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Norway Says Exploring How to Revive Israel-Palestinian Diplomatic Channel 

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, November 6, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, November 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Norway Says Exploring How to Revive Israel-Palestinian Diplomatic Channel 

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, November 6, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, November 6, 2023. (Reuters)

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Monday Oslo was exploring ways to revive a diplomatic channel between Israel and the Palestinians to find a political solution to the decades-long conflict.

Norway served as a facilitator in the 1992-1993 talks between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) that led to the Oslo Accords in 1993. Those talks were conducted in complete secrecy.

Since then, it has remained involved as chair of the donor group coordinating international assistance to the Palestinian territories, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC).

There is now interest in trying to revive the AHLC as a possible channel for diplomacy, Barth Eide said, as Israel stepped up strikes on Gaza in its war against the militant group Hamas that broke out last month.

"We hear now from very many sides - the American, the European and the Arab (sides), and from many among the parties (in the conflict), who want to see whether it can be relevant as a channel again," Espen Barth Eide told public broadcaster NRK.

"This war has reminded everyone that there is no other lasting solution to this than having a two-state solution, which one had hoped to see after the Oslo Accords 30 years ago."

Barth Eide said it was possible that out of this "terrible dramatic situation" happening in Gaza today, "we could see a political process back on track", on the condition that the war in Gaza does not spread to other countries in the Middle East.

"That is what we hope for, and if those involved want it, Norway will naturally be ready to support this with what we can," he said.

Highlighting Norway's efforts, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere talked on Saturday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi about Gaza, the PM's office said in a statement on Sunday, including "how a two-state solution must be discussed again and indicating Norway's engagement on this over many years".

"We must already think now about what comes after. Diplomatic initiatives and solutions are necessary," Stoere said in the statement.

The Nordic country, which is not part of the European Union and is a close US ally, is involved in several peace processes, including in Colombia and Venezuela.

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World

US Says ‘Took Out’ Iran Base Threatening Blocked Hormuz Oil Route

18 August 2022, Strait of Hormuz: A satellite image, captured by NASA, shows the Strait of Hormuz. (NASA/dpa)
18 August 2022, Strait of Hormuz: A satellite image, captured by NASA, shows the Strait of Hormuz. (NASA/dpa)
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US Says ‘Took Out’ Iran Base Threatening Blocked Hormuz Oil Route

18 August 2022, Strait of Hormuz: A satellite image, captured by NASA, shows the Strait of Hormuz. (NASA/dpa)
18 August 2022, Strait of Hormuz: A satellite image, captured by NASA, shows the Strait of Hormuz. (NASA/dpa)

The US military declared on Saturday it had taken out an Iranian bunker housing weapons threatening oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US statement appeared designed to calm the concerns of energy markets and of Washington's skeptical international allies, more than 20 of whom issued a statement vowing to back efforts to re-open the key sea lane.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said US war planes had dropped 5,000-pound bombs on an underground facility on Iran's coast that was storing anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile launchers and other equipment.

"We not only took out the facility, but also destroyed intelligence support sites and missile radar relays that were used to monitor ship movements," Cooper said in a video statement, revealing details of a strike first announced on Tuesday.

A statement from the leaders of mainly European countries, including the UK, France, Italy and Germany, but also South Korea, Australia, the UAE and Bahrain, condemned the "de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces".

"We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preliminary planning," they said.

As consumers count the cost of attacks on energy facilities in the Gulf, including the world's largest gas hub, US President Donald Trump has slammed NATO allies as "cowards" and urged them to secure the strait.

Iran has choked the channel, through which around a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes during peacetime.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had only imposed restrictions on vessels from countries involved in attacks against Iran, and would offer assistance to others that stayed out of the conflict.

Iran also denies claims -- cited in the 20-country joint statement -- that it has deployed mines in the channel.

The standoff has sent crude oil prices soaring, with a barrel of North Sea Brent crude up more than 50 percent over the past month and now comfortably more than $105.

Meanwhile, Tehran marked the end of Ramadan as the war entered its fourth week.

Iran's supreme leader traditionally leads Eid al-Fitr prayers, but Mojtaba Khamenei, who came to power earlier this month after his father was killed in US-Israeli strikes, has remained out of the public eye.

