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‘Ending Soon’: Netanyahu Shifts Iran War Goals

World  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference (Reuters)

‘Ending Soon’: Netanyahu Shifts Iran War Goals

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is gradually scaling back his sweeping ambition to end the war with Iran by toppling its regime, bringing his…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
World A crossing at the Syrian-Turkish borders. (AFP)

Pregnant Syrian Mum, 5 Kids Die in Container Fire in Türkiye

A pregnant Syrian woman and her five young children died when a fire ripped through containers housing agricultural workers near the southwestern Antalya…

Asharq Al Awsat
World UK and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Dado

UK FM Warns Iran against 'Directly' Targeting British Bases

Britain's Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper warned her Iranian counterpart in a phone call "against targeting UK bases, territory or interests directly", a…

Asharq Al Awsat
World US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Trump Calls NATO Allies 'Cowards' over Iran

US President Donald Trump on Friday branded NATO allies "cowards" for not heeding his demand for military assistance against Iran to control the Strait of…

Asharq Al Awsat
World A Russian LNG tanker, Arctic Metagaz, damaged earlier this month and currently adrift without crew, floats in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Linosa, in this handout picture released on March 13, 2026. Marina Militare/Handout via REUTERS

Damaged Russian Tanker Days away from Libyan Shores, Italian Official Says

A damaged Russian LNG tanker that has been drifting unmanned in the Mediterranean for more than two weeks, risking a major ecological disaster, is four to six…

Asharq Al Awsat

World FILE PHOTO: QatarEnergy's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

French FM Calls on Iran to Make 'Major Concessions'

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Friday on a visit to Israel that Iran must make major concessions as part of any long-term political solution…

Asharq Al Awsat
World A member of ground crew moves munitions towards a USAF B1 B bomber at RAF Fairford airbase, used by USAF personnel, amid the US–Israeli conflict with Iran, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Swiss Will Not Export War Equipment to US during Mideast Conflict

Switzerland decided Friday it will not authorize the export of war materiel to the United States during the Middle East conflict, in line with its long…

Asharq Al Awsat
World This handout image taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite shows a view of Iran's Kharg Island, which hosts the country's main crude export terminal and is responsible for the overwhelming majority of its oil shipments to the world, about 30 kilometers south of the mainland in the north of the Gulf, on March 17, 2026. (Photo by EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY / AFP)

Trump Mulls Kharg Island Takeover to Force Iran to Open Hormuz Strait, Axios Reports

The Trump administration is considering plans to ‌occupy ‌or blockade ‌Iran's ⁠Kharg Island to pressure ⁠Iran to reopen ⁠the ‌Strait &zwnj…

Asharq Al Awsat
World French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

Running App Reveals Location of France Aircraft Carrier in Mediterranean

A member of the French navy using an app to track his jogging performance broadcast the exact position of his country's flagship aircraft carrier, a newspaper…

Asharq Al Awsat
World A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March  2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Israeli Reservist Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for Iran

Israeli police said on Friday they had arrested an army reservist who served on the Iron Dome air defense system on suspicion of passing secrets to Iran. …

Asharq Al Awsat
World Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File

Italy, Germany and France Offer Help with Hormuz Only after Ceasefire

Six major international powers said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to" ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that…

Asharq Al Awsat
World 19 March 2026, Iran, Tehran: An Iranian flag bearing the picture of 
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, is waved in Tehran. Photo: Saeid Zareian/dpa

Iran's Supreme Leader Says Enemies' 'Security Must be Taken Away'

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called Friday for the enemies of his nations to have their “security” taken away, in his latest message to the…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
World Motorists drive along a street in Tehran on March 14, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran Revolutionary Guards Say US-Israel Strikes Killed Spokesman

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that US-Israeli strikes had killed their spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini. Naini "was martyred in the criminal…

Asharq Al Awsat
World US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping are expected to meet to discuss formalizing a truce on tariffs they shook hands on at a meeting in South Korea in October. ADEK BERRY, ANNABELLE GORDON / AFP

