Israeli military says it will continue operations in line with Israeli government directives until told otherwise
The Israeli military said it had launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran, after Donald Trump signalled a pause in US attacks against energy infrastructure after what he said were productive talks with Iran.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it would continue operations in line with Israeli government directives until told otherwise.
Continue reading...British PM to chair Monday meeting including chancellor and Bank of England head on fallout from Iran war; International Energy Agency chief says it will release more stockpiled oil ‘if necessary’
British prime minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting on the economic fallout from the war in Iran on Monday, with chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey also attending, the UK government has said.
Financial markets face another turbulent week after Iran said it would strike its Gulf neighbours’ energy and water systems if Donald Trump followed through on his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t fully open up the crucial strait of Hormuz.
Topics expected to be covered are the economic impact of the crisis on families and businesses, energy security and the resilience of industry and supply chains alongside the international response.
Continue reading...Trump and border czar Tom Homan confirm plan to assist TSA agents amid partial government shutdown standoff
Donald Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, have confirmed that the president’s administration is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to US airports beginning on Monday to assist with security amid extremely long lines – and to help airport security agents who have been working without pay since 14 February because of a partial government shutdown.
Homan will lead the effort, Trump said on Sunday.
Continue reading...US president’s backing comes as Hungary’s PM faces toughest election campaign of 16 years in office
Donald Trump has endorsed Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who faces his toughest electoral challenge next month since taking power 16 years ago, as Europe’s far-right leaders gather for a “grand assembly” in Budapest.
In a video message, the US president told the national-conservative Cpac Hungary conference in the capital on Saturday that Orbàn, who has been trailing in the polls behind a centre-right rival for more than a year, was a “fantastic guy”.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s ‘little excursion’ is likely to have long-term effects, from oil prices to inflation to growth, say experts
In the days after the US and Israel first bombed Iran, financial markets bet the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East would be short-lived.
“There are risks from higher oil prices longer term. But this is a tail risk,” one US-based fund manger said after the airstrike killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “History has shown time and time again that geopolitical flare-ups like this tend to be short-lived. This one should prove to be no exception.’’
Continue reading...Outrage mounts after president posted on Truth Social he was ‘glad’ former FBI director and special counsel had died
Donald Trump has been condemned as a “vile, disgusting man” and a “sick human being” after gloating over the death of Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Mueller, a decorated Vietnam war veteran who led a politically explosive investigation into Trump, died on Friday aged 81, triggering a callous reaction from the US president.
Continue reading...President attacks ‘Radical Left Democrats’ after homeland security funding bill again sinks in Senate
Donald Trump threatened on Saturday to deploy federal immigration agents to US airports on Monday if Democrats do not agree to measures aimed at strengthening security and immigration enforcement.
“If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Continue reading...Move to allow shipments already at sea comes amid a supply crisis and after US president says he does not ‘want to do a ceasefire’; IDF says it is attacking regime targets in Tehran after missiles fired at Israel from Iran
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy.
President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran, as the US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis.
Iran is willing to help Japanese ships sail a vital route for global fuel supplies, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News in an interview published on Saturday. Japan depends on crude oil imports from the Middle East, most of which transits the strait of Hormuz.
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported, citing multiple US officials. The WSJ said one of the missiles failed in flight, and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. Neither outlet confirmed when Iran launched the missiles.
One person was killed and two others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in a town in southern Lebanon early on Saturday, state media said.
Trump continued to make his disappointment with the British government known, saying the UK “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing the US military to use its bases in the Middle East.
Earlier, Downing Street approved US use of its bases “for the collective self-defence of the region”, including “defensive operations” degrading Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the strait of Hormuz. Britain had previously only allowed US forces to use its bases for operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.
Araghchi said UK prime minister Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”.
Continue reading...US president claims he ‘always says yes’ to Australia, Japan and South Korea, after saying he didn’t need help from trio of countries earlier this week
Donald Trump says he is “very surprised” Australia has not sent warships to aid in opening the strait of Hormuz as the blockade of the key strategic route for global oil supply continues to affect fuel prices.
“I was very surprised,” the US president said in Washington on Friday when asked what he took issue with regarding Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Continue reading...US president says he told Netanyahu ‘don’t do that’ as he distances himself from attack that has angered Gulf allies
The US-Israeli war against Iran has exposed further divisions between the two countries after an Israeli strike on Iran’s largest gasfield angered US allies in the Gulf and prompted Donald Trump to say he knew nothing in advance about the attack – a claim that Israeli officials disputed.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he had spoken to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu following the strikes on Iran’s South Pars gasfield – part of a reserve shared with Qatar – and had told the Israeli prime minister to refrain from further attacks that could escalate a regional war on energy infrastructure.
