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US Defense Secretary Makes Unannounced Visit to Aircraft Carrier Defending Israel

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea December 20, 2023. (Reuters)
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea December 20, 2023. (Reuters)
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US Defense Secretary Makes Unannounced Visit to Aircraft Carrier Defending Israel

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea December 20, 2023. (Reuters)
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea December 20, 2023. (Reuters)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin flew out to the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier Wednesday to meet with the sailors he has ordered to remain at sea to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spilling over into a deadlier regional conflict.

Austin was in the region to press Israel to shift its bombardment of Gaza to a more limited campaign and more quickly transition to address Palestinian civilians’ dire humanitarian needs.

At the same time, the US has been concerned that Israel will launch a similar military operation along its northern border with Lebanon to expel Hezbollah militants there, potentially opening a second front and widening the war.

At a news conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, Austin didn't say whether US troops might be further extended to defend Israel if its campaign expands into Lebanon, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seemed to tone down recent rhetoric that a northern front was imminent, deferring to diplomatic efforts first.

Still, that leaves incredible uncertainty for the Ford and its crew, which Austin ordered to the Eastern Mediterranean to be closer to Israel the day after Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. The aircraft carrier’s more than 4,000 sailors and the accompanying warships were supposed to be home in early November.

Using the public address system of the Ford, which is sailing a few hundred miles off the coast of Israel, Austin thanked the sailors and their families for giving up spending the holidays together because of the mission.

“Sometimes our greatest achievements are the bad things we stop from happening,” Austin told the crew. “In a moment of huge tension in the region, you all have been the linchpin of preventing a wider regional conflict.”

The defense secretary met with a group of sailors in the Ford’s hangar bay to talk about the various dangers in the region that the carrier, the destroyers and the cruisers deployed along with it have been watching.

He thanked them for keeping attention on cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and later told reporters traveling with him that if Israel transitions away from major combat operations in Gaza, it could possibly ease some of the regional tension that has kept the Ford in place.

The Ford's commanding officer, Navy Capt. Rick Burgess, said one of the Ford's main contributions has been to stay close enough to Israel that it can send its aircraft in to provide support, if needed. While the Ford's fighter and surveillance aircraft are not contributing to the surveillance needs of Israel's operations in Gaza, other ships in its strike group are, Burgess said.

The Ford is one of two US carrier strike groups bracketing the conflict. The other, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, has recently patrolled near the Gulf of Aden, at the mouth of the Red Sea waterway where so many commercial vessels have come under attack in recent weeks.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militias in nearby Yemen have vowed to continue striking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea with ballistic missiles and drones until Israel ceases its devastating bombardment of Gaza, which has now killed more than 19,000 Palestinians.

To counter the ship attacks, Austin announced a new international maritime mission Tuesday to get countries to send their warships and other assets to the southern Red Sea, to protect the roughly 400 commercial vessels that transit the waterway daily.

Since it left Norfolk in the first week of May, the Ford’s fighter aircraft and surveillance planes have conducted more than 8,000 missions.

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Afghanistan Says Peace Talks Held in China to End Fighting with Pakistan Have Been Constructive

A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)
A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)
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Afghanistan Says Peace Talks Held in China to End Fighting with Pakistan Have Been Constructive

A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)
A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday peace talks held in China between Afghanistan and Pakistan to halt cross-border fighting between the two neighbors have been constructive.

The talks began last week in the western Chinese city of Urumqi following an invitation by China, in an effort to stop the conflict that began between the two countries in February, leaving hundreds dead. Pakistan, which declared it was in “open war” with its neighbor, has also carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including in the capital Kabul.

The United Nations' office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan posted on X Tuesday that the conflict had displaced 94,000 people overall, while 100,000 people in two Afghan districts near the border have been completely cut off by the fighting since February.

The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaeda and the ISIS group, still have a presence in the region.

In a post on X, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal said Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with China’s ambassador to Afghanistan Tuesday, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal wrote on X, thanking Beijing for arranging and hosting the talks, and Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for their mediation efforts.

“Noting that constructive discussions have taken place so far, FM Muttaqi expressed hope that minor interpretations would not hinder the progress of the negotiations,” Takal wrote.

There have been few official statements regarding the discussions since they began on April 1 between mid-level delegations from the two sides.

Even during the talks, Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out shelling across its border on several occasions, killing and wounding civilians. Pakistan has not commented.

Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven to militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s military commanders vowed to continue ongoing counterterrorism operations until, as they put it, “militant safe havens” are eliminated and “the use of Afghan territory against Pakistan” ends.

The remarks came during a meeting of top military commanders chaired by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to a statement from the military.

The meeting reviewed the prevailing internal and external security environment. The statement said “terrorist proxies” operating on behalf of “external sponsors,” along with their facilitators, would be pursued and eliminated “relentlessly and without exception.”

