding that his country was awaiting a green light from the United States to return Iran to "the Stone Age".

"The IDF is ready both defensively and offensively, and the targets have been marked," Katz said in a video statement.

"We are awaiting a green light from the United States -- first and foremost to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty... and additionally to return Iran to the Dark Age and the Stone Age by destroying key energy and electricity facilities and dismantling its national economic infrastructure," he added.

The opening US-Israel attack of the war on February 28 killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose son later succeeded him but has yet to appear in public, creating speculation over his condition and if he is still alive.

"This time, when the attack resumes, it will be different and lethal, adding devastating blows at the most sensitive points -- following the tremendous strikes the Iranian terror regime has already sustained -- that will shake and bring down its foundations," AFP quoted Katz as saying.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which came into effect on April 8, to create space for talks with Tehran.

Plans for renewed negotiations in Pakistan hang in the balance.

The Middle East war has engulfed the region, leaving several thousand people dead, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and continuing to destabilize the global economy.

World

Prince Harry, on Visit to Kyiv, Tells Putin to 'Stop this War'

Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
TT
TT

Prince Harry, on Visit to Kyiv, Tells Putin to 'Stop this War'

Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters

Britain's Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday and called on Russia's President Vladimir Putin to end the war - a week after a massive Russian aerial attack on the country - and on US President Donald Trump to show leadership to help resolve the conflict.

By convention, the British royal family do not speak out on political matters, although King Charles and other senior royals have regularly voiced their support for Ukraine. But Harry, on his third visit to the country since the war began, used far more explicit language than any of his relatives have done previously, Reuters reported.

"President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment—now—to stop this war, to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course," Harry said in a speech to a Kyiv security forum.

He called on Washington to do more to bring about an end to the war.

"This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations," he said.

"Europe has stood up in profound ways," added Harry, a British Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. "The task now is to match endurance with speed, solidarity with scale, and commitment with consistency."

In his speech, which drew huge applause, he praised the Ukrainian people's resolve and the innovative response of its military, including its advanced drone capabilities.

On his two-day visit Harry is also expected to visit the de-mining HALO Trust charity, supported by his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and spend time with Ukrainian participants of the Invictus Games Foundation he founded, which helps wounded veterans recover through sport, according to Britain's ITV.

"I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences," Harry said.

World

Trump Orders Military to ‘Shoot and Kill’ Iranian Small Boats Choking Strait of Hormuz

This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP
This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP
TT
TT

Trump Orders Military to ‘Shoot and Kill’ Iranian Small Boats Choking Strait of Hormuz

This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP
This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP

US President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz.In a social media post Thursday morning, he said the military is intensifying its mine clearing efforts in the critical waterway.

The move intensified the US-Iran standoff in the Arabian Gulf and raised questions about efforts to end the war.

Meanwhile, the US military said it seized another tanker Thursday associated with smuggling Iranian oil, the Majestic X, in the Indian Ocean, deepening confusion over efforts to end the war.

The seizure comes after a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them. Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.