Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The attack on Saudi Arabia&#39;s Aramco oil facilities this morning was carried out by the Israelis and is an example of a &quot;false flag&quot; operation, Iran&rsquo;s semi-official news agency reported on Monday.&nbsp;The strike earlier in the day was deliberately designed to frame other regional actors and inflame tensions across the Gulf, Tasnim news agency said, quoting an &ldquo;informed source.&rdquo;&nbsp;He maintained that Tehran has been transparent about its response strategy.&nbsp;&ldquo;Iran has clearly announced that it will target all American and Israeli interests, installations and facilities in the region, and it has acted accordingly. However, Aramco facilities have not been among the targets of Iranian operations so far,&rdquo; the source said.&nbsp;According to the source, intelligence assessments indicate that the alleged Israeli operation aimed to portray Iran as a destabilizing force while diverting attention from Israeli actions inside Iranian territory.&nbsp;He further warned that the port of Fujairah Port in the United Arab Emirates could potentially be targeted in additional &ldquo;false flag&rdquo; attempts intended to deepen mistrust among Gulf states.&nbsp;There was no immediate comment from Israeli or Saudi officials regarding the allegations.&nbsp;Mossad agents arrested in GulfSeparately, US media personality Tucker Carlson said on his program, The Tucker Carlson Show, that authorities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia had detained alleged agents linked to Mossad who were reportedly planning bomb attacks.&nbsp;Carlson questioned the logic of Israel allegedly conducting operations in Gulf countries that are also facing tensions with Iran.&nbsp;He further suggested that Israel&rsquo;s broader strategic objective may extend beyond Iran to include exerting pressure on several Gulf states, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

The attack on Saudi Arabia Aramco oil facilities this morning was carried out by the Israelis and is an example of a "False Flag" operation, an informed source told Tasnim.

Middle East

Speaking to Tasnim, the source says the strike on Saudi Aramco earlier in the day was conducted by Israel and described it as a deliberate attempt to frame other actors and escalate tensions in the region.

Israeli agents carrying out sabotage in Gulf states: Iran, US media

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that a Zionist-orchestrated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-israel-strikes-iran-live-updates" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">war against Iran</a>&nbsp;aims to extend Israeli influence to Pakistan&rsquo;s border, threatening to surround the nuclear-armed nation with a joint hostile front. The defense minister characterized Zionism &ldquo;as a primary threat to humanity&rdquo; and the &ldquo;cause of every catastrophe in the Islamic world&rdquo; since Israel&rsquo;s establishment. He stated that Zionist ideology and the state have controlled the global economic system for a century. Khawaja Asif stated that major world powers currently remain hostage to these interests. Pakistan&rsquo;s nuclear deterrent and sovereignty The minister stated that Pakistan&rsquo;s status as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/un-nuclear-agency-to-hold-extraordinary-meeting-on-iran-monday" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">nuclear power</a>&nbsp;protects its national sovereignty. He credited the courage of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for conducting nuclear tests and praised the worldwide recognition of the nation&#39;s armed forces. Khawaja Asif said the country remains indebted to its &ldquo;martyrs and ghazis&rdquo; for protecting its security. Threats of regional encirclement The defense minister stated that a war is being imposed on Iran despite its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-lawmakers-say-no-evidence-iran-had-planned-first-strike-on-us" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">readiness for agreements</a>. He said the agenda seeks to create a &quot;single point&quot; of enmity involving Afghanistan, Iran, and India. This alignment would make Pakistani borders insecure and turn the nation into a &quot;vassal state.&quot; &ldquo;Despite Iran&#39;s readiness for agreement, a war has been imposed upon them, and its agenda, orchestrated by the Zionists, includes bringing Israel&#39;s influence right up to Pakistan&#39;s border. The joint single point agenda of Afghanistan, Iran, and India will then be enmity towards Pakistan, making our borders insecure, surrounding us with enemies from all sides, and turning Pakistan into a vassal state,&rdquo; he said. Call for national unity The defense minister urged all 250 million Pakistanis to look past political and religious affiliations to understand these intentions. He called for unity across the Muslim world to recognize its &ldquo;eternal enemies.&rdquo; Khawaja Asif concluded with prayers for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/arab-countries-condemn-us-ambassadors-remarks-on-israels-right-to-mideast-land" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">freedom of Palestine</a> and the continued strength of Pakistan.