Instead, the head of the judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, attended prayers at central Tehran's Imam Khomeini grand mosque, which was overflowing, with worshippers flooding the streets outside.

The previous evening, airstrikes had darkened the mood as the city celebrated Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Iran's ally Russian President Vladimir Putin sent greetings to Khamenei, saying he "wished the Iranian people strength on overcoming these severe trials and emphasized that during this difficult time, Moscow remained a loyal friend".

World

Iran ‘Unsuccessfully’ Targeted Diego Garcia Base, Reveals Source

US Military personnel take away Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), removed from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in southwest England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US Military personnel take away Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), removed from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in southwest England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran ‘Unsuccessfully’ Targeted Diego Garcia Base, Reveals Source

US Military personnel take away Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), removed from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in southwest England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US Military personnel take away Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), removed from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in southwest England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

Iran was "unsuccessful" in targeting the joint UK-US Indian Ocean military base at Diego Garcia, a UK official source confirmed to AFP on Saturday, after the Wall Street Journal reported Tehran fired two ballistic missiles at it.

Diego Garcia, which is around 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iranian territory, is one of the two bases the UK has allowed the United States to use for "defensive operations" in its war against Iran.

On Friday, the UK government said it would allow Washington to use its bases in Diego Garcia and Fairford in southwest England to target Iranian "missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz".

The UK official source confirmed that Iran's "unsuccessful targeting of Diego Garcia" took place before Friday's announcement.

The source did not confirm additional details about the attack.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing US officials, that while neither of the two ballistic missiles hit their target, the launch suggests that Tehran has missiles with longer ranges than previously thought.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

One of the missiles failed in flight, and the other was targeted by an interceptor fired from a US warship, though it was not clear if the missile was hit, the WSJ reported.

"Iran's reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies," a UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson said Saturday.

"This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations."

Iran has "always had missiles of that sort of range that we've known about, maybe not declared", former UK Royal Navy commander and defense expert Tom Sharpe told AFP.

The attack "shows that they can still move these mobile launchers around, undetected, spin up and fire without being struck", said Sharpe, adding however that they would not be a "game changer" in the war.

- 'Strategic messaging' -

"Depending on the weight of the warhead, Iran can increase the range of some of its missiles," explained Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the Crisis Group.

"But this was less about battlefield utility than strategic messaging -- signaling to the United States and Israel that misreading Iran's resolve and capabilities could prove a costly mistake," said Vaez.

US President Donald Trump has been critical of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's response to the war against Iran, initially refusing to be involved before allowing Washington limited use of the two bases.

American forces have stationed bombers and other equipment at Diego Garcia, a key hub for Asia operations, including the US bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump has also slammed Britain's decision to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after holding it since the 1960s. Under that agreement, the UK would maintain a lease for the base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his UK counterpart Yvette Cooper on a Thursday phone call that any US use of British bases would be considered "participation in aggression", according to Tehran's foreign ministry.

In turn, Cooper warned Araghchi "against targeting UK bases, territory or interests directly", according to a UK foreign office statement.

World

UK Says Its Bases on Cyprus Will Not Be Used in Offensive Operations

A view of a Salt Lake during a sunset, in Larnaca, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)
A view of a Salt Lake during a sunset, in Larnaca, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)
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UK Says Its Bases on Cyprus Will Not Be Used in Offensive Operations

A view of a Salt Lake during a sunset, in Larnaca, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)
A view of a Salt Lake during a sunset, in Larnaca, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)

Britain will not be using its bases in Cyprus for any offensive action in the Iran crisis, the Cypriot government spokesperson said on Saturday, citing a phone call between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Cypriot President Nikos ‌Christodoulides.

"The British ‌Prime Minister reiterated ... ‌that ⁠the security of the ⁠Republic of Cyprus is fundamental to the United Kingdom and, to that end, a decision has been taken to enhance the ⁠means contributing to the preventive ‌measures ‌already in place," the spokesperson said in ‌a written statement.

"Finally, the ‌Prime Minister reiterated that the British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any ‌offensive military operations."

An Iranian-type Shahed drone caused slight damage ⁠when ⁠it hit facilities at Britain's Akrotiri airbase in southern Cyprus on March 2, with two others later intercepted. There have been no further known security incidents.

Britain retained sovereignty over two bases on the island when it granted its colony independence in 1960.