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AUKUS Considers Expanding Security Pact to Deter China, FT Says

AUKUS, unveiled by the three countries in 2023, is part of efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. (Photo by The AP)
AUKUS, unveiled by the three countries in 2023, is part of efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. (Photo by The AP)
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AUKUS Considers Expanding Security Pact to Deter China, FT Says

AUKUS, unveiled by the three countries in 2023, is part of efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. (Photo by The AP)
AUKUS, unveiled by the three countries in 2023, is part of efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. (Photo by The AP)

The US, Britain and Australia will announce talks on Monday about bringing new members into their AUKUS security pact as Washington pushes for Japan to be involved as a deterrent against China, the Financial Times reported.

The announcement by the group's defense ministers will be related to "Pillar Two" of the pact, which commits the members to jointly developing quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology, the newspaper reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the situation.

They are not considering expanding the first pillar, which is designed to deliver nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia, the FT said.

AUKUS, unveiled by the three countries in 2023, is part of their efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. China has called the AUKUS pact dangerous and warned it could spur a regional arms race.

US President Joe Biden has sought to step up partnerships with US allies in Asia, including Japan and the Philippines, amid China's historic military build-up and its growing territorial assertiveness.

Rahm Emanuel, the outspoken US ambassador in Tokyo, wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that Japan was "about to become the first additional Pillar II partner".

A senior US administration official told Reuters on Wednesday that some sort of announcement could be expected in the coming week about Japan's involvement but gave no details.

Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely discuss expanding AUKUS to include Japan when the president hosts the prime minister in Washington on Wednesday, a source with knowledge of the talks said.

Australia, however, is wary of beginning new projects until more progress has been made on supplying Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines, said the source, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

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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.