Defense Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Muhammad Asif. (Associated Press of Pakistan)

Security

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says Israel is creating a hostile front to surround and destabilize the nuclear-armed nation.

War on Iran aims to bring Israeli influence to Pakistan border: Defense Minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has said security forces repulsed multiple attempted cross-border attacks by Afghan Taliban terrorists overnight under Operation &ldquo;Ghazb lil Haq,&rdquo; reporting significant militant casualties in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). In a &ldquo;Special Update&rdquo; posted on X at 1000 hours on 3 March, Tarar stated that in northern Balochistan, Afghan Taliban fighters launched physical attacks at 16 locations across Qilla Saifullah, Noshki and Chaman districts, while also engaging Pakistani troops through fire raids at 25 locations. He said the attacks were &ldquo;effectively repulsed,&rdquo; claiming 27 Afghan Taliban were killed and &ldquo;scores&rdquo; were injured in the exchanges. Tarar added that one soldier of FC Balochistan (North) embraced martyrdom while defending the country, and that five soldiers were injured during the clashes. Providing a separate operational picture for KP, the information minister said an attempted physical attack at one location and fire raids at 12 locations were all repelled without any loss of life on the Pakistani side. He further claimed that 40 Afghan Taliban were killed in &ldquo;overnight operations&rdquo; in KP, and that follow-up operations are continuing. Moreover, the minister said a detailed operational update would be provided later in the afternoon, indicating that security forces remain engaged in ongoing clearance and pursuit actions.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says Afghan Taliban attacks repulsed in Balochistan and KP, claims 67 terrorists killed; one FC soldier martyred, five injured.

67 Afghan Taliban killed, one FC soldier martyred in cross-border attacks: Pakistan Information Minister

LONDON: US President Donald Trump said the historical relationship between his country and Britain was &quot;not like it used to be&quot;, in an interview to British daily newspaper The Sun, amid a major transatlantic fall out over US-Israeli strikes against Iran. &quot;This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,&quot; he said, singling out France and Germany, after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer&#39;s initial refusal to allow the United States to use British military bases in its war with Iran. Trump said Starmer &quot;has not been helpful&quot;, adding: &quot;I never thought I&#39;d see that. I never thought I&#39;d see that from the UK. We love the UK.&quot; In a telephone interview from the White House on Monday evening, Trump said: &ldquo;This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in &nbsp;Europe.&rdquo; &quot;It&#39;s a different world, actually. It&#39;s just a much different kind of relationship that we&rsquo;ve had with your country before. &quot;It&rsquo;s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,&quot; he added. The scathing comments come a day after Trump described Starmer&#39;s reaction as &quot;very disappointing&rdquo; in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. He added that Starmer&rsquo;s later decision to allow the use of UK bases on specific grounds as &quot;useful&quot; but said it &quot;took far too much time&quot;. Any potential military action in the Middle East is politically sensitive in the UK following former prime minister Tony Blair&#39;s disastrous support for the US-led invasion of Iraq. &#39;National interest&#39;&nbsp; Starmer defended his position to parliament on Monday. &quot;President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain&#39;s national interest,&quot; he told lawmakers. &quot;That is what I have done and I stand by it,&quot; he added. After initially refusing to have any role in the strikes, Starmer on Sunday announced that he had agreed to a US request to use British military bases for a &quot;specific and limited defensive purpose&quot;. His Downing Street office said Starmer took the decision after Iran fired missiles over the weekend that put British interests and people &quot;at risk&quot;. &quot;We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learnt those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable thought-through plan,&quot; he added in parliament. The prime minister also said that British military bases in Cyprus &quot;are not being used by US bombers&quot; during the US-Israeli war with Iran. Britain&#39;s Akrotiri air force base on Cyprus came under attack by an unmanned Iranian drone that hit the base&#39;s runway early on Monday. Starmer said the strike &quot;was not in response to any decision that we have taken,&quot; adding that the British government believed the drone &quot;was launched prior to our announcement&quot;. Iran&#39;s approach is becoming &quot;more reckless and more dangerous&quot;, Starmer said. &quot;They are working ruthlessly and deliberately through a plan to strike, not only military targets, but also economic targets in the region, with no regard for civilian casualties. That is the situation we face today and to which we must respond,&quot; he added.

