Iran | Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday urged all sides in the ongoing Middle East conflict to “exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance” after a new round of hostilities between Iran and Israel. “The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” PM Shehbaz said in a post on X. “We sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” the premier wrote, emphasising that the “final objective is just about to be achieved”. He noted that Pakistan was working “earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict”. “Let us continue to remain on the path of peace and diplomacy which have bright prospects of success instead of violence and destruction!” PM Shehbaz urged. PM Shehbaz’s statement comes after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks on Monday for the first time since the shaky ce...

Iran on Monday said it was ending its latest military operation against Israel after the first exchanges of fire between the foes since a shaky ceasefire began, but warned it could inflict a more “crushing” response. United States President Donald Trump earlier on Monday told both Iran and key ally Israel to stop fighting, against the background of reports of an increasingly testy relationship between the US leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel overnight and Israel responded by targeting military sites in the Islamic republic, sparking fears the escalation could usher in a new full-scale conflict after the April 8 truce. “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’ President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the US leader wrote on his Truth Social network. Minutes later, he added in a new post that “final negotiations” towards peace were proceeding “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.” Iran’s military command then said it was halting the operati...

Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday, seriously testing a fragile truce and threatening hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war. The new attacks, including a strike on an Iranian petrochemical complex, came hours after US President Donald Trump called on Israel to refrain from retaliating against Tehran’s missiles. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tehran retaliated for the strike on its petrochemical complex by attacking similar industrial targets in Israel’s Haifa. AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard a series of explosions as they took shelter and the Israeli army said it worked to intercept a new wave of Iranian missiles. The retaliation followed Israel saying it fired on western and central Iran, tit-for-tat action against Tehran’s strikes on Sunday of 11 missiles, all of which were intercepted, with no casualties. Israel’s military and Iranian local media said Monday that Israel struck a petrochemical company in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran. Trump had sought to rein in Israeli Pri...

In a Tehran neighbourhood dotted with shops selling football jerseys and sporting goods, 10-year-old Helma was already feeling World Cup fever. “I’m supporting Iran because it’s always the champion!” she said, sporting a bracelet in the green, white and red of the national flag. “This year, it will be number one out of all the countries!” Holding a shopping bag containing a national team jersey, her mother explained that Helma was set to appear in a video clip supporting Iran’s side, adding: “We came to buy Team Melli outfits for the shoot.” But after weeks of war with Israel and the United States — one of the co-hosts of this year’s tournament — not to mention persistent economic hardship and stuttering efforts to bring the conflict to a final close, not every Iranian shares the grade-schooler’s excitement. This handout photograph taken and released by Iran Football Federation Press Office on June 6, 2026 shows Iran’s national football team posing at Antalya Airport in Turkiye before boarding a plane ahead o...

US strikes Iranian sites after Iran launches drones Trump claims Iran retains 21pc to 22pc of missiles stockpiles after regional strikes Kuwait denounces ‘Dangerous Escalation’ by Iran after overnight attacks on Gulf States Iran calls overnight US attack on radar site ‘flagrant’ violation.

• Cites restricted access to bombed nuclear sites as key reason for inspection gaps, denies seeking nuclear weapons • IAEA warns lack of access poses a ‘proliferation concern’, urges immediate resumption of verification activities TEHRAN: Iran has repudiated an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report as a “tool of political pressure”, following concerns over restricted access to its nuclear site. Tehran was engaged in discussions with Washington about its nuclear programme when the United States and Israel attacked it on February 28, sparking war in the region. Israel had previously struck Iran in June 2025, also while Washington and Tehran were engaged in nuclear negotiations, with Washington joining with later strikes before a ceasefire was declared. During both conflicts, Iranian nuclear sites were bombed repeatedly. “If the agency wants to be part of a diplomatic solution, it must refrain from turning a technical report into a tool of political pressure,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi...

• Iran launches fresh missile, drone attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain • Kuwait says new attack ‘dangerous escalation’; Bahrain denounces ‘blatant aggression’ • Falling debris causes ‘material damage’ in Kuwait • Centcom says four attack drones downed near Hormuz; Iranian coastal radar sites also hit • Trump says Iran has ‘22pc’ of missiles left • US okays sale of $2bn in anti-drone weapons to Kuwait KUWAIT CITY: Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait early on Saturday, while the United States said it struck Iranian coastal radar sites after intercepting missiles and drones aimed at Gulf allies and the Strait of Hormuz, further straining a fragile ceasefire. Bahrain and Kuwait intercepted seven Iranian missiles, while Bahrain also destroyed several drones, officials said. It was the second attack on both Gulf states since Wednesday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted “enemy bases” with missiles after the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran and downed drones hea...

US, Iran launch new strikes

New attacks in the Middle East on Friday threatened to unravel an already fragile US-Iran ceasefire. Weeks of complex talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows. A ceasefire in the Middle East war, triggered nearly 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes that wiped out Iran’s top leadership, has been in place since April 8. But tensions surged again on Friday when the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran after downing drones headed toward the strait. Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in neighboring Gulf nations Kuwait and Bahrain — both US allies — and AFP correspondents in both countries heard explosions. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said early on Saturday they had targeted “enemy bases in the area” with missiles in response to a US “invasion” of the country’s Sirik and Qeshm islands. US Central Command (Centcom) said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and B...

