Iran | Pakistan

Oil prices surged more than three per cent on Thursday, extending a rally as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran raised fears of prolonged disruptions to vital Middle East oil and gas supplies. Brent crude advanced $2.65, or 3.26pc, to $83.99 per barrel by 05:20 (GMT), a fifth session of gains. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.76, or 3.70pc, to $77.42. Crude oil markets remained on edge as they face ongoing risks to supply following the attacks in the Middle East, and concerns are centred on the flow of supply through the Strait of Hormuz, ANZ analysts said in a note on Thursday. Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, as the conflict entered its sixth day and just hours after moves to halt the US air assault were blocked in Washington. On Wednesday, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing at least 80 people, and Nato air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile heading towards Turkiye. Iranian forces have struck oil tankers in or near the Strait ...

WASHINGTON: The White House has acknowledged that the Donald Trump administration is deliberately avoiding categorical statements on Iran, as doing so could limit the president’s flexibility in a fast-evolving security environment. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said deploying US ground troops into Iran is not part of the current military strategy, but declined to rule out the option entirely. “It’s not part of the current plan, but I’m not going to remove an option for the president that is on the table,” she said. Leavitt suggested that previous administrations had sometimes narrowed their strategic space by prematurely dismissing potential actions before fully assessing how unfolding developments might alter the situation. The present approach, she indicated, is designed to preserve maximum latitude for decision-making. The calibrated message reflects a broader doctrine in US national security policy: maintain ambiguity to strengthen deterrence while avoidi...

ISLAMABAD: A former senior adviser to the US Secretary of Defence, has claimed that the US Navy is increasingly relying on Indian ports for docking and unloading operations due to escalating tensions with Iran. Former US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor’s remarks, made in a recent interview on One America News, have sparked discussion on social media, particularly in South Asia, highlighting what some view as a potential shift in US military logistics away from traditional Persian Gulf bases, according to a media report. He argued that threats to US installations in the Gulf had prompted this pivot towards Indian facilities, suggesting the move formed part of broader American operations potentially linked to conflicts involving Iran. However, New Delhi has termed these reports “baseless and fabricated”. In a post on X, the MEAFactCheck account of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the claim that Indian ports are being used by the US Navy are fake and false. Official US-India defence cooperation, stren...

A MAP detailing US strikes on Iran, which was shown at Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon briefing.—X / IdreesAli114 • Ex-Khamenei aide says Tehran has no intention of negotiating • Israel plans another ‘one, two weeks’ of attacks • Death toll in Iran crosses 1,000; Tehran hits back at targets in Gulf; Qatar, Turkiye condemn strikes • US expands bombing further into country; claims killing leader of Trump assassination plot • UN Iran probe body says war violates Charter • White House eyes ‘post-war role’ in Iran DUBAI / TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: Even as US and Israeli forces continued to pummel targets across Iran, Iran claimed “complete control” of the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards said Iranian forces had “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for world oil and gas supplies, and any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones. A security official close to IRGC said its new head, Ahmad Vahidi, was present in every high-ranking meeting and that its overriding obj...

87 bodies recovered off Sri Lanka; Iran claims control of Strait of Hormuz; Turkey says missile detroyed by NATO

The US financial services industry is on heightened alert for potential cyberattacks amid the unfolding US war in Iran, with firms stepping up monitoring for threats that often rise during periods of geopolitical conflict, said executives and analysts. The assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last weekend in an air strike has sparked a conflagration in the Middle East that has roiled markets globally and stoked concerns over the potential for Iran-linked cyberattacks on US financial services operations. Cybersecurity has long been a top priority for the financial services industry, which operates critical US infrastructure, including payments, clearing and settlement systems, as well as trading platforms and Treasury markets, making it a top target of cyberattacks, according to industry data. “The industry remains vigilant and ready to respond to cyber threats at all times, and especially when global cybersecurity risks are heightened,” said Todd Klessman, managing director for financial servi...