The recent fighting, the most severe between the two neighbors, began after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October, after earlier fighting had killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

On March 17, a Pakistani airstrike hit a drug-treatment center in Kabul, which Afghan officials said killed more than 400 people. Pakistan denied it had targeted civilians, saying its strikes were against military facilities.

World

Three Lightly Injured in Israel After Repeated Missile, Rocket Alerts

A crow perches on an Israeli flag near an empty beach along the Tel Aviv coastline on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
A crow perches on an Israeli flag near an empty beach along the Tel Aviv coastline on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Three Lightly Injured in Israel After Repeated Missile, Rocket Alerts

A crow perches on an Israeli flag near an empty beach along the Tel Aviv coastline on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
A crow perches on an Israeli flag near an empty beach along the Tel Aviv coastline on April 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's emergency services said three people were lightly injured on Tuesday after over 20 alerts sounded throughout the day, warning of incoming missiles from Iran or rocket fire from Lebanon.

In the coastal town of Nahariya, less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from Israel's northern border with Lebanon, the Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated a woman approximately 20 years old "in mild condition with a head injury from debris thrown by the blast", following rocket fire.

Paramedics also treated a 46-year-old man in the south of the country who was "in mild condition with injuries to the upper limbs from interceptor debris", as well as a 36-year-old man in the north "with a shrapnel injury to his lower limbs".

The three were evacuated to hospitals, Magen David Adom said.

As of 5:10 pm (1410 GMT), the Home Front Command had registered more than 20 alerts since midnight warning of projectiles fired from Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Israeli military also warned four times of ballistic missile fire from Iran.

Israeli military correspondents have reported that, on average, there have been around one or two missiles per alert in recent days.

The Middle East was plunged into a spiraling war after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking retaliatory attacks across the region.

World

‘Unconscious’, ‘Incapacitated’, ...Report Reveals Mojtaba Khamenei’s Status and Whereabouts

A woman walks past a banner depicting Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along a street in Tehran on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman walks past a banner depicting Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along a street in Tehran on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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‘Unconscious’, ‘Incapacitated’, ...Report Reveals Mojtaba Khamenei’s Status and Whereabouts

A woman walks past a banner depicting Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along a street in Tehran on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman walks past a banner depicting Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along a street in Tehran on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Amid growing ambiguity regarding the health condition of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, questions are mounting over his ability to effectively manage the country's affairs.

Since reportedly sustaining injuries during US-Israeli strikes in late February, he has limited his communications to written statements, with no direct public appearances.

This comes as purported video footage circulating online appears to show him inside a military control room, fueling speculation about the reality of his condition and his actual role in leading Iran during this critical period.

The Times of London has published new details about the health condition of Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in the same US-Israeli airstrike that killed his father.

The newspaper, citing information drawn from a diplomatic memo, reported that Mojtaba Khamenei is incapacitated and receiving medical treatment in the holy city of Qom. He "is being treated in Qom in a severe condition, unable to be involved in any decision making by the regime".

This marks the first time his location has been disclosed. The central city of Qom lies about 87 miles (approximately 140 kilometers) south of Tehran and serves as the hub of Iran’s Shiite religious establishment and a stronghold for its clerical leadership.

The newspaper reported that US and Israeli intelligence agencies had been aware of his location for some time, though this information had remained undisclosed until now.

It also noted that efforts were made to obtain official comment on the contents of the memo, including outreach to the US National Security Agency, as well as Iran’s mission in Washington, which operates out of the Pakistani embassy.

Arrangements for the Burial of Ali Khamenei

According to the memo, preparations are underway for the burial of the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the city of Qom.

The Times also reported that intelligence agencies have monitored efforts to “laying the groundworks needed to build a large mausoleum in Qom” capable of accommodating “more than one grave,” suggesting the possibility that additional family members—potentially including Mojtaba himself—could be buried alongside the late leader.

Iran has confirmed that Khamenei’s son was injured in the same airstrike that killed his father, as well as his mother, his wife Zahra Haddad-Adel, and one of his sons, on the first day of a war that has engulfed the Middle East for more than five weeks.

Since then, only two statements attributed to him have been broadcast on Iranian state television. On Monday, the channel also aired a video produced using artificial intelligence, showing the leader entering a war room and analyzing a map of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility.

The absence of any audio recording has further reinforced unconfirmed reports that he remains in critical condition.

Who is in Control in Iran?

Despite continued insistence from Iranian officials that Mojtaba Khamenei remains in charge, a stream of leaks and conflicting reports have painted a very different picture. Opposition groups have claimed he has fallen into a coma, while other accounts suggest he sustained severe injuries, including a broken leg and facial trauma.

According to The Times, these divergent narratives have intensified questions about the true state of power within Tehran’s leadership structure—particularly in a system where the Supreme Leader is regarded as the ultimate political and religious authority.

Speculation therefore is mounting that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) may be the party effectively holding the reins of power, while Khamenei appears increasingly as a silent figurehead rather than an active decision-maker, the newspaper reported.