Iran says $24b assets row stalls talks

The Republican-led US House of Representatives approved a resolution on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump from continuing the war against Iran, reflecting growing concern among members of his party about the three-month-old conflict. The House voted 215 to 208, as four Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of the war powers resolution, which directs Trump to withdraw US troops from Iran unless Congress declares war or authorises the use of military force. The move marked the first time the Republican-controlled House had approved a measure seeking to force Trump to wind down military operations against Tehran since the war began three months ago. It was the latest setback for Trump in Congress despite his party’s slim majorities in both the House and Senate. For now, the vote is largely symbolic, as legislation must pass the Senate as well as the House to become effective, and there is debate over whether war powers resolutions would be constitutional even if they are approved by Congress. The vot...

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday that Washington’s military campaign against Iran, codenamed “Operation Epic Fury”, had concluded and that any subsequent American military action would be defensive in nature rather than part of an ongoing offensive operation. Rubio made the remarks during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing when members of Congress questioned the administration’s assessment of the conflict and its aftermath. His comments came amid continuing concerns over regional security, the deployment of US forces across the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime route through which a significant share of the world’s oil exports pass. During the hearing, Rubio announced, “We’re no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military, because Epic Fury is over.” Later, he reiterated: “Epic Fury is over … that operation has concluded.” Rubio argued that the operation was a “victory” as Washington achieved i...

Iran has once again acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan’s positive role during the recent conflict in the region.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday told lawmakers that Iran had agreed to begin limited negotiations over its nuclear programme, marking what he described as a tentative but meaningful shift in Tehran’s posture as the United States-led conflict continues to destabilise the Middle East. Rubio said that Iran had also indicated interest in discussing parts of its nuclear programme that it had previously refused to engage on, but he cautioned that this did not ensure the negotiations would produce a deal to end the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. “They have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear programme that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention,” Rubio said. But he added that it’s “not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable” by Congress. He said these negotiations had been made difficult by the instability of Iran’s leadership. He also stated that the Trump administration had not proposed sanctions relief in exchange for I...

United States President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran. Any tweaks to the proposal could prolong even further an agreement to formally end the Middle East war and open the Strait of Hormuz maritime route after weeks of efforts to secure a deal despite fractious rhetoric and the occasional flare-up of armed conflict. The New York Times and Axios media outlets reported on Saturday that Trump had sent back a new framework to be considered by Iran with “tougher” terms, though it was not immediately clear what that entailed. Trump has said his priorities for any deal include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and re-opening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. “The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They’ve agreed to that, and it was very interesting,” he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview broadcast on her Fox Ne...

• US president demands Iran never develop nuclear weapons, wants Hormuz opened without tolls • Tehran rejects Trump’s language, demands release of $12bn in frozen assets • Araghchi accuses US of excessive, shifting demands; Baqaei says no N-talks currently taking place • Vance says ‘lot of progress’ made in talks even as both sides trade barbs over truce violations • Washington denies Iran claim of destroying US plane in Bushehr WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump met advisers in the White House Situation Room for about two hours on Friday as he considered a potential agreement with Iran, though Tehran insisted there was still “no final agreement” on ending the Middle East war. A report from Iran’s Fars news agency also rebutted several key elements of Trump’s characterisation of the deal, citing informed sources as calling his remarks a “mixture of truth and lies”. US sources had told AFP the deal was just waiting on Trump’s sign-off following weeks of halting negotiations to end a conflict that had engulf...

The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to extend a ceasefire, allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and lift a US blockade and some sanctions on Iran, sources have said, but the deal has not been finalised. US President Donald Trump’s approval is still pending. An agreement would represent a big step towards ending a war that has pushed the world towards an energy crisis, though the underlying dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme would only be thrashed out in talks over subsequent weeks. Where have the discussions got to? Following a ceasefire in early April, the two sides have remained at odds on issues including Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel’s war in Lebanon with Hezbollah, and Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets. After weeks of mainly indirect talks, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that the US and Iran had agreed to a memorandum of understanding that would halt the war and give negotiators 60 days to reach a f...

US and Iran reach MoU to extend ceasefire, White House declines to comment

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday it targeted a US airbase after the US military carried out what a Washington official said were strikes targeting an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Donald Trump rejected a report he was close to a compromise deal with Tehran. The escalation in hostilities highlighted threats to the tenuous ceasefire between the US and Iran that took effect in early April, dampening hopes for a peace deal and sending oil prices surging again. The US official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about military operations, told Reuters the military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone. “These actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” the official said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted a US base in response to what it described as an early morning US attack near Bandar Abba...

Oil prices bounced higher on Thursday while Asian stocks mostly fell, as new US strikes on Iran marked the latest test of a shaky ceasefire in the Middle East war. The price jumps erased much of Wednesday’s declines on the hopes of an imminent deal to end the conflict that has all but halted shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz for months. An American official said the military had shot down four Iranian drones and struck a control centre in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, described the latest actions as “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire”. Tehran’s state media said Iranian forces had fired at four ships in the strait, while Kuwait said its air defences were responding to missile and drone attacks. The developments came despite an Iranian official saying renewed hostilities with the United States were unlikely, and a threat from US President Donald Trump to “finish the job” if a peace deal was not reached. Th...