US Strikes Three Iranian Oil Tankers After IRGC Attack on American Naval Ships, Central Command Says

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 5, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

15:54-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

08:37-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

15:54-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

08:37-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

US Strikes Three Iranian Oil Tankers After IRGC Attack on American Naval Ships, Central Command Says

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 5, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, US Central Command said, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near Iran's key oil export hub.

The strikes were carried out after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships, Central Command said.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose ‌an even higher ‌economic cost — taking out three of yours," said Admiral ‌Brad ⁠Cooper, head of US ⁠Central Command.

Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, reported earlier that four US missiles hit a tanker in the area of Kharg's anchorage. Tasnim quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and the tanker's crew was being evacuated.

No American personnel were harmed, Central Command said.

There was no immediate official announcement by Iranian authorities.

The exchange of attacks follows an escalation in the past week that threatens ⁠to deepen a conflict that has dragged on since the ‌US launched strikes on Iran in ‌February, disrupting global energy supplies and drawing opposition from a majority of Americans before congressional elections ‌in November.

TRUMP'S THREATS OVER KHARG ISLAND

US President Donald Trump said on ‌August 31 in a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video that Kharg Island was being "blown to smithereens". Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg is attacked.

Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ‌and exported 90% of its crude via Kharg Island before the war, but flows have been disrupted since a US ⁠blockade of ⁠Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.

Trump said on June 11 that he wanted to take over Kharg Island, but then said a threatened US military operation there was off the table for now, days before Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement aimed at ending the war on June 17.

A US attack on Kharg would further pressure Iran's oil industry and its wider economy, which is already reeling from the US naval blockade.

The US imposed its blockade on Iranian ports after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway that carried one-fifth of the world's oil supply before the war.

Brent crude futures closed at their highest level since July 24 on Friday, at $96.28 a barrel, as tensions in the Middle East drive global supply concerns.

‘Stay Home!’: Tourists Find Themselves in a France Convulsed by Protests

A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP)

17:27-19 October 2026 AD ـ 08 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

‘Stay Home!’: Tourists Find Themselves in a France Convulsed by Protests

A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP)

Upon arriving at a blockaded and closed Louvre after a more than 20-hour plane journey from Australia, Anne Boland had advice for tourists planning to visit Paris.

"Stay home!" the 73-year-old pensioner told AFP on Monday outside the world's most visited museum, after a weekend of unrest that rocked some of the French capital's most iconic streets and squares.

She was one of thousands of visitors scrambling to navigate the City of Light as marches, traffic delays and wafting tear gas snarl the capital's 14-billion-euro ($16-billion) tourism industry.

A small group of protesters was blocking the entrance to the Louvre's famous glass pyramid, following days of mass protests that also spilled into some of the worst street violence France has seen in recent years.

Cycling through the city the day before, expecting charming Haussmann buildings, mansard roofs and corner cafes, Peter, a Dutch tourist, found himself touring a "war zone".

"It was terrible -- debris from fires everywhere, glass on the pavement," the 63-year-old, who declined to give his last name, said.

Some shrugged off the disruptions. But almost all seemed caught off guard upon arriving at the Louvre, their plans suddenly cancelled.

Turned away, many resorted to selfies and photos in front of the former palace.

Roughly half a million people turned out across France on Saturday to denounce the surging cost of living, a culmination of earlier protests led by high school students demanding better conditions at their schools.

The Yellow Vests movement, which organized the weekend's rallies, has called for more protests this coming Saturday, as the government mulls partial, targeted curfews.

- 'A disaster' -

The closure of the Louvre meant just one more detour for Anne and her husband Pat Boland, also 73, whose airline lost their luggage during the voyage.

"It's just a disaster," said Pat with a laugh.

"We were here at this exact spot seven years ago, and the queues were too long," said Anne.

Having visited the museum twice, she's yet to go inside.

"We don't want to get involved. We want to stand back and get away from them," Pat said of the protests.

"But we don't want to go against them either," Anne hastened to add, noting a trend of cost-of-living protests cropping up across the world recently, including in Ireland and Australia.

At the weekend, taxi drivers at Charles de Gaulle international airport warned arriving passengers that they might not be able to make it to their destination if protesters blocked their routes.

A headline in a newspaper in Wales, in the UK, wondered if France would be safe for families to visit for the upcoming school holiday, and the US embassy called on its nationals to exercise caution.

But many in the city carried on in typical Parisian style: a video broadcast by America's CBS news showed a couple drinking on a city terrace, unfazed by a nearby fire in the road.

"We haven't seen anything concerning," said Glenda Manna, 62, a university professor in town from the United States.

But as the protests capture the attention of news channels -- and politicians -- around the world, there are incessant messages from family members back home pleading with them to "tell me you're safe," added her mother, Dorothy Hill, 82.

World

Iran Says US Responsible for ‘Insecurity’ in Hormuz Strait

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands after their meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP)

17:13-19 October 2026 AD ـ 08 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Iran Says US Responsible for ‘Insecurity’ in Hormuz Strait

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands after their meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP)

Iran's top diplomat on Monday accused the United States of being responsible for the "insecurity" in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the heart of the conflict between the foes.

"The war imposed by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel), combined with the economic blockade, constitutes the principal source of insecurity in our region," said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, having previously referred to "the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz".

He was speaking during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who arrived in Tehran earlier Monday, in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday that the trip would focus on "regional and international developments".

Lavrov was scheduled to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and hold talks with his counterpart Abbas Araghchi, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

The veteran diplomat has said Moscow's efforts are "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war", with talks stalled between Tehran and Washington.

His visit comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pezeshkian in early October that Moscow was prepared to contribute to mediation efforts.

Russia and Iran, two of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world, maintain close ties. Their military and economic cooperation has only increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Middle East war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Despite a ceasefire in April, followed by a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June, hostilities in and around the Strait of Hormuz have not stopped.

Iran claims control over the strategic waterway -- through which one-fifth of the world's hydrocarbons pass in normal times -- and regularly targets vessels that cross without its authorization.

In response, Washington has been maintaining a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

The Russian foreign ministry said discussions during Lavrov's visit were expected to focus on "ways to resolve the acute international crisis triggered by the unlawful aggression of the US and Israel against Iran".

The ministry said the war had been a blow to stability and security "not only in the near and Middle East, but also on a global scale".

World

Carney Says Cause of Fire at Alberta Military Base Still Unknown

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

16:49-19 October 2026 AD ـ 08 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Carney Says Cause of Fire at Alberta Military Base Still Unknown

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada’s ‌Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday the cause of a fire that killed at least four military members and injured dozens of others in Alberta on Saturday is still not known.

In an address to Parliament, Carney said soldiers and reserve members ‌were conducting ‌live-fire exercises at ‌an ⁠army base in Wainwright ⁠while a fire was burning in the training area.

“Driven by ferocious winds, the fire jumped nearly a kilometer in less than a minute to ⁠where soldiers were gathered,” Carney ‌said.

He ‌added 50 investigators are currently on the ‌ground, from the army and ‌the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to determine how the disaster happened.

"This loss touches every corner of ‌the nation," Carney said.

Officials said 39 people remain hospitalized, with ⁠19 ⁠people in critical condition. The soldiers and reserve members were preparing to deploy to Latvia, where Canadian forces have their largest international military operation.

The incident comes as Albertans vote Monday in a referendum about whether residents want to pursue a legally binding vote on seceding from Canada.

US Strikes Three Iranian Oil Tankers After IRGC Attack on American Naval Ships, Central Command Says

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