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G7 Statement Expresses Support for Israel, Calls Iran Source of Instability 

Emergency personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Emergency personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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G7 Statement Expresses Support for Israel, Calls Iran Source of Instability 

Emergency personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Emergency personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday and labeled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, with the G7 leaders urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region. 

The air war between Iran and Israel, which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes, has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023. 

"We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel," G7 leaders said in the statement. 

"Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror," the statement added and said the G7 was "clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." 

Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Since then the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed. 

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the region widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. 

President Donald Trump planned to leave the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington due to the Middle East situation. 

The United States has so far maintained that it is not involved in the Israeli attacks on Iran although Trump said on Friday the US was aware of Israel's strikes in advance and called them "excellent." Washington has warned Tehran not to attack US interests or personnel in the region. 

"We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," the G7 statement said, adding the nations were also ready to coordinate on safeguarding stability in energy markets. 

An Israeli strike hit Iran's state broadcaster on Monday while Trump said in a social media post that "everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran." 

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the Israel-Iran war in phone calls with his British, French and European Union counterparts on Monday. 

Washington said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran. 

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World

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.

World

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.

World

Türkiye Says Israel Using Security as Pretext to Acquire 'More Land'

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Türkiye Says Israel Using Security as Pretext to Acquire 'More Land'

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Türkiye's top diplomat on Saturday accused Israel of creating an international "illusion" and using security concerns as a pretext to seize "more land," in the latest flare-up in escalating tensions between the two regional powers.

Israel and Türkiye have been trading near-daily diplomatic barbs over a range of regional conflicts, from Israel's war in Gaza to rising tensions linked to Iran.

"Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Mediterranean resort city.

"Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land," he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking in English at a panel discussion, Fidan said Israel had created an "illusion" internationally by portraying itself as acting purely in its own defense.

"It has become very clear, especially in recent years, that it is more than that," he said.

From Palestinian lands including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and now extending towards Lebanon and Syria, Israel was pursuing "an onward occupation and expansionism in the region," Fidan said, according to AFP.

"I think this has to stop."

"Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region is to let other countries enjoy their own security, territorial integrity and freedom, and not to use power against them," he added.

Türkiye and Israel have frequently been at odds, including over Israel's military campaign in Gaza and differences over Syria's future.