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Japan Says Past Aerial Objects Likely Chinese Spy Balloons

FILED - 04 February 2023, US, Myrtle Beach: Chinese spy balloon is pictured shortly before it was shot down by an F22 military fighter jet over Surfside Beach in South Carolina. Photo: Joe Granita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
FILED - 04 February 2023, US, Myrtle Beach: Chinese spy balloon is pictured shortly before it was shot down by an F22 military fighter jet over Surfside Beach in South Carolina. Photo: Joe Granita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Japan Says Past Aerial Objects Likely Chinese Spy Balloons

FILED - 04 February 2023, US, Myrtle Beach: Chinese spy balloon is pictured shortly before it was shot down by an F22 military fighter jet over Surfside Beach in South Carolina. Photo: Joe Granita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
FILED - 04 February 2023, US, Myrtle Beach: Chinese spy balloon is pictured shortly before it was shot down by an F22 military fighter jet over Surfside Beach in South Carolina. Photo: Joe Granita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

A fresh analysis of unidentified aerial objects that flew over Japan's airspace in recent years "strongly" suggests they were Chinese spy balloons, according to Tokyo's defense ministry.

"After further analysis of specific balloon-shaped flying objects previously identified in Japanese airspace, including those in November 2019, June 2020 and September 2021, we have concluded that the balloons are strongly presumed to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons flown by China," the defense ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.

It said it had "strongly demanded China's government confirm the facts" of the incident and "that such a situation not occur again in the future".

"Violations of airspace by foreign unmanned reconnaissance balloons and other means are totally unacceptable," it added.

Japanese media said Wednesday that government officials are now weighing relaxing rules on shooting down aerial objects that violate its airspace, AFP reported.

At the moment, weapons can only be used in case of a clear and present danger, Kyodo news agency reported.

"This case, I think, raises worries for us that may be a huge hole in Japan's defense," ruling party security policy chief and former defense minister Itsunori Onodera told a meeting Wednesday.

Japan said last week it was re-analyzing a series of incidents involving unidentified aerial objects in light of a Chinese spy balloon shot down by the United States after crossing US territory.

In the wake of the incident, the US military adjusted radar settings to detect smaller objects and discovered three more unidentified craft that President Joe Biden ordered shot down -- one over Alaska, another over Canada and the third over Lake Huron off Michigan.

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World

Tehran Rejects Trump's Talk of Negotiation, as Israel and Iran Launch Airstrikes

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after airstrikes targeting Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after airstrikes targeting Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
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Tehran Rejects Trump's Talk of Negotiation, as Israel and Iran Launch Airstrikes

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after airstrikes targeting Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after airstrikes targeting Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes on Wednesday, as Iran's military rejected President Donald Trump's claim Washington was in negotiations to end to the war, saying the US is negotiating with itself.

The rejection of negotiations by the unified command of the Iranian Armed Forces, which is dominated by the Revolutionary Guards, comes amid reports the US has sent a 15-point plan for discussion to Tehran.

"Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you (Trump) negotiating with yourself?" the top spokesperson for Iran's joint military command, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, said on Iranian state TV.

"People like us can never get along with people like you."

"As we have always said... no one like us will make a deal with you. Not now. Not ever."

Iran's leadership has previously said it cannot negotiate with the US as it has attacked the country twice during high level negotiations in the past two years.

Four weeks into the war that has killed thousands, created the worst energy shock in history and sparked global inflation fears, there was no letup in airstrikes from Iran and Israel on Wednesday.

The Israeli Defense Forces said in a Telegram post it had launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran. The semi-official Iranian SNN News Agency said the strikes hit a residential ⁠area in the ⁠city, with rescuers searching the rubble.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, Iranian state media reported.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday the US was in "negotiations" with "the right people" in Iran to end the war, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly.

Stocks rose and oil prices fell on Wednesday on reports the US is seeking a month-long ceasefire and had sent a 15-point plan to Iran for discussion, raising hopes for a ⁠resumption of oil exports out of the Arabian Gulf.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Washington sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East. Israel's Channel 12, quoting three sources, said the US was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the US had sent a plan to Iran but provided no further details.

The Israeli media outlet said the plan would include the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, ceasing support for proxy groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran's nuclear program, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.

The US struck Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025.

Since the start of "Operation Epic Fury" by the US in February, Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

World

Iran Tells UN: 'Non-Hostile' Ships Can Transit Strait of Hormuz

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Iran Tells UN: 'Non-Hostile' Ships Can Transit Strait of Hormuz

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The US-Israeli war against Iran has all but halted shipments of about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas through the strait, causing oil supply disruption.

The note from Iran's Foreign Ministry ⁠was sent to the 15-member Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday.

It was then circulated on Tuesday among the 176 members of the London-based UN shipping agency responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution.

“Non-hostile vessels, including those belonging to or associated with other States, may - provided that they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran and fully ⁠comply with the declared safety and security regulations - benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the competent Iranian authorities,” it read.

Iran has “taken necessary and proportionate measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from ⁠exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to advance hostile operations against Iran,” the note read, adding vessels, equipment, and any assets belonging to the US or Israel, “as ⁠well as other participants in the aggression, do not qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage.”

The Financial Times first reported that the letter had ⁠been circulated among IMO member states on Tuesday.

World

Rubio Plans Travel to France to Sell Iran War to Skeptical G7 Allies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to US President Donald Trump (not pictured) speaking to the media, as Trump departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2026. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to US President Donald Trump (not pictured) speaking to the media, as Trump departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Rubio Plans Travel to France to Sell Iran War to Skeptical G7 Allies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to US President Donald Trump (not pictured) speaking to the media, as Trump departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2026. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to US President Donald Trump (not pictured) speaking to the media, as Trump departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2026. (Reuters)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to France this week to try to sell America’s skeptical Group of Seven allies on the strategy of the Iran war that has sent global fuel prices soaring, the State Department said Tuesday.

Rubio will attend a G7 foreign ministers meeting near Versailles outside of Paris on Friday “to advance key US interests” and “discuss shared security concerns and opportunities for cooperation,” the department said.

“Areas of focus will include the Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East, and threats across the world to peace and stability,” the department said in a statement released amid conflicting accounts over whether the US and Iran are talking about a resolution to the conflict.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the US and Iran have had discussions, although Iran has denied it. And numerous other countries are involved in nascent efforts to find an off-ramp to the crisis, which has caused the price of oil to skyrocket with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping, including tankers.

Nearly all of the other G7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — have reacted coolly at best to the US-Israeli military operation against Iran and have declined to participate, drawing Trump's ire even as he maintains the US doesn't need their help.

Trump has lashed out a number of G7 members and NATO allies for not responding to his calls for help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, although in recent days several of them had indicated a willingness to back appropriate action to restore the key waterway to normal traffic.