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Macron Says Only Ukrainian President Zelenskiy Can Negotiate Peace for His Country

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the International Conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Center, in Paris, France, 13 February 2025. (EPA)
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the International Conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Center, in Paris, France, 13 February 2025. (EPA)
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Macron Says Only Ukrainian President Zelenskiy Can Negotiate Peace for His Country

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the International Conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Center, in Paris, France, 13 February 2025. (EPA)
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the International Conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Center, in Paris, France, 13 February 2025. (EPA)

French President Emmanuel Macron said only Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could negotiate on behalf of his country with Russia to end the war, warning a "peace that is a capitulation" would be "bad news for everyone", including the US, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

"The only question at this stage is whether President Putin is genuinely, sustainably, and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis. After that, it’s up to the Ukrainians to negotiate with Russia," Macron said in an interview with the newspaper at the Elysee Palace.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday separately discussed the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy and told US officials to begin talks on ending the nearly three-year-long conflict.

The phone calls came shortly after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Ukraine's military allies in Brussels that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders - before Russia annexed Crimea - was unrealistic and that the US does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution.

Ukrainians on Thursday worried that Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call Putin.

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, said Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia over ending the war.

Macron told the Financial Times that Trump had created a "window of opportunity" for a negotiated solution, where "everyone has to play their role", adding that it is now up to Zelenskiy to discuss territorial and sovereignty issues.

He said that "it is up to the international community, with a specific role for the Europeans, to discuss security guarantees and, more broadly, the security framework for the entire region. That is where we have a role to play."

Macron described Trump’s return as an "electroshock" that should force Europe to secure its own future as well as Ukraine’s, the Financial Times report added.

Separately, Macron said to the newspaper that expelling Gazans would be "extremely dangerous", adding that Trump’s designs on Gaza and Greenland were examples of the "extreme strategic uncertainty" the world was now living in.

The commentary is aimed at Trump's shock announcement that the US intends to remove Gaza residents and transform the war-ravaged territory into what the president billed as a "Riviera of the Middle East". He had also said he wants to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland.

Macron reiterated that Europe should build its defense capabilities so it can act even when the US is not involved.

"We must also develop a fully integrated European defense, industrial and technological base," Macron said.

In January, at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris, Macron said: "After the inauguration of a new administration in the United States, it is necessary more than ever for Europeans and for our two (France and Germany) countries to play their role of consolidating a united, strong and sovereign Europe."

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World

US Strikes Expand into Northern Iran as it Disables Ship Trying to Run Blockade

TOPSHOT - This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 shows cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 shows cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
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US Strikes Expand into Northern Iran as it Disables Ship Trying to Run Blockade

TOPSHOT - This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 shows cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 shows cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)

The United States intensified its strikes targeting Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Iranian Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait before dawn.

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the US and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say US strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others. Strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, for the first time of this latest round of violence, The Associated Press said.

When the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

US and Iran trade threats as attacks intensify

Those rising prices pose a particular challenge to US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November. But Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway, leading to Trump reimposing the naval blockade Wednesday.

Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said Iran was prepared for a fuller military confrontation if the US does not live up to the terms of the interim deal, and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” the Guard said.

Trump again insisted Iran was ready to strike a peace deal, but he did not elaborate.

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said Wednesday at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.

Trump separately said on social media that Tehran made a goodwill gesture by releasing an American citizen wrongly detained in Iran since 2024. He didn’t release further details. Human rights lawyer Jared Genser released a statement identifying the detainee as his client Dena Karari, a US-Iranian citizen who runs a nonprofit and was charged with espionage.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the release and her case was not publicly known, as is sometimes the case with detentions in the Iranian Republic.

Both the US and Iran launch attacks as blockade is reimposed

The US strikes early Thursday hit around Tehran, state media reported. It also reported that American attacks targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.

On Wednesday, the US resumed striking Iran during daylight, further showing the increasing tempo of the attacks. An attack on Greater Tunb Island, a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz, targeted Iranian defense and missile sites, Central Command said.

Meanwhile, the US military said it opened fire on the Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma sailing toward Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Arabian Gulf. After the ship “ignored multiple warnings,” a US aircraft disabled the merchant vessel by firing a missile into the ship’s smokestack.

Another American strike Wednesday targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers. A number of troops were wounded.

Iran retaliated Thursday with missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, authorities in those countries home to US forces said. There was no immediate acknowledgment of damage or casualties from the attacks.

The Strait of Hormuz remains at the heart of the fighting

The latest round of fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz. How to reopen the strait has bedeviled the US since Iran choked it off in the early days of the war.

During the interim deal, some ships began moving through the passage using a route near Oman overseen by the US military that is outside Tehran’s control.

In recent days, Iran attacked ships using that route — and back-and-forth attacks ensued. The US has threatened to reopen the strait by force — but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops. Imposing the blockade is another way to put pressure on Iran.

But in the meantime, oil prices are rising. The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Thursday — more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

World

US Says It Issued Sanctions to Disrupt Iran’s Weapon Procurement

The American flag flies over the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
The American flag flies over the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
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US Says It Issued Sanctions to Disrupt Iran’s Weapon Procurement

The American flag flies over the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
The American flag flies over the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)

The US government issued sanctions on Wednesday targeting individuals and entities that it said were a part of an international network helping Iran procure weapons.

