عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Reports: US Weighs Sending up to 10,000 Troops to Middle East

21 March 2026, ---: US Navy sailors move a F/A-18 fighter aircraft fuel tank on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury, from an undisclosed location. (US Navy via Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 March 2026, ---: US Navy sailors move a F/A-18 fighter aircraft fuel tank on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury, from an undisclosed location. (US Navy via Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
TT
TT

Reports: US Weighs Sending up to 10,000 Troops to Middle East

21 March 2026, ---: US Navy sailors move a F/A-18 fighter aircraft fuel tank on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury, from an undisclosed location. (US Navy via Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 March 2026, ---: US Navy sailors move a F/A-18 fighter aircraft fuel tank on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury, from an undisclosed location. (US Navy via Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The United States is weighing sending up to 10,000 extra troops to the Middle East, US media reported Friday, as speculation grows that Washington may be preparing a ground operation in Iran.

The deployment would mark a significant boost to Washington's military presence in the region, despite US President Donald Trump insisting that Tehran was taking part in peace talks with Washington to end the war.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would aim to provide Trump with "more military options" in the Middle East, engulfed by war since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The troops would join thousands of paratroopers and Marines who have already been ordered to the region.

An Iranian official said Wednesday that Tehran would retaliate to a ground invasion of its territory by Washington by activating its Houthi militants in Yemen to attack shipping in the Red Sea.

That would open up a new front in a war of spiraling economic, political and military repercussions.

Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to send ground troops into combat with Iran.

"It is unclear where precisely forces will go in the Middle East, but they will likely be within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub off Iran's coast," the Journal said.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Trump has pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets, assuring that talks on ending the war were "going very well."

Israel's military, meanwhile, said early Friday that it carried out "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran President Calls on People to Save Energy

Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Iran President Calls on People to Save Energy

Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on his people Saturday to conserve electricity, warning that while there were no shortages at present, the US and Israel aimed to sow "dissatisfaction" among the Iranian people.

"We have asked our dear people, who are now ready and present on the ground, a simple request. And that is to reduce their own electricity and energy consumption," the president said on state TV.

"We do not need people to sacrifice for the time being, but we do need to control consumption. Instead of 10 lights, two lights should be turned on in the house -- what is wrong with that?" he added.

Despite the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, there have been no reported power cuts in Tehran in recent days.

Pezeshkian accused Iran's enemies of hitting infrastructure and imposing a blockade "so that the current satisfaction turns into dissatisfaction".

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to wipe out Iran's power infrastructure, but has so far not followed through.

Even before the current war with the United States and Israel, however, Iran suffered frequent power outages during the winter and summer peaks in demand.

According to the International Energy Agency, Iran generates nearly four-fifths of its electricity from burning natural gas, a resource in which it is self-sufficient thanks to vast gas fields.

It supplements this with low-quality heavy fuel oil, known as mazout, used at older power stations.

Nevertheless, ageing infrastructure, a lack of investment and the impact of fierce international sanctions that cut off access to technology and investment have left the electricity grid unable to cope with demand.

Pezeshkian has previously launched several public awareness campaigns to reduce energy use.

World

Türkiye Dismisses Deputy Education Minister After School Shootings

Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Türkiye Dismisses Deputy Education Minister After School Shootings

Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed Türkiye’s deputy education minister after two school shootings that left nine people dead, according to the official gazette published late Friday.

Eight students aged 10 and 11 and a teacher were killed this month when a 14-year-old opened fire at a school in the southern province of Kahramanmaras.

Authorities said the attacker, who died at the scene, brought five firearms and was the son of a former police inspector, who has since been arrested.

A separate attack in southeastern Sanliurfa province involved a former student who opened fire at his old high school before taking his own life when confronted by police.

Under a decree signed by Erdogan, deputy education minister Nazif Yilmaz was dismissed and replaced by Cihad Demirli.

The measures also targeted the leadership of state institutions responsible for education, according to the decree.

The incidents have sparked public outcry and Erdogan has said the government will introduce measures, including restrictions on gun ownership.

World

Macron Reaffirms Efforts to Reopen Strait of Hormuz, as TotalEnergies Warns of Energy Shortages

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Macron Reaffirms Efforts to Reopen Strait of Hormuz, as TotalEnergies Warns of Energy Shortages

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated ‌on Saturday that he was focused on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a day after the head of TotalEnergies warned of global energy shortages if the Iran war continues for months.

Macron, speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said panic caused by geopolitical uncertainty can in itself lead to shortages.

"Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with ‌international law, ‌guaranteeing freedom of navigation without tolls on ‌the ⁠Strait of Hormuz. Then ⁠things can gradually return to normal," Macron said.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne pressed on Friday for the reopening of the strait, through which about a fifth of the globe's oil and gas supply normally flows.

Movement through the strait, which is also a key transport route for ⁠goods including fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, has been choked ‌due to the US-Israeli ‌war with Iran, as Iran has seized container ships and ‌the United States has mounted a blockade on Iranian ‌ports.

"If it lasts two, three months more, we are entering in a world of scarcity of energy, which Asian countries have already suffered," Pouyanne told the World Policy Conference in Chantilly, ‌outside Paris. "You cannot have 20% of the oil and gas of the planet being ⁠stranded and ⁠not accessible without major consequences."

More than a dozen countries have said they are willing to join an international mission led by France and Britain to protect shipping in the strait when conditions permit, even as US President Donald Trump has said he does not need allies' help.

"We're all in the same boat, and it's not a boat we chose, if I may say. We're victims of geopolitics and we're victims of this war that started several months ago," Macron said on Saturday.