Türkiye to Submit Evidence over Turkish-American Woman's Killing to International Courts

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Türkiye to Submit Evidence over Turkish-American Woman's Killing to International Courts

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Türkiye will submit evidence about Israel's killing of a Turkish-American woman in the West Bank this month to the United Nations Security Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), its justice minister said on Monday.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed on Sept. 6 as she took part in a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank amid the war in Gaza.

Israel has acknowledged that its troops shot the activist, but says it was an unintentional act during a demonstration that turned violent.

Israel's Western allies have been angered by surging settler assaults on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, part of historic Palestine which Palestinians want for an independent state. The war in Gaza has also increased tensions in the region.

Türkiye has opened an investigation into Eygi's killing and will request international arrest warrants, Ankara said this month, while President Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye would go to the ICJ over the matter, Reuters reported.

Eygi's killing has added strain to ties between Israel and its main ally the United States, which has been angered by the surge of assaults on Palestinians in the West Bank and demanded a swift investigation into the incident.

Washington has said that Eygi's killing was unacceptable and that Israel must ensure such an event never happens again.

Israel's initial findings on the killing do not exonerate its security forces, the United States said, warning that it would consider other measures if it is not satisfied with the results of a full Israeli probe.

"We will both bring Aysenur's reports to the United Nations Security Council's agenda, and submit our sister Aysenur's reports and evidence to the International Court of Justice, where the genocide case is continuing," Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters.

"We will also submit Aysenur's evidence to the ongoing investigation about Israeli aggressors at the International Criminal Court," he added, without giving a timeline.



Trump Says Iran Cannot 'Blackmail Us' with Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump ( AFP)
US President Donald Trump ( AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Cannot 'Blackmail Us' with Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump ( AFP)
US President Donald Trump ( AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Iran not to "blackmail" Washington with its flip-flopping on the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran declared the strategic waterway once again closed.

"We're talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again -- you know, as they've been doing for years -- and they can't blackmail us," Trump said at a White House event.

Trump said there would be "some information" about Iran later in the day, adding: "We're taking a tough stand."

Iran's military on Saturday declared the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world's crude and liquefied natural gas normally passes, was once again closed, a day after saying it was open.

Tehran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of their ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran's navy was ready to inflict "new bitter defeats" on its enemies.

Shipping sources said at least two vessels reported coming under fire while trying to transit the waterway. In Mumbai, an Indian government source said India summoned Iran's ambassador after an Indian-flagged vessel carrying crude oil was attacked while trying to cross the Strait.

Tehran’s renewed tough messaging injected fresh uncertainty around the Iran conflict, raising the risk that oil and gas shipments through the strait could remain disrupted just as Washington weighs whether to extend the fragile ceasefire.

Maritime security and shipping sources said some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying no ships were allowed through the waterway, reversing signs earlier on Saturday that traffic might resume.

At least two vessels reported being hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the strait, the sources said.


No Date Set for Next Round of Iran-US Talks, Says Iran Deputy FM

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to reporters as he attends Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to reporters as he attends Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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No Date Set for Next Round of Iran-US Talks, Says Iran Deputy FM

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to reporters as he attends Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to reporters as he attends Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

No date has been set for the next round of Iran-US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of an initial round, Iran's deputy foreign minister said on Saturday.

"Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set a date," Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists on the sidelines of an annual diplomatic forum in Türkiye's southern Antalya province.

"We hope that as soon as we can finalise that, then we can move on to the next step".

Khatibzadeh said both sides were currently focused on finalizing a framework of understanding before proceeding with further negotiations.

"We do not want to enter into any negotiation or meeting that is destined to fail and could serve as a pretext for another round of escalation," he said.

"I can assure you that Iran is very much committed to diplomacy".

Pakistan's powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Türkiye.

Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.

Egypt and Pakistan were working "very hard" as mediators to bring about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran", Egypt's foreign minister told journalists at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Egypt and Türkiye has joined diplomatic efforts with Pakistan to help secure a ceasefire in the conflict.

"We hope to do so (reach an agreement) in the coming days," Badr Abdelatty said, noting that "not only us in the region, but the whole world is suffering from the continuation of this war".

"We are pushing very hard in order to move forward," he said.

Iran dismissed US threats of fresh military action, with the senior Iranian official saying that Washington's statements were inconsistent.

"The American side tweets a lot, talks a lot. Sometimes confusing, sometimes, you know, contradictory," Khatibzadeh said, referring to US President Donald Trump and his frequent social media posts.

"It is up to the American people to decide whether these statements are consistent and in accordance with international law," he added.

Khatibzadeh said Iran's position was clear and vowed resistance to pressure from Washington.

"What we are going to do is quite clear. We will defend heroically and patriotically (our country) ... as the oldest civilisation on earth," he said.

The deputy minister also rejected US accusations that Iran was threatening freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments, after Iran's military again declared the waterway closed.

"Americans cannot impose their will to do a siege over Iran while Iran, with good intention, is trying to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz," Khatibzadeh said.

He said Iran had announced safe passage for commercial vessels for the duration of Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, provided there was prior coordination with Iranian maritime authorities.

However, Khatibzadeh accused Washington of attempting to "sabotage" those efforts.

"If ceasefire terms are violated and Americans do not honor their commitments, there will be repercussions for them," he said.


France Blames Hezbollah for French Peacekeeper's Death in Lebanon

FILED - 08 August 2025, France, Paris: The French flag, also known as the tricolor, flies against a blue sky in central Paris. Photo: Rachel Sommer/dpa
FILED - 08 August 2025, France, Paris: The French flag, also known as the tricolor, flies against a blue sky in central Paris. Photo: Rachel Sommer/dpa
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France Blames Hezbollah for French Peacekeeper's Death in Lebanon

FILED - 08 August 2025, France, Paris: The French flag, also known as the tricolor, flies against a blue sky in central Paris. Photo: Rachel Sommer/dpa
FILED - 08 August 2025, France, Paris: The French flag, also known as the tricolor, flies against a blue sky in central Paris. Photo: Rachel Sommer/dpa

A French soldier was killed and three others wounded in an attack Saturday on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that appeared to have been carried out by Hezbollah, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack," he said on X, urging Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators.

Macron urged Lebanon's leaders to "guarantee the security of UNIFIL soldiers" in calls with the country's president and prime minister, the Elysee said, AFP reported.

The fighting in Lebanon -- one of the fronts in the Middle East war -- has seen the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deployed there repeatedly targeted, by both Israeli and Hezbollah forces.

The peacekeeper killed, identified as staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was caught in an "ambush" as his unit headed to a UNIFIL outpost and he died from a "direct gunshot", France's armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin said on X.

She said the outpost they had been heading to had been "cut off for several days by combat in the area".

The ambush was carried out "by an armed group at very close range", she said.

Vautrin added that Montorio was "picked up by his comrades under fire" but they were unable to resuscitate him.

UNIFIL patrols in south Lebanon near the Israeli border where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since last month after the Iran-backed militant group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed last month, with a preliminary UN investigation finding one was killed by Israeli tank fire, while the two others were killed by an improvised explosive device likely planted by Hezbollah.

Other UNIFIL peacekeepers have also been wounded since the war erupted, and in April, Israeli soldiers destroyed surveillance cameras in UNIFIL's headquarters, the peacekeeping body said.

Last week, an Israeli tank twice rammed peacekeeping vehicles, causing damage but no injuries, according to UNIFIL.

United Nations peacekeepers have served as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel for decades, but their mandate concludes at the end of this year.