Middle East

Paris swiftly dismissed the Iranian official's comments, which were reported by state media, and has warned that there will be consequences over the incident.

At least nine journalists have been killed in Syria in the last five years, most since the fall of the Assad regime, and others have been detained or disappeared.

The IRGC claimed to have destroyed US MQ-9 Reaper drones, damaged an F-15 fighter jet hangar, "severely damaged" two military helicopters, and "killed and wounded" several soldiers.

Marco Rubio spoke at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila, saying that if Iran does not take diplomacy seriously, the US will "do what's necessary" to protect its interests.

"Emirati-Saudi relations are an extension of a shared history and deep-rooted fraternal ties between two brotherly peoples, united by a single destiny," Alhamed wrote.

Oil tankers turn around, avoid Red Sea following warnings by Yemen's Houthis • Israel, Lebanon delegations to meet in Rome on August 4 for new negotiations round

The Trump administration submitted a Saudi nuclear pact to Congress within days, despite concerns over missing safeguards, Reuters reported.

"The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the US Central Command said in a statement on X.

US flights were suspended in 1985 after the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 from Athens, Greece, en route to Rome, Italy, that was forced to land in Beirut.

The decision, which follows a similar policy established by Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer, qualifies the strikes as "defensive" rather than an active war, Bloomberg reported.