On the fifth day of the United States-Israel war against Iran, the conflict stands in a position neither side may have fully anticipated when the first strikes were launched on Feb 28. The US and Israel may have achieved clear tactical air dominance over large parts of Iran with fixed air defence networks having been degraded, leadership having been struck at the highest level, and naval assets mostly at pier have been largely damaged. Yet the strategic picture remains unsettled, and in some respects, increasingly complicated. The opening hours of the war were decisive in military terms. Stealth platforms penetrated whatever air defences Iran possessed after last year’s 12-day war, followed by bomber waves which suppressed what were once key elements of the integrated air defence system. US-Israeli targets were not symbolic but structural, including leadership nodes, fixed military infrastructure, naval platforms, and border posts. The assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was ...

Multiple anti-state, Indian and Afghan accounts on social media platform X have been sharing a video since March 2, claiming that it shows Allama Raja Nasir, opposition leader in the Senate, saying Pakistan allowed the United States to use its airspace against Iran. However, the clip is doctored using artificial intelligence (AI). Israel and the United States launched joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, and assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, significantly escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal, and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases. The war entered its fifth day on Wednesday, with no let-up in attacks by the US, Israel or Iran. Meanwhile, Washington has said it was winning in the war against Iran, adding that the US military could fight as long as needed. On March 2, an anti-state account on X shared a clip of Nasir speaking on a talk show with the ...

The United States military has joined Israel and attacked more than 1,000 targets in Iran and assassinated many of its top officials, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Below is a look at the legality of the US attacks, which critics say exceed the president’s authority and fail to comply with international law. What has Trump said? US President Donald Trump has provided varying objectives and justifications. He has said he felt Iran was going to strike first and the attack was meant to eliminate imminent threats to the United States, its military bases overseas and allies, although he did not provide details and some claims were not backed by US intelligence reports. Trump also said Iran could obtain a nuclear weapon within one month, but he did not provide evidence, and this contradicted his claims in June that the US military had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme. Presidential power to use the military The attacks on Iran are pushing the boundaries of Trump’s constitutional authority, ac...

Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has announced nationwide protests on Friday against US-Israel attacks on Iran and to express solidarity with the neighbouring country, according to a press release issued by the party’s information secretary. The statement said that JI emir met Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam in Islamabad and addressed a press conference following the meeting, in which he strongly criticised the US, Israel, and India and described them as an “evil trinity”. It added that Rehman also termed the Board of Peace led by US President Donald Trump, of which Pakistan is a member, as deceptive and demanded the government withdraw from it. The statement added that during the meeting, the JI emir also conveyed condolences over the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders in US-Israeli strikes. “He offered prayers for the departed and assured the ambassador that the people of Pakistan and Jamaat-i-Islami stand firmly with Iran in the current...

Operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence signalled openness to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to talks on ending the war, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials briefed on the matter. The offer was made through an unnamed country’s spy agency, the NYT said, citing Middle Eastern officials and officials from a Western nation who spoke on condition of anonymity. The White House and the CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in Washington are sceptical as to whether Iran or the Trump administration is really ready for an “off-ramp”, at least in the short term, the report added. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday ruled out for now any negotiations with the United States, days after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on his country. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Tehran wanted to talk but it was too late, as the United States continued its military operation against Iran.

On Sunday afternoon, protesters in Islamabad pressed shoulder to shoulder, most of them dressed in black, and chanted slogans that rippled through the crowd. “Death to America, death to Israel,” they shouted in unison. Among them was also Kazim Hussain, who clutched a portrait of Ayatollah Khamenei. The student, also an activist affiliated with Shia group Imamia Students Organisation (ISO), believes that the crisis unfolding in Iran was not a distant geopolitical conflict playing out beyond Pakistan’s western border. For him, it is deeply personal and emotionally moving. “This is not just an attack on Iran. It concerns all Shia Muslims,” he said, raising his voice above the chants as the crowd marched toward the US embassy. “The death of Ayatollah Khamenei will not end the movement. It has strengthened it.” Kazim’s words reflect a growing wave of anger and grief within Pakistan’s Shia community following the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader amid escalating attacks by Israel and the United States, as wel...

