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Israel Asks ICC Judges to Withdraw Netanyahu Arrest Warrant 

A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Asks ICC Judges to Withdraw Netanyahu Arrest Warrant 

A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)

Israel has asked judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to withdraw arrest warrants against its prime minister and defense minister while the ICC reviews Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction over the conduct of the Gaza war.

Documents published on the ICC website late on Sunday also show Israel has asked the court to order the prosecution to suspend its investigation into alleged atrocity crimes in the Palestinian Territories.

The documents are dated May 9 and signed by Israeli Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on Nov. 21 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

The ICC said in February that judges had withdrawn the arrest warrant for al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, following credible reports of his death.

Israel, which rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, is contesting the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

In April the ICC's appeals chamber ruled that the judges of the pre-trial chamber which issued the warrants must review Israel's objections regarding the court's jurisdiction and the legality of the arrest warrants.

It is not clear what form the ordered review will take and there are no specific deadlines set for decisions on Israel's request to withdraw the warrants and halt the investigation.

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World

President of Ukraine Arrives in Jeddah

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv (AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv (AFP)
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President of Ukraine Arrives in Jeddah

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv (AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv (AFP)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine arrived in Jeddah Thursday, SPA reported.

At King Abdulaziz International Airport, he was welcomed by Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz and several other officials.

World

Trump Says Iran 'Better Get Serious' in Mideast War Talks

US President Donald Trump speaks during the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual fundraising dinner at Union Station on March 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump was this year's keynote speaker at the dinner. AFP
US President Donald Trump speaks during the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual fundraising dinner at Union Station on March 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump was this year's keynote speaker at the dinner. AFP
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Trump Says Iran 'Better Get Serious' in Mideast War Talks

US President Donald Trump speaks during the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual fundraising dinner at Union Station on March 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump was this year's keynote speaker at the dinner. AFP
US President Donald Trump speaks during the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual fundraising dinner at Union Station on March 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump was this year's keynote speaker at the dinner. AFP

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday to engage in talks to end the Middle East war "before it is too late", after Tehran publicly spurned US overtures to resolve the nearly four-week conflict.

Trump's warning came as Israel said it had killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy, calling him "directly responsible" for throttling the Strait of Hormuz since the war's outbreak.

Hopes for a negotiated end to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has engulfed much of the region, rose after Washington was said to have put a peace plan to Tehran, only for the Islamic republic to deny the sides were speaking, AFP reported.

But Pakistan confirmed Thursday it was indeed facilitating "US-Iran indirect talks" by relaying messages -- and that a 15-point American plan was being "deliberated upon" by Tehran.

"They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty!" Trump warned on social media, saying Iran had been "militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback".

Iran's foreign minister flatly denied Wednesday that "negotiations" had been engaged with Trump's administration -- but did concede messages were being exchanged through "friendly countries".

"We seek an end to the war on our own terms," Abbas Araghchi said on state TV.

Islamabad has been touted as a go-between, given its longstanding ties with both neighbouring Iran and the United States, as well as its network of regional contacts.

 

 

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Russia Says It Hopes for New Round of Ukraine Talks with US as Soon as Conditions Allow

FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on as Russia's President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) and Togo's President of the Council of Ministers Faure Gnassingbe (not pictured) meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on as Russia's President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) and Togo's President of the Council of Ministers Faure Gnassingbe (not pictured) meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/File Photo
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Russia Says It Hopes for New Round of Ukraine Talks with US as Soon as Conditions Allow

FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on as Russia's President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) and Togo's President of the Council of Ministers Faure Gnassingbe (not pictured) meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on as Russia's President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) and Togo's President of the Council of Ministers Faure Gnassingbe (not pictured) meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/File Photo

Russia is in contact with the United States about a new round of talks on a Ukraine peace settlement as soon as conditions allow, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

"We remain open, we are in contact with the Americans, and we are counting on holding the next round of talks as soon ‌as circumstances permit," ‌Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov rejected ‌the ⁠thesis of a ⁠New York Times opinion piece that said the Iran war had caused President Vladimir Putin to lose interest in negotiating an end to the Ukraine conflict, Reuters reported.

"This is an absolutely false invention that does not correspond to reality. During the rounds of trilateral talks that ⁠have taken place, some progress was made ‌toward a settlement," Peskov told ‌reporters.

Peskov said Russia had not lost interest in peace ‌talks but added that key issues - including territory - had ‌yet to be settled.

The NYT opinion piece, by Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar, said Russia's economy had been faltering earlier this year, prompting Putin at that point to take negotiations on ‌a Ukraine settlement more seriously.

However, Zygar said the Iran war had reversed those dynamics by ⁠boosting ⁠oil prices, easing the economic pressure on Moscow and reducing the US focus on Ukraine, weakening any incentive for the Kremlin to seek a settlement.

Earlier this week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the US had briefed Russia about Washington's latest round of talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida, which took place last Saturday.

The last three-way peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US took place last month, before the Trump administration and Israel began airstrikes against Iran on February 28.