The sanction targets include Iranian and Russian nationals, as well as entities bases ‌in Iran, ‌Russia and Nigeria, the ‌US Treasury ⁠Department said in ⁠a statement.

The move comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, including recent hostilities over control of the Strait of Hormuz, and as the Trump administration ⁠ramps up pressure on Iran ‌through a ‌series of sanctions measures.

Wednesday's sanctions targets "exemplify ‌Iran's use of foreign aviation and ‌transport firms, financial conduits, and travel coordinators to obscure the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) role in illicit procurement and to move material ‌and personnel globally," the Treasury said in a statement.

They ⁠add ⁠to US actions in May against individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, over accusations of aiding Iran's weapons sector.

In June, the US imposed sanctions against 11 people and entities for helping weapons procurement by the IRGC and the Iranian military.

World

Ukraine, EU Aim for Weapons Production Partnership as War with Russia Grinds on

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials attend a summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials attend a summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP)
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Ukraine, EU Aim for Weapons Production Partnership as War with Russia Grinds on

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials attend a summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials attend a summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP)

The European Union’s top official signed an agreement Wednesday to move forward on joint weapons production with Ukraine, saying Kyiv's fight against Russia’s four-year-old invasion is a key part of the continent’s defense.

Over the course of the war, Ukraine has gone from pleading for foreign military support to providing its cutting-edge and battle-tested weapons know-how to Europe, the United States and Middle East countries. But it still needs help expanding its domestic production, especially sophisticated air defenses that can stop Russia’s ballistic missiles.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, attending ceremonies marking Ukraine’s Statehood Day, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a new EU-Ukraine Defense Industrial Partnership.

The move reflects European worries about Russia’s broader intentions on the continent.

“Today, Ukraine’s fight is not only a fight for your own freedom. It is an existential fight for Europe’s freedoms — for its values, its self-determination,” Von der Leyen said in a speech in Kyiv's St. Michaels’ Square, where she received Ukraine's Order of Europe, a state honor.

“You are not only fighting for your own future but for the security of our entire continent,” she told a crowd.

The EU and Ukraine signed a letter of intent that aims to establish joint drone and anti-drone production by the end of this year and joint anti-ballistic missile production by 2028, as well as broader support for defense manufacturing.

Ukraine wants to bolster its security by joining the EU. It has started that process, which could take years to complete.

US President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a license to build its own Patriot air defense systems, essential to countering ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday he expects Ukraine will have the technical capability to produce the sophisticated missiles by the end of the year, even though experts say it could take years.

Ukraine celebrates its sovereignty amid Russia war

Von der Leyen and other dignitaries, including the presidents of Moldova and Romania, marked Ukraine’s Statehood Day, which celebrates the country’s sovereignty and is a public holiday.

Ukraine has been under threat since Russian forces illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, followed eight years later by the all-out invasion in 2022. Statehood Day, celebrating the country’s self-determination, is a public holiday in Ukraine.

The war has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians, forced millions to flee their homes, reduced some Ukrainian cities to rubble, and has fueled fears the confrontation could slide into an open conflict between Russia and NATO, whose member nations have supported Kyiv. No peace settlement is in sight.

Senior officials from southeastern European countries also were in Kyiv for a gathering focused on Black Sea and regional security. Last year’s meeting in the southern city of Odesa reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zelenskyy has recently won important pledges of further support, including from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations and the so-called Coalition of the Willing countries.

EU official says the ‘tide is turning’ in the war

Von der Leyen said her trip to the Ukrainian capital was her 11th in wartime. The EU has provided billions of euros to Ukraine as well as diplomatic support.

She promised EU help in preparing Ukraine's air defenses for the colder months. That's when Russia, often launching ballistic missiles, usually tries to knock out essential services like electricity and heat in what Kyiv officials call “weaponizing winter.”

"Energy remains an unwavering priority,” Zelenskyy said.

Western officials and analysts say Ukraine’s drone and missile attacks are hitting high-profile targets deep inside Russia, severely disrupting Moscow's supply lines and causing civilian fuel shortages.

“It’s a special moment,” Von der Leyen said on social media. “Ukraine has built a strong military momentum. The tide is turning.”

Washington appeared poised to increase economic pressure on Moscow as a proposed Russia sanctions bill was unveiled in the US Senate following Saturday’s death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of its chief backers.

The bill, which its authors had hoped to pass last summer but was held up by White House reservations, would impose steep tariffs on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports.

Wednesday's official ceremonies came at a delicate political moment for Zelenskyy as he manages a major government reshuffle.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s Moscow-friendly president, Aleksandar Vucic, was taking part in the Southeast Europe Summit in Kyiv. Serbia, which relies almost fully on Russia for its energy supplies, has refused to join Western sanctions on Moscow, although it officially supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Russian attacks kill 9 Ukrainian civilians

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that at least nine civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in Russian aerial attacks.

Russian forces dropped six glide bombs mostly targeting infrastructure in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, killing three people and wounding seven, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional military administration.

Three people were killed and three others wounded in a Russian attack on Odesa, according to Serhii Lysak, the head of the city’s military administration.

In the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, Russian drones killed two people and seriously wounded an 18-year-old, while one person was killed and two injured in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 93 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as well as over Crimea and the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.