GENEVA: The United States made a “totally stupid decision” to attack Iran while in negotiations, and betrayed Gulf nations by trashing their diplomatic efforts, Tehran’s UN ambassador in Geneva Ali Bahreini said on Tuesday. The ambassador insisted Tehran had made no approach to Washington for negotiations, saying “there hasn’t been any contact from our side”. Trump had claimed earlier that the Iranian leadership “wants to talk” and had “contacted Washington” for this purpose. Ali Bahreini said Tehran had no problem with its neighbours, but could not let US bases in the Gulf be used as launch pads for attacks on Iran. “War was not our option. War was imposed on Iran,” Bahreini told UN correspondents. Ambassador Ali Bahreini denies Trump’s claim that Tehran has reached out to Washington for talks “Nobody should expect Iran to show restraint in front of aggression. We will continue our defence until the point that this aggression is stopped,” he said. On Feb 26, Washington and Tehran held indirect negotiations i...

ISLAMABAD - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazal) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman yesterday visited the Iranian Embassy and met with Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghaddam, expressing grief over the recent martyrdom of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The process of bringing back Pakistani citizens stranded in Iran entered its third consecutive day, with another 115 individuals arriving in Pakistan through the Gabd-Rimdan border crossing.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has alleged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched actions against Iran to redirect global attention away from the ongoing situation in the Gaza Strip.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that Pakistan was ready to facilitate dialogue between the United States and Iran. “Pakistan is ready to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Tehran in Islamabad,” Dar said while speaking in the upper house of Parliament. He noted that both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had played a “very active and positive role” in diplomatic and defence-level engagements aimed at defusing tensions. He also told the Senate that Iran had agreed not to build nuclear weapons, but said the US was pressing for the complete dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear programme. In his speech, he also recalled that the dialogue process between the US and Iran was initially progressing “successfully”. He also highlighted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Austria, where he held a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, who Dar said was “optimistic that dialogue was heading in a p...

Energy prices surged on Tuesday, sending stocks tumbling and the dollar rising as investors worried about inflation and the inability of central banks to help with interest rate cuts. World oil prices soared around nine percent and European natural gas prices rocketed for a second day running as the war disrupted Middle East exports. Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, topped $85 a barrel for the first time since July 2024. The US and Israeli attacks on Iran and its retaliation across the region have upended regional energy flows, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz — through which about a fifth of global oil transits — effectively closed off. The war has also fuelled fears of a fresh energy crisis that could ramp up inflation. “The higher energy costs are fueling inflation concerns, pushing out rate cut expectations for some and increasing rate hike possibilities for others, while also raising earnings concerns that stem from higher operating costs and a potential slowdown in consumer spending,...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has reaffirmed that Pakistan stands wholeheartedly with Iran, urging that the situation not be given a wrong domestic colour and stressing continued diplomatic efforts to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

Pakistani nationals hauled suitcases across the border from Iran, describing missiles being launched and travel chaos as they scrambled to leave the country after the US and Israel launched strikes over the weekend. AFP journalists saw a steady trickle of people passing through large metal gates at the remote border crossing between Iran’s Mirjaveh and Taftan in Balochistan. Powerful explosions have rocked Iran’s capital Tehran since Saturday, with embassies from countries around the world telling their citizens to leave. “All our Pakistani brothers who were in Tehran and other cities had started to leave and were arriving at the terminal, which caused a lot of crowd pressure,” 38-year-old trader Ameer Muhammad told AFP on Monday. Cargo trucks wait to enter the Pakistan-Iran border crossing at Taftan, Balochistan province on March 2, 2026 amid ongoing US-Israel strikes on Iran. —AFP/File “Due to the crowds, there were major transport problems.” The isolated Taftan border lies around 500 kilometres from Quetta...