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UN Nuclear Watchdog Urges Iran to Take ‘Steps’ Towards Inspections

World An Iranian woman walks next to a billboard depicting Iran’s national flag in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 November 2026. (EPA)

UN Nuclear Watchdog Urges Iran to Take ‘Steps’ Towards Inspections

The UN's nuclear watchdog urged Iran to take "incremental steps" to allow inspectors to return to key nuclear facilities in the Islamic republic, adding such…

World  US Marine Corps aviation assets and personnel embarked aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) support ongoing enforcement of the US blockade against Iran. (CENTCOM)

US Navy Quietly Fired Some Commanders And Officials, Drawing Congressional Pushback

The Navy has quietly fired or removed several top officers in recent months but broke with its usual practice of announcing those changes, drawing pushback…

World 25 June 2024, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. (dpa)

Israeli Defense Minister Says No Need for Opposition Approval to Launch Strikes

Israel's defense minister said Thursday that caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not need opposition permission to order fresh military operations…

World People walk past a television broadcast showing stock indexes and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Taipei, Taiwan, 13 November 2026. (EPA)

US Lawmakers Summon Nvidia Ex-CEO After Affair with Suspected Spy

US lawmakers have called Jensen Huang, an architect of the artificial intelligence boom, to face their questions in December after the Nvidia ex-CEO quit over…

World Albert K. Barume, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, speaks during a press conference in Sydney on November 13, 2026. (AFP)

Indigenous Rights in Australia ‘Embarrassing’, Says UN Envoy

Cases of Indigenous women shackled while giving birth and growing numbers of children in detention are "embarrassing" to Australia, the UN's special rapporteur…


World A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026. (AFP)

US Fighter Shot Down Over Iran as Trump Threatens to Hit More Infrastructure

Iran shot down a US warplane on Friday, setting off a search by both sides for surviving crew as the war looked set to intensify with President Donald Trump…

World A media representative walks past a heavily damaged building following a strike at the Azadi Sport Complex in Tehran on April 3, 2026. (AFP)

White House Requests Giant $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Amid Iran War

The White House sent a spending proposal to lawmakers Friday calling for a massive $1.5 trillion US defense budget next year as it faces increased costs due to…

World  NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gives a press conference about NATO's general annual report in Brussels on March 26, 2026. (AFP)

NATO Chief to Meet Trump Amid Iran Tensions

NATO chief Mark Rutte will meet Donald Trump next week on a visit to Washington, as the US president lashes out at the alliance over the Iran war, NATO said…

World A heavily damaged building is pictured following a strike at the Azadi Sport Complex in Tehran on April 3, 2026. (AFP)

Iran Shoots Down US Fighter Jet, One Pilot Rescued, Media Say

One US crew member has been rescued after Iran shot down a warplane on Friday, Israeli and US media reported, as the war looked set to intensify ‌with US …

World A resident stands in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Obukhiv, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 3, 2026. (Reuters)

10 Dead as Russia Launches New Daytime Attacks on Ukraine

Russian strikes killed at least 10 people in Ukraine on Friday, officials said, as Moscow launched the latest in an increasing number of daytime barrages. …

World A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Human Remains Found on Thai Ship Attacked in Hormuz Strait

Human remains have been found aboard a cargo ship struck by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz last month, the vessel's owner said Friday, after three…

World  A newly constructed bridge struck by US airstrikes Thursday is seen in Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)

Iran’s Former Top Diplomat Urges Deal with US to End War

Iran should make a deal with the United States to end the war by offering to curb its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions…

World  Local residents look at a damaged area of a police station after an overnight deadly bombing in the Bannu district of northwestern Pakistan, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)

China Says Peace Talks Advance Between Afghanistan, Pakistan

Negotiations ‌between Afghanistan and Pakistan are advancing steadily, China said on Friday following reports that the South Asian neighbors were meeting…

World Harbor tugboats and other civilian vessels approach the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford at an anchor point off the Croatian coastal city of Split on March 28, 2026, for a scheduled port visit and maintenance stop following involvement Middle East war operations. (AFP)

USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Departs Croatia

The USS Gerald R. Ford has departed Croatia after a five-day port visit, the US Navy said Thursday without specifying where the world's largest aircraft…

World Motorcyclists queue to refuel at a fuel station, as concerns grow over fuel supply amid fhe US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)