United Kingdom

Americas

Trump told The Sun the US-UK relationship is “not like it used to be,” criticizing PM Keir Starmer for denying Cyprus base access in the Iran war, while praising ties with France and Germany.

Trump says US-UK relationship 'not like it used to be'

NEW YORK: First Lady Melania Trump presided over a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, calling for cause of children affected by conflict as fighting continued in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Ambassadors from all of the Security Council&#39;s members, including Washington&#39;s rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump. Representing the United States as it assumed the monthly Security Council&rsquo;s rotating presidency.&nbsp; She opened the session with a ceremonial strike of the gavel, thanking the United Kingdom for its previous month-long presidency, and spoke again later apparently to honor US service members killed in the war on Iran. &ldquo;The US stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours,&rdquo; she said, without directly referencing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.Later, she paid tribute to American service members killed in the war on Iran. &ldquo;To the families who have lost their heroes who sacrifice their lives for freedom, their bravery and dedication will always be remembered,&rdquo; she told the packed chamber. She added that &ldquo;enduring peace will be achieved when knowledge and understanding are fully valued within all our societies.&rdquo; Ambassadors from all 15 Council members, including rivals Russia and China, attended the meeting and greeted the First Lady. Greece&rsquo;s ambassador Aglaia Balta addressed her as &ldquo;Madam President,&rdquo; while France&rsquo;s envoy drew comparisons to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a noted human rights advocate. Even Russia offered polite praise, steering clear of direct mention of Iran. Bahrain, a close US ally, was the only Council member to explicitly reference the conflict. However, criticism emerged from Iran. Its UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, called it &ldquo;deeply shameful and hypocritical that on the very first day of its presidency of the Security Council, the United States convened a high-level meeting on protecting children.&quot;&nbsp; Moments later the First Lady said &quot;the US stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours&quot; &nbsp;without referring directly to the attacks across the Middle East. She was warmly received by the countries represented in the Council however, with Greece&#39;s ambassador Aglaia Balta saying &quot;thank you madam president,&quot; while France&#39;s envoy compared her to the celebrated former first lady and activist Eleanor Roosevelt.&nbsp; Even Russia joined the chorus of polite praise, avoiding any mention of Iran, which was mentioned only by Council member and Washington&#39;s staunch ally Bahrain. &quot;I wish you all strength and resolve to succeed in preserving peace and security throughout the world,&quot; Trump said as she closed the two-hour meeting.&nbsp; &nbsp;Financial, political tensions&nbsp;Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, confirmed that Trump&#39;s appearance was the first time a first lady or first gentleman had presided a Security Council meeting. The United States holds the Council&#39;s rotating presidency for March. President Donald Trump&#39;s third wife has dabbled in diplomacy before, notably to try to secure the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.&nbsp; Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, paid tribute to her &quot;for her work to give visibility to the issue of children in conflict, and particularly for her personal engagement to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.&quot; Political and financial tensions have mounted between the United States and the United Nations in recent years, with Washington chafing at its role as the main contributor to the body&#39;s cash-strapped budget.&nbsp; Many observers say the US president intends to bypass the Security Council with his new &quot;Board of Peace,&quot; which held its inaugural session in Washington last month, with several countries pledging funds and personnel to rebuild Gaza. At the meeting, Trump repeated his stance that the UN had failed in its mission. Since returning to the White House last year, he has withdrawn support from several major UN agencies, including the World Health Organization. The world body has recently launched a reform program, and a few days ago Washington paid $160 million into the organization&#39;s regular budget after paying nothing in 2025.&nbsp; But the United States is still $4 billion in arrears to the UN for its regular budget and its peacekeeping budget, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning of imminent financial collapse.&nbsp;

US First Lady Melania Trump chairs a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York on March 2, 2026.

