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Iran Speaker Warns US Not to Test 'Resolve to Defend Our Land'

FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
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Iran Speaker Warns US Not to Test 'Resolve to Defend Our Land'

FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Iran's parliament speaker on Wednesday warned Washington not to test Tehran’s determination to defend its territory after the United States was reported to be sending more troops to the Middle East.

"We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments.

What the generals have broke, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's delusions," said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in an X post in English.

"Do not test our resolve to defend our land."

At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Mideast in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.

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World

Strikes Near Iran, Israel Nuclear Sites Risk ‘Unmitigated Catastrophe’, Says UN

A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Strikes Near Iran, Israel Nuclear Sites Risk ‘Unmitigated Catastrophe’, Says UN

A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)

Strikes around Iran and Israel's nuclear sites risk unleashing an "unmitigated catastrophe", the United Nations rights chief said Wednesday, warning that the Middle East war had created an "extremely dangerous" situation.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, where countries were holding an urgent debate on Tehran's attacks across the Gulf, Volker Turk warned that many of the strikes in the weeks-long war "raise serious concerns under international law".

In particular, Turk cautioned that "recent missile strikes near nuclear sites in both Israel and Iran underscore the immense danger of further escalation".

"States are flirting with unmitigated catastrophe."

His comments came after the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had informed it that "another projectile hit the premises" of the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday, without damaging it.

Over the weekend, an Iranian strike hit the southern Israeli town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, in what Tehran said was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz.

"The situation is extremely dangerous and unpredictable, and has created chaos across the region," Turk said, insisting that "we cannot go back to war as a tool of international relations".

The UN rights chief also warned that "this conflict has an unprecedented power to ensnare countries across borders and around the world".

"The complex dynamics could ignite further national, regional or global crises at any moment, with an appalling impact on civilians and people everywhere."

World

Hungary Says Will Phase Out Gas Deliveries to Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)
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Hungary Says Will Phase Out Gas Deliveries to Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)

Hungary's prime minister said on Wednesday that Budapest would phase out gas deliveries to Ukraine, the latest salvo in a bitter feud between the two countries over a damaged pipeline transporting Russian oil. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country is a major gas supplier to Ukraine, has accused Kyiv of delaying repairs on the pipeline, effectively stopping the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and its neighbor Slovakia. 

"To break the oil blockade and guarantee the security of Hungary's energy supply, new measures are now necessary," Orban said in a video posted on Facebook. 

"We are gradually halting gas shipments from Hungary to Ukraine and storing the gas that remains here domestically. Until Ukraine supplies oil, it will receive no gas from Hungary," he added. 

Ukrainian authorities have said that the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, which crosses its territory, was damaged by Russian airstrikes on January 27. 

Hungary and Slovakia, which have obtained exemptions from the European Union to continue purchasing Russian oil, accuse Kyiv of dragging their feet to repair it. 

In retaliation, Orban -- who is facing crucial parliamentary elections next month -- is blocking a European loan of 90 billion euros ($104 billion) to Ukraine. 

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would help reopen the Druzhba pipeline. 

Budapest and Bratislava are also blocking the official adoption of new economic sanctions against Russia, endorsed by other EU countries. 

According to analysts at the pro-government Hungarian Economic Research Foundation (Oeconomus), Hungary has become one of Ukraine's main gas suppliers. 

Ukraine imported 2.94 billion cubic meters of gas from Hungary in 2025, the top source for Ukrainian imports, accounting for 45.5 percent of all Ukrainian imports, Ukrainian consultancy ExPro said in a report. 

ExPro said separately that Ukraine's imports from Hungary were already slightly dropping as a share in 2026, down to 34 percent of Ukraine's import mix in March 2026. 

Ukraine's total gas consumption in 2025 was 21 billion cubic meters, the Dixi group consultancy said in a report in March, meaning Hungary accounted for 14 percent of Ukraine's total gas use in 2025. 

World

Kim Vows North Korea’s ‘Unshakable’ Support for Russia

24 March 2026, North Korea, Pyongyang: This photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency on March 24, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending an art performance on March 23, 2026, to celebrate the outcome of the first session of the Supreme People's Assembly's 15th term, in which Kim was reappointed as president of the state affairs commission. (KCNA via YNA/dpa)
24 March 2026, North Korea, Pyongyang: This photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency on March 24, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending an art performance on March 23, 2026, to celebrate the outcome of the first session of the Supreme People's Assembly's 15th term, in which Kim was reappointed as president of the state affairs commission. (KCNA via YNA/dpa)
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Kim Vows North Korea’s ‘Unshakable’ Support for Russia

24 March 2026, North Korea, Pyongyang: This photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency on March 24, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending an art performance on March 23, 2026, to celebrate the outcome of the first session of the Supreme People's Assembly's 15th term, in which Kim was reappointed as president of the state affairs commission. (KCNA via YNA/dpa)
24 March 2026, North Korea, Pyongyang: This photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency on March 24, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending an art performance on March 23, 2026, to celebrate the outcome of the first session of the Supreme People's Assembly's 15th term, in which Kim was reappointed as president of the state affairs commission. (KCNA via YNA/dpa)

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un said his country will always support Russia, and complimented his counterpart in a letter published by state media on Wednesday.

Ties between the two countries have grown closer since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Pyongyang dispatching ground troops and weapons systems to aid Russia's war effort.

Analysts say the assistance has been provided in exchange for Russia's provision of food and weapons technology.

"I express my sincere thanks to you for sending warm and sincere congratulations first on my reassumption of the heavy duty as President of the State Affairs," Kim said in the message on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature reappointed Kim this week as head of the authoritarian nation's highest policymaking and governing body.

"Today, the DPRK and Russia are closely cooperating to defend the sovereignty of the two countries," Kim said, using the initials of the North's official name.

"Pyongyang will always be with Moscow. This is our choice and unshakable will," he added.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

Around 2,000 troops have been killed and thousands more have been wounded, according to South Korean estimates.

Putin and Kim struck a military deal during Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, obligating both states to provide military assistance "without delay" in the event of an attack on the other.

Kim's letter follows Belarusian state media reports that President Alexander Lukashenko would visit North Korea on a two-day trip from Wednesday "to strengthen bilateral cooperation".

Both countries have provided support for Russia in its war on Ukraine and are adversaries of the West.