Bangladesh Cuts Working Hours to Save Energy Amid Middle East Crisis

Bangladesh has ‌launched fresh measures to curb energy consumption, cutting office hours and trimming public spending as conflict in the Middle East…

World US President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation about the Iran war at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Trump Threatens to Strike Iran’s Bridges and Electric Power Plants

US President Donald Trump warned late on Thursday about striking and destroying bridges and electric power plants in Iran in his latest threat to hit the…

World Israeli security forces and first responders inspect the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential neighborhood in Petah Tikva on April 2, 2026. (AFP)

Israel Wary of Sudden Trump Shift Despite War Pledge

Despite reassurances in Israel after US President Donald Trump said the war on Iran would continue for another two to three weeks, Israeli assessments still…

Nazir Magally (Tel Aviv)
World 09 September 2025, Egypt, Cairo: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a joint press conference in Cairo. (dpa)

Iran Warns UN Security Council against 'Provocative Action' on Hormuz

Iran warned the UN Security Council against any "provocative action", ahead of a scheduled vote on a draft resolution on the Strait of Hormuz that ended up…

Asharq Al Awsat
World With oil and gas shipments severely restricted due to the US-Israeli war against Iran, the UN Security Council is meeting to consider authorizing the use of 'defensive' force as a way to open the vital Strait of Hormuz. FADEL SENNA / AFP/File

UN Security Council Delays Vote on Authorizing Force to Protect Hormuz

The UN Security Council has postponed a vote scheduled for Friday on authorizing the use of "defensive" force to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from…

Asharq Al Awsat
World A police officer stands on a platform at Siegburg station where a Deutsche Bahn ICE train is parked, in Siegburg, Germany, early Friday, April 3, 2026, after a man was arrested on Thursday after threatening an attack on a high-speed train. (Roberto Pfeil/dpa via AP)

Man Arrested After Setting off Pyrotechnics on German Train, Injuring 12

A man armed with knives was arrested after setting off pyrotechnics on a high-speed train in Germany, injuring 12 people, police said Friday. The incident…

World North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 3, 2026. (KCNA via Reuters)

North Korea to Hold Burial Ceremony for Troops Killed in Ukraine War

North Korea will hold a ceremony this month to bury the remains of its soldiers killed while fighting overseas alongside Russia against Ukraine, state media…

World US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a briefing held with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine (not pictured), amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, March 31, 2026. (Reuters)

Hegseth Asked US Army Chief of Staff to Step Down

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has asked General Randy George to step down as chief of staff of the US Army, an official said Thursday. The official, who…

World  French President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung (R) prior to a toast during a state lunch in Seoul on April 3, 2026. (AFP)

South Korea, France Agree to Deepen Defense Cooperation Amid Middle East Conflict

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday they planned to boost defense cooperation and work together to address…

World Smoke rises from the site of a strike in Tehran on April 1, 2026.  (Photo by AFP) /

No Sign of War Winding Down in Mideast as Friday Dawns with Attacks across Region

There was little sign Friday of the war in the Mideast winding down as Israel said it faced incoming fire from Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain reported being under…

Asharq Al Awsat
World Iranians walk at a park on Nature Day, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 2, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran Hangs 18-Year-Old Over Protests in Latest Wartime Execution, Say Activists

Iranian authorities Thursday executed a teenager convicted over January protests after a fast-track trial rights groups labelled as "grossly unfair", as the…

World 18 March 2026, ---: A US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet with the Tomcatters of Strike Fighter Squadron 31 launches from the flight deck of the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in support of Operation Epic Fury. (Navy Handout/US Navy/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

Austria Denies US Use of Airspace for Iran Military Operations

Austria has denied the United States use of its airspace for military operations against Iran due to Austria's neutrality law, the country's defense &zwnj…

World Iranian women clad in black chadors wave national flags and hold posters of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei (C) and of his late father, former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (R), during the annual Nature Day festival in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)

Iran Fires on Israel as Trump Claims Threat from Tehran Nearly Eliminated

Iran fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states Thursday, demonstrating Tehran’s continued ability to strike its neighbors even as US President Donald…

World Smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, Iran, 01 April 2026. (EPA)

Medical Needs Surging in Iran and Supplies Under Threat, Red Cross Warns

Emergency medical needs in Iran are rising exponentially, and stocks of trauma kits and other gear could run low if the war persists, the head of the…

World FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after US President…

Asharq Al Awsat