Ambassadors from all of the Security Council's members, including Washington's rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump. Representing the United States as it assumed the monthly Security Council’s rotating presidency. 

Melania Trump leads UN Security Council as Iran war rages

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for dozens of locations in Lebanon on Tuesday, including a warning for residents in two southern Beirut neighbourhoods to stay away from several buildings ahead of imminent military action. &quot;Urgent warning to the residents of Lebanon, specifically in the villages which names are shown. For your safety you must evacuate your homes immediately,&quot; said a statement by the military&#39;s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee on Telegram, which listed 50 locations. Many of the locations were across the south of Lebanon, which Israel regularly targets with the aim of hitting Hezbollah infrastructure. &quot;You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will operate in the near future,&quot; he told the residents of southern Beirut neighbourhoods Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik in another evacuation warning. Lebanon&#39;s government on Monday took the unprecedented step of banning Hezbollah&#39;s military and security activity, prompting the Iran-backed group to lash out at the decision. Hezbollah is represented in both the government and parliament, and the move came hours after it announced it had launched rockets and drones towards Israel early Monday to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks. Israel bombarded Beirut&#39;s southern suburbs and dozens of villages in south Lebanon on Monday in response, vowing to make the group pay a &quot;heavy price&quot;. The Lebanese health ministry said the strikes killed at least 31 people and wounded at least 149.

Israeli army ordered new evacuation orders for multiple locations across Lebanon

Israel army issues new evacuation warnings in Lebanon 

BAGHDAD: Prizewinning Iraqi women&#39;s rights activist Yanar Mohammed was shot dead on Monday in Baghdad, her organization said. &quot;At 09:00 am (0600 GMT), two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on her outside her residence,&quot; the Organization of Women&#39;s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) announced. Mohammed was seriously injured, &quot;and despite being taken to the hospital and efforts to save her, she succumbed to her wounds&quot;. OWFI urged the authorities to track down the perpetrators. Mohammed co-founded OWFI in 2003 to provide protection to women victims of violence. In 2016, she was awarded Norway&#39;s Rafto Prize for human rights for her efforts to help minorities and women subjected to sexual abuse in Iraq. The Rafto Foundation said it was &quot;deeply shocked by this brutal attack on one of the most courageous human rights defenders of our time&quot;. &quot;The assassination represents not only an attack on Yanar Mohammed as a person, but also on the fundamental values she dedicated her life to defending: women&#39;s freedom, democracy, and universal human rights,&quot; the foundation added. Killings, attempted murders and abductions have targeted many activists in Iraq, including prominent academic Hisham al-Hashemi, who was shot near his home in July 2020.

Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq urges authorities to track down the perpetrators; Rafto Foundation said it was "deeply shocked by this brutal attack on one of the most courageous human rights defenders of our time."

Iraqi women's rights activist shot dead in Baghdad

JERUSALEM: Israel said it would reopen a crossing into Gaza on Tuesday to allow for the &quot;gradual entry of humanitarian aid&quot; into the territory. The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed on Saturday when Israel and the United States began striking Iran, which sparked reprisals from Tehran. The decision to reopen it was made &quot;in accordance with a security assessment,&quot; said COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. The Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing sits at the intersection between the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt. Israel on Saturday announced the closure of all crossing points into Gaza as a &quot;security&quot; measure, including Rafah on the border between the Palestinian territory and Egypt. The Rafah crossing, the only gateway for Gazans to the outside world that does not pass through Israel, had reopened for the movement of people on February 2, nearly two years after Israeli forces seized control of it during the war with Hamas. US President Donald Trump warned Monday that his attack on Iran could extend longer than a month, as the war spread with Israel bombarding Lebanon while Tehran targeted Israel and Gulf countries that host US bases.

