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China Warship Starts Live-fire Drills Near Taiwan

A Chinese warship sails during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A Chinese warship sails during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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China Warship Starts Live-fire Drills Near Taiwan

A Chinese warship sails during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A Chinese warship sails during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A Chinese warship in seas facing the Taiwan Strait began live-fire drills on Saturday as Beijing began military exercises it calls a warning against what it considers pro-Taiwan independence forces.

The amphibious landing ship - capable of transporting troops, craft and vehicles - fired multiple rounds of artillery on Saturday morning in the Luoyan Bay area on the coast of Fujian province, about 50 km (30 miles) northwest of the Matsu islands near the mainland that are controlled by Taiwan, Reuters reported.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan's government strongly objects to China's claims.

Smoke and muzzle flares were visible from the stern of the warship as shells were fired on targets on land and water.

Fishing boats and huge cargo vessels cruised nearby, avoiding the drill area.

The warship did not sail towards the windswept Matsu islands, controlled by Taiwan since the Republic of China government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's Communist forces. The area is considered an early target for Beijing in the event of a military escalation.

China's Eastern Theater Command, one of the five commands of the People's Liberation Army that oversees the East China Sea including the Taiwan Strait, said combat readiness patrols would be conducted around Taiwan for three days as a "serious" warning against pro-Taiwan independence forces and to safeguard China's territorial integrity.

Drills to the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan were also planned, after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States, drawing anger from Beijing.

Taiwan's defense ministry said that 42 Chinese planes and eight ships crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line on Saturday morning.

Despite the drills, Tsai said Taiwan's people love democracy and seek peace, adding that she looked forward to further strengthening security cooperation with the United States.

Tsai made the comments at the start of a lunch with a visiting US lawmaker delegation, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

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Iran Reviewing US Proposal as Trump Pressures Tehran for Agreement on Deal to End War

US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Iran Reviewing US Proposal as Trump Pressures Tehran for Agreement on Deal to End War

US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Iran said it was reviewing the latest American proposals to end the war after US President Donald Trump threatened the country with a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

Hope that the two-month conflict could soon be over buoyed international markets Thursday, a day after the US military fired on an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach the American blockade of Iran’s ports. The developments followed days of mixed messages from the Trump administration over its strategy to end the war, according to The AP news.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed peace efforts in the Middle East at the Vatican. Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV, whose opposition to the Iran war has led to open sparring with Trump.

Trump posted on social media Wednesday that ending the war and resuming oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict depends on Iran accepting an agreement, which he did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.

A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran has largely held since April 8. But in-person talks between the two countries hosted by Pakistan last month failed to reach an agreement. The war began Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.

Pakistan says it expects a deal soon “We expect an agreement sooner rather than later,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Thursday.

“We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that will contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well.” But he declined to give a timeline, saying Pakistan would not disclose details of the ongoing diplomatic efforts.

Asked whether Pakistan was expecting any response from Iran later Thursday, Andrabi said: “I will not comment on specifics or the movement of the messages.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking in televised remarks, said Islamabad remained in “continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire.”

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Pakistan Warns of Strong Response to Any Attack on Anniversary of Clash with India

The Pakistani flag is seen in Islamabad. AP file photo
The Pakistani flag is seen in Islamabad. AP file photo
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Pakistan Warns of Strong Response to Any Attack on Anniversary of Clash with India

The Pakistani flag is seen in Islamabad. AP file photo
The Pakistani flag is seen in Islamabad. AP file photo

Pakistan’s military warned Thursday it would respond strongly against any attack as it marked the anniversary of last year’s four-day conflict with neighboring India that brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of war before a US-brokered ceasefire halted the fighting.

The military said that any “hostile design” against Pakistan would be countered with “greater strength, precision and resolve” than what India witnessed during the May 2025 conflict, which Islamabad named “Marka-e-Haq,” or “Battle of Truth.”

Pakistan and India had exchanged tit-for-tat strikes following an attack by gunmen in the Indian-controlled part of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them Hindu tourists. India blamed Pakistan-backed militants for the massacre in the town of Pahalgam, an allegation Islamabad denied while calling for an independent investigation, The AP news reported.

India launched strikes inside Pakistan on May 7, triggering retaliatory attacks by Pakistan that included drone incursions, missile strikes and artillery fire. Dozens of people were killed on both sides before a ceasefire was reached on May 10 following US mediation.

Pakistan at the time claimed it shot down at least seven Indian military aircraft, including a French-made Rafale fighter jet. India acknowledged suffering some losses but did not provide details.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly taken the credit for helping avert a wider war.

Speaking at a televised news conference, army spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said India had blamed Pakistan for the attack on tourists in Kashmir within minutes of the shooting without presenting evidence.

“It has been one year since the Pahalgam incident, yet the questions Pakistan raised remain unanswered,” he said. Chaudhry said Pakistan did not underestimate India’s military capability but was fully prepared to respond to any “misadventure.”

“We are prepared; if anyone wishes to test us, they are more than welcome,” he said alongside Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Adm. Shifaat Ali and Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Projects) Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi. However, Chaudhry added: “We are not seeking conflict, we are not seeking war. But we know how to defend ourselves with honor and dignity.”

Ali said the Indian navy had attempted to deploy vessels in the northern Arabian Sea during the fighting in an effort to target Pakistan’s naval assets and disrupt maritime trade routes. “But due to the effective strategy of the Pakistan Navy, maritime traffic in all our waterways remained uninterrupted,” he said.

At Thursday’s briefing, Ghazi said Pakistan had downed eight Indian fighter jets during the conflict. He added that Pakistan had exercised restraint and that its air force had the capability to inflict greater damage on the enemy.

Pakistan and India have long had strained relations and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is claimed by both in its entirety.

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Pezeshkian Says he Recently Met with the Supreme Leader

Women walk past a banner depicting Iran's current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei along a street Tehran on May 6, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Women walk past a banner depicting Iran's current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei along a street Tehran on May 6, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Pezeshkian Says he Recently Met with the Supreme Leader

Women walk past a banner depicting Iran's current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei along a street Tehran on May 6, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Women walk past a banner depicting Iran's current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei along a street Tehran on May 6, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said he met recently with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, state media reported ⁠on Thursday, offering ⁠a first public account of him ⁠meeting Khamenei after the latter suffered severe wounds at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The ⁠meeting ⁠was marked by a "humble and deeply cordial" atmosphere, Pezeshkian was reported as saying.

Khamenei, reportedly wounded in strikes on the first day of the Middle East war that claimed the life of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, has released only written statements since his appointment.

"What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution," Pezeshkian said in a video broadcast by state television.