Continue reading...US president was meeting with Japanese PM when he said: ‘Who knows better about surprise than Japan?’
It would be funny if it wasn’t so Trumpy.
Hosting the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump could not resist mocking Japan about its 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor during the second world war.
Continue reading...Nigel Farage echoed Nick Timothy’s comments after he said public prayer for Ramadan was an ‘act of domination’
Cleverly is trying to show a video, but it is not working. So he just invites Kemi Badenoch to start her speech.
The Conservatives are launching their local elections campaign. There is a live feed here.
Continue reading...Amid Trump threats, Copenhagen also sent over explosives intended to blow up runways, according to Danish media
Denmark reportedly readied itself for potential attack from the US in January – flying bags of blood to Greenland and explosives to blow up runways in case of a battle with its former closest ally.
During the tense days when Donald Trump threatened to take over Greenland – a largely autonomous territory that is part of the Danish commonwealth – “the hard way”, Copenhagen was so shaken that it started preparing for US invasion, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.
Continue reading...Republicans block resolution to take up the measure, which Democrats vow to bring up ‘again and again and again’
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a measure that aimed to rein in Donald Trump’s power to wage war against Iran without congressional authorization.
The 53-47 vote against taking up the measure fell almost completely along party lines, with no movement from earlier this month when Republicans blocked Democrats’ bid to limit Trump’s war-making power in the days after the joint US-Israeli strikes, known as Operation Epic Fury, began across Iran.
Continue reading...Beijing seeks to decipher effect of Iran war on US midterms and best way to apply pressure when Trump meets Xi
The White House said on Wednesday that China had agreed to postpone Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, as war in the Middle East rages on, complicating the US president’s position at home and abroad.
China has not yet commented on the delay to the highly anticipated trip, in which Trump and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will meet in person for the first time since October. Trump previously said he hoped to delay the trip, originally scheduled to run from 31 March to 2 April, for “five or six weeks”.
Continue reading...National power outage is making life extremely difficult and may force Havana into biggest economic changes in 67 years
Just a few hours after a nationwide electricity blackout struck Cuba, Donald Trump hinted at an even darker future for the island’s rulers.
The country’s entire electricity system had collapsed on Monday afternoon, leaving about 10 million people without power. Emergency teams were still struggling to restore it when the US leader made his latest threat.
Continue reading...Amid escalation of Middle East crisis, US president describes rejection of call for help as a ‘foolish mistake’
Donald Trump has said the United States does not need Nato after being rebuffed by a number of the organisation’s member countries over his appeal for a multi-national naval force to reopen the key strait of Hormuz trade route closed by Iran.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, the US president described the rejection of his calls as a “very foolish mistake”, adding without evidence: “Everyone agrees with us, but they don’t want to help. And we, you know, we as the United States have to remember that because we think it’s pretty shocking.”
Continue reading...Pair attempt to strike united front amid reports vice-president skeptical over US-Israeli attack on Iran
Donald Trump revealed that he had asked China to delay his forthcoming visit to Beijing while the war with Iran was continuing, as he attempted to strike a united front on Monday with his vice-president JD Vance, who is believed to have been skeptical over attacking Tehran’s regime.
Appearing together with Vance for the first time in two weeks, Trump said he did not think the conflict – which started on 28 February after the US and Israel opened hostilities – would be over this week but predicted victory would be achieved soon.
Continue reading...US president had earlier hinted trip could be put on hold if President Xi does not help unblock the strait of Hormuz
Trump has asked to delay his planned visit to Beijing by about a month due to the Iran war, after earlier hinting he might put the trip off if his prospective hosts do not help to unblock the strait of Hormuz.
The US president’s summit with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, was meant to take place at the end of March but Trump told reporters in the White House on Monday: “Because of the war I want to be here, I have to be here, I feel. And so we’ve requested that we delay it a month or so.”
Continue reading...Details from US Central Command come as 13 US service members and more than 1,300 Iranians have been killed
At least 200 US troops have been injured in the US-Israeli war on Iran, a US military spokesperson said on Monday.
“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 200 US service members have been wounded,” US Central Command spokesperson Cpt Tim Hawkins told the Guardian via email.
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