US President Trump warns his attack on Iran can extend longer than a month, as the war spreads with Israel bombarding Lebanon while Tehran targets Israel and Gulf countries that host US bases.



Israel says will reopen a Gaza aid crossing today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday reiterated the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;call for de-escalation, restraint and diplomacy to restore peace and stability in the region&rdquo; as tension in the Middle East rose.&nbsp; The conflict between the US and Iran, which entered its third day, started after the North American country pre-emptively struck Tehran <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">after learning that its ally Israel was going to strike the country. While briefing the resident heads of diplomatic missions in Islamabad on recent developments in the region, the foreign minister expressed condolences over the martyrdom of Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader,&nbsp;Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who passed away in targeted US-Israeli strikes over the weekend. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that it was Israel that carried out the strike that killed Iran&#39;s supreme leader. The foreign minister also highlighted &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s sustained restraint and positive engagement with Afghan Taliban regime during the past four years,&rdquo; the foreign office said in a post on X.&nbsp; However, the FM Dar said that the Afghan government failed to &ldquo;address Pakistan&rsquo;s legitimate security concerns.&rdquo; He added that Pakistan&rsquo;s retaliatory attack against the Taliban began after the Afghan forces carried out an &ldquo;unprovoked coordinated armed attack&rdquo; along the border, compelling Pakistan to &ldquo;undertake measured and precise kinetic actions&rdquo; to counter the situation. Under the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and FM Dar, Pakistan has also started evacuating residents from Iran amid escalating security concerns in the region. In a development, 33 Pakistani nationals were safely evacuated from Iran via Astara, bringing the total facilitated so far to 64. 31 citizens were relocated to Azerbaijan early on Monday.&nbsp; According to Pakistan&rsquo;s embassy in Azerbaijan, 42 people evacuated were repatriated to Lahore; meanwhile, arrangements were being made for the remaining citizens in Azerbaijan. The embassy also advised nationals from Iran to prepare for &ldquo;cold and near-freezing night temperatures.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Please ensure warm layered clothing, caps, gloves, and extra care for children and elderly,&rdquo; it said in a post on X, adding that the embassy teams were on the ground to facilitate transit. An emergency helpline number has also been set up for the embassy in Baku: +994102552936. PM talks to Kuwait, SyriaSeparately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Kuwait&rsquo;s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to discuss the dangerous regional escalation and offer condolences over the attacks.&nbsp; While speaking to Kuwait&rsquo;s crown prince, the prime minister conveyed his condolences over the loss of lives, reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s full solidarity with the people of Kuwait during this time.&nbsp; &ldquo;We agreed on the urgent need for restraint, de-escalation, and a return to diplomacy amid heightened tensions aggravated by Israel&#39;s attack on Iran and Iran&#39;s retaliatory strikes against various brotherly Gulf nations, including Kuwait,&rdquo; PM Shehbaz said in a post on X. In a separate conversation with the Syrian president, PM Sharif &ldquo;emphasized the urgent need for restraint, de-escalation and dialogue to preserve peace and stability.&rdquo; &ldquo;Pakistan remains committed to working with brotherly countries to promote peace and strengthen our longstanding ties,&rdquo; the prime minister said.

Foreign Affairs

Prime Minister Sharif speaks with Kuwait’s crown prince, Syrian president to discuss the dangerous regional escalation, offer condolences over the attacks. 

