عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Iran Strongly Condemns US Sanctions Over Albania Hacking

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
TT
TT

Iran Strongly Condemns US Sanctions Over Albania Hacking

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran on Saturday strongly condemned a US decision to impose sanctions on its intelligence ministry, blamed for a major cyber attack on NATO ally Albania.

Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran on Wednesday after accusing it of the July 15 cyber attack that sought, but failed, to paralyze public services and access data and government communications systems.

In response on Friday, the United States slapped sanctions on Iran's intelligence ministry and its minister Esmail Khatib, saying the attack "disregards norms of responsible peacetime state behavior in cyberspace".

On Saturday, AFP quoted Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani as saying: "The ministry of foreign affairs strongly condemns the action of the US treasury department in repeatedly sanctioning the ministry of intelligence of the Islamic republic.

"America's immediate support for the false accusation of the Albanian government... shows that the designer of this scenario is not the latter, but the American government," he added in a statement.

Kanani accused the US of "giving full support to a terrorist sect", referring to the opposition People's Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), members of which are hosted by Albania.

Albania agreed in 2013 to take in members of the MEK from Iraq at the request of Washington and the United Nations, with thousands settling in the Balkan country over the years.

"This criminal organization continues to play a role as one of America's tools in perpetrating terrorist acts, cyber attacks" against Iran, the statement added.

The MEK backed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the 1979 revolution that ousted the shah but rapidly fell out with the new Islamic authorities and embarked on a campaign to overthrow the regime.

The MEK then sided with Iraq under Saddam Hussein in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

US Military Boards Iranian-flagged Oil Tanker Suspected of Trying to Breach Blockade

FILE PHOTO: Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/File Photo
TT
TT

US Military Boards Iranian-flagged Oil Tanker Suspected of Trying to Breach Blockade

FILE PHOTO: Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/File Photo

The US military said Wednesday that it boarded an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was suspected of trying to violate the American blockade, the latest action by the Trump administration to try to push Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

But President Donald Trump is facing his own pressure at home for shipping to resume through the vital corridor off Iran's coast. Fellow Republicans in Congress are battling political headwinds ahead of November's midterm elections as gasoline prices skyrocket and global energy markets churn.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday advanced legislation seeking to force Trump to withdraw from the Iran war, with a growing number of Republicans defying the president in the 50-47 vote.

US Central Command said on social media that the M/T Celestial Sea was searched and redirected after being suspected of trying to head to an Iranian port. It’s at least the fifth commercial vessel to be boarded since the Trump administration imposed the blockade on Iranian shipping in mid-April, several days into a ceasefire, to pressure Tehran into opening the strait and accepting a deal to end the war.

The military boarded the tanker after Trump said Monday he had called off renewed military strikes on Iran in an effort to make progress in negotiations to end the war. Trump said he had planned “a very major attack” for Tuesday but put it off, saying America’s allies in the Gulf asked him to wait for two to three days because they feel they are close to a deal.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

Before the US blockade, Tehran had allowed some ships perceived as friendly to pass while charging considerable fees, leading to accusations it is holding the global economy hostage.

The US military recently said that 1,550 vessels, from 87 countries, are currently stranded in the Arabian Gulf.

Nearly three months since the war began with US and Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28, Iran maintains a chokehold on the strait, while the US military has enforced its blockade on Iran's ports as well as Iranian-linked ships that are far away from the Middle East.

Last month, US forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. A couple days later, the US seized another tanker associated with smuggling Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

In early May, Trump said the US military would begin to “guide” stranded ships from the Iran-gripped strait. The next day, he announced that the effort to protect ships was paused to see if an agreement could be reached.

Days later, US forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said the tankers were trying to breach the blockade. The day before, the military said it thwarted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in response.

World

Taiwan President Says 'Happy' to Talk to Trump

Taiwanese President delivers his speech inside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, 20 May 2026. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
Taiwanese President delivers his speech inside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, 20 May 2026. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
TT
TT

Taiwan President Says 'Happy' to Talk to Trump

Taiwanese President delivers his speech inside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, 20 May 2026. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
Taiwanese President delivers his speech inside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, 20 May 2026. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said Thursday he would be "happy" to talk to US leader Donald Trump -- a conversation that would break more than four decades of diplomatic protocol and risk angering China.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would speak to Lai, as the White House weighs arms sales to the democratic island.

It was the second time since a summit in Beijing last week that Trump has said he would call the Taiwanese leader.

Such communication would be the first time since Washington switched diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 that serving presidents of Taiwan and the United States would speak to each other.

Lai said Taiwan was "committed to maintaining the stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait" and that "China is the disruptor of peace and stability", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Lai would be "happy to discuss these matters with President Trump", the statement said.

"I'll speak to him. I speak to everybody," Trump said, adding that he had a great meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit to Beijing last week.

"We'll work on that, the Taiwan problem," Trump said.

After wrapping up his trip to Beijing, Trump suggested arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip with China, which claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.

Since then, Lai's government has been on the offensive, insisting that US policy on Taiwan has not changed and that Trump made no commitments to China on arms sales to the island.

Taiwan relies heavily on US support to deter any potential Chinese attack, and has been under intense pressure to increase its spending through investment in American firms.

In 2016, shortly after his first election victory, president-elect Trump accepted a phone call from then Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, angering Beijing and stunning diplomats, world leaders and China watchers.

World

Two Dead after Drone Attack on Syzran in Russia's Samara Region

Firefighters work at the site of private houses damaged during morning Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine May 19, 2026. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
Firefighters work at the site of private houses damaged during morning Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine May 19, 2026. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
TT
TT

Two Dead after Drone Attack on Syzran in Russia's Samara Region

Firefighters work at the site of private houses damaged during morning Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine May 19, 2026. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
Firefighters work at the site of private houses damaged during morning Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine May 19, 2026. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS

Two people were killed in a drone attack on the town of Syzran in Russia's Samara region on the Volga River, the local governor said, while Ukraine also reported two dead as the two sides exchanged attacks overnight. A large oil refinery is located in Syzran, some 1,000 km (620 miles) from the border with Ukraine. The Samara governor, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, made ‌no mention of ‌whether any infrastructure was damaged in ‌his ⁠post on Telegram.

Elsewhere ⁠in Russia, three people were injured in a drone attack in and around the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, authorities said on Telegram.

In Ukraine, two were killed after Russia hit the Chernihiv region ⁠on the Russian border and the ‌southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, emergency ‌services said on Telegram, with a number of people ‌injured.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. ‌Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.

Peace efforts to end the war that began with Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine have stalled and both sides ‌exchange regular attacks on each other, including strikes on energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr ⁠Zelenskiy, in ⁠an overnight address, said there has recently been productive contact with the US, which has tried to mediate talks to end the war.

"If, in the coming weeks, we manage to return to meaningful trilateral communication and involve the Europeans, this would be the right outcome," Zelenskiy said.

"For our part, we are ready for such steps. I count on our partners to be ready as well – and that the Russians will not hide."