Trump's Mideast Muddle Could Play into Xi's Hands at Planned Summit

China will be in a stronger position to extract concessions from Donald Trump when the US president finally visits Beijing after becoming entangled in his…

Asharq Al Awsat
World Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was being "decimated" in the war. Ronen Zvulun / POOL/AFP

Israel Strikes 'Decimated' Iran as War Roils Markets

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Friday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was being "decimated." The Iranian capital,…

Asharq Al Awsat
World Smoke rises from at a car parts factory in Daejeon, South Korea, March 20, 2026. Yonhap via REUTERS

Fire at South Korean Auto Parts Factory Injures at Least 50

At least 50 people in South Korea were injured in a fire at an auto parts factory in the central city of Daejeon, officials said Friday. The National Fire…

Asharq Al Awsat
World A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2-L) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) visiting the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 of the Capital City Defense Corps of the North Korean Army in North Korea, 19 March 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). EPA/KCNA

North Korean Leader, Daughter Try Out New Tank

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Ju Ae tried out the country's new battle tank in large-scale military drills, state media reported on Friday, in…

Asharq Al Awsat

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World Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits Lakemba Mosque for Eid al-Fitr in Sydney, Australia, March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Australian Mosque Protesters Heckle PM over Israel Stance

Protesters heckled and booed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday during a visit to Australia's largest mosque for Eid al-Fitr prayers, voicing anger over…

Asharq Al Awsat
World US F-35 stealth fighter (AP)

US F-35 Damaged by Suspected Iranian Fire Makes Emergency Landing

A US F-35 stealth warplane was hit by suspected Iranian fire and made an emergency landing at an American air base in the Middle East, US media reported on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
World Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian Attack Hits Israeli Oil Refinery in Haifa, Some Damage Reported

An Iranian missile attack hit Israel's Oil Refineries in the northern port city of Haifa but did not cause "significant damage", Israel's Energy Ministry said…

World Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)

Trump Says Not Putting US Troops in Region Amid Iran War

US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested he was not looking at deploying soldiers to the Middle East with the Iran war heading toward a fourth week. …

World US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion in Additional Funds for the Iran War

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a senior administration official says. The department sent the request to the…

Asharq Al Awsat
World Commercial vessels offshore in Dubai last week © - / AFP/File

What Cargo Ships are Passing Hormuz Strait?

Just a trickle of cargo ships and tankers -- most of them Iranian -- have made it through the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian forces blocked the crucial trade…

Asharq Al Awsat
World People walk in Tehran Bazaar, ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran Reportedly Arrests 97 People Accused of Working with Israel

Iran's intelligence ministry has arrested 97 people for being "soldiers of Israel", state media reported on Thursday, in the latest round ⁠of a security sweep …

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
World Israeli F-35 (“Adir”) aircraft during their participation in military operations against Iran (Israeli military)

‘Hollywood-Style’ Narrative in Assassination Campaign Against Iranian Leaders

Israeli officials are casting a series of alleged operations against senior Iranian figures as precise, intelligence-driven strikes, while analysts warn the…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
World File photo: African migrants at sea in the Mediterranean. (AFP)

At Least 17 African Migrants Drown Off Comoros

At least 17 African migrants have drowned off the Indian Ocean island of Comoros, the interior minister said Thursday. Survivors said the group was from the…

Asharq Al Awsat
World Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released March 19, 2026. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via Reuters)

Ukraine Peace Talks Paused Amid Iran War, Russia’s Izvestia Says

Peace talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine on ending the Ukraine war, the deadliest European conflict since World War Two, are on pause amid the…

World UK police, the domestic intelligence service MI5 and members of parliament have long warned about a growing threat from Iran. (Getty Images/AFP)

Two Iranians Charged in UK with Spying on Jewish Community

UK police have charged two men in relation to spying for Iran on individuals and places linked to the Jewish community. UK police, the domestic intelligence…

World 10 September 2025, China, Beijing: Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, speaks at the daily briefing of the authority. (dpa)

China Calls Killing of Iran’s Larijani, Leaders ‘Unacceptable’

China condemned on Thursday the killing of Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani by an Israeli air strike, calling it "unacceptable". Beijing is a…