Pakistan calls for ‘de-escalation, restraint, diplomacy’ to restore peace in region

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: nowrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">&Icirc;LE LONGUE: President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France will expand its atomic arsenal and could deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries for the first time, as he unveiled a plan to bolster security on the continent. Speaking from the Ile Longue nuclear submarine base as the clock ticks on his presidency, Macron announced that eight European countries including Germany, Poland, Sweden and Britain had agreed to participate in what he called a &quot;forward&quot; nuclear deterrence scheme. In a joint statement following Macron&#39;s speech, France and Germany said they had set up a &quot;nuclear steering group&quot;, saying such an arrangement would &quot;add to, not substitute for, NATO&#39;s nuclear deterrence&quot;. &quot;We are currently experiencing a period of geopolitical upheaval fraught with risks,&quot; Macron said, speaking after the launch of US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilising the Middle East. &quot;We must strengthen our nuclear deterrent in the face of multiple threats, and we must consider our deterrence strategy deep within the European continent, with full respect for our sovereignty.&quot; Macron said eight European countries had agreed to join his plan to use France&#39;s nuclear stockpile to bolster security on the continent. The countries&mdash;including the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, and Denmark&mdash;will be able to temporarily host French &quot;strategic air forces,&quot; which will be able to &quot;spread out across the European continent&quot; to &quot;complicate the calculations of our adversaries,&quot; he said. The scheme could also involve &quot;the conventional participation of allied forces in our nuclear activities&quot;, such as recent military exercises in which British forces have been involved, Macron added. He stressed that France would maintain tight control over nuclear decision-making. In the joint statement, France and Germany said they had agreed to take &quot;first concrete steps beginning this year,&quot; including German conventional participation in French nuclear exercises. &#39;Arming up with our friends&#39;Macron updated France&#39;s nuclear doctrine as Russia&#39;s war against Ukraine grinds into a fifth year and NATO allies worry about Washington&#39;s wavering commitment to Europe. Reassurances from US officials that the American deterrent would continue to cover Europe under the NATO alliance have done little to quell European fears&nbsp;of fickleness under US President Donald Trump. Macron stressed the new effort would be &quot;in addition to NATO&#39;s nuclear mission.&quot; &quot;The forward deterrence we are proposing is a separate effort, which has its own value and is fully complementary to NATO&#39;s, both strategically and technically,&quot; he said. He also said he ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads but added France would no longer be disclosing any details on its stockpile. Macron listed the measures as France&#39;s allies fret that a possible win by the eurosceptic far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen in next year&#39;s presidential election could undermine European cooperation. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland was in talks with France and other European allies on further steps. &quot;We are arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us,&quot; he said on X. Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson also said his country viewed Macron&#39;s initiative &quot;positively.&quot; &quot;Naturally, we would most like to see a world completely free of nuclear weapons,&quot; he said. &quot;But as long as Russia has these weapons and threatens its neighbors, democracies must be able to deter attacks and safeguard our own security and freedom.&quot; Electoral politicsFrance maintains the world&#39;s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, with around 290 warheads.&nbsp;Britain, which is no longer a member of the EU, is the only other European nuclear power. By contrast, the US and Russia, the world&#39;s two main atomic powers, each have thousands of nuclear warheads. Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, warned that a far-right electoral victory next year &quot;could walk back many or even most of these steps.&quot; &quot;Macron emphasized that France would not share decision-making authority and that it would not conduct joint planning of nuclear operations with European partners&mdash;suspicions that the French fringes harbor as undermining French sovereignty,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;Still, electoral politics can have a great impact on the credibility of nuclear deterrence as perceived by allies and adversaries&mdash;as developments since Trump&#39;s re-election demonstrate.&quot;

Europe

President Emmanuel Macron said France will expand its atomic arsenal and could deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries for the first time, as he unveiled a plan to bolster security on the continent

Israeli agents carrying out sabotage in Gulf states: Iran, US media

Related Articles

OPEC+ backs market stability as Iran rules out Hormuz closure

Pakistan PM condemns attacks on Iran, urges peace across Middle East

Latest News

War on Iran aims to bring Israeli influence to Pakistan border: Defense Minister

67 Afghan Taliban killed, one FC soldier martyred in cross-border attacks: Pakistan Information Minister

Trump says US-UK relationship 'not like it used to be'

Israeli agents carrying out sabotage in Gulf states: Iran, US media

Melania Trump leads UN Security Council as Iran war rages