WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the war on Iran had achieved more than half its aims, without putting a timeline on when it would end. &quot;It&#39;s definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don&#39;t want to put a schedule on it,&quot; Netanyahu told the conservative US broadcaster Newsmax. He added that he meant the war was more than halfway &quot;in terms of missions, not necessarily in terms of time.&quot; President Donald Trump, who launched the war with Netanyahu on February 28, initially said the operation would last for four to six weeks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the war would last &quot;weeks&quot; further instead of months, amid wide US public opposition to a conflict that has sent oil prices soaring. Netanyahu said the war had achieved goals including killing &quot;thousands&quot; of members of Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards. Israel and the United States are also &quot;close to finishing their arms industry,&quot; he added. &quot;Just the whole industrial base -- wiping out all, you know, just plants, entire plants, and the nuclear program itself,&quot; he said. Netanyahu and Trump have repeatedly alleged that Iran was close to building a nuclear weapon, a claim not supported by the UN nuclear watchdog and that comes despite Trump saying he &quot;obliterated&quot; key sites in attacks last year. Netanyahu also voiced confidence that Iran&#39;s Islamic republic would fall, though he said again that this was not the goal. &quot;I think this regime will collapse internally. But at the moment, right now, what we&#39;re doing is just degrading their military capacity, degrading their missile capacity, degrading their nuclear capacity and also weakening them from the inside,&quot; Netanyahu said. The war came weeks after Iranian authorities clamped down on major anti-government demonstrations, killing thousands of people. Trump in recent days has said the war has effectively achieved &quot;regime change&quot; by empowering other figures within the cleric-run state who Trump says may be more accommodating.

Middle East

Says the war on Iran has achieved more than half its military aims, including major damage to Iran’s forces and arms industry, while US officials say fighting could continue for weeks despite growing public opposition.

Netanyahu says Iran war goals achieved 'beyond halfway point'

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The Pentagon on Saturday released the identities of six US crew members killed during the crash of a refueling aircraft in western Iraq earlier this week, which authorities said was not caused by &quot;hostile fire.&quot; The KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, bringing the number of US troops killed in operations against Iran to at least 13. A second aircraft involved in the operation landed safely. The Pentagon said the six members killed in the crash were: John Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama; Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio. The first three were members of the US Air Force, while the latter three were stationed with the US Air National Guard. The crash remains under investigation, Pentagon officials said, but US Central Command previously stated that &quot;the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.&quot; The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a loose alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi factions, claimed to have downed a KC-135. They also said they had targeted another plane that escaped. Since the start of the Middle East war, the alliance has been claiming daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region. The KC-135 crash is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait. KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three -- a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force. But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said. Early in the war&mdash;which began on February 28&mdash;Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject, according to CENTCOM. That incident occurred during combat, including &quot;attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones,&quot; the military command said at the time.

Americas

The Pentagon release the identities of six US crew members killed during the crash of a refueling aircraft in western Iraq earlier this week, which authorities said was not caused by "hostile fire."

US military identifies 6 soldiers killed in Iraq plane crash

FAIRFORD: The United States has started using British bases for certain operations against Iran during the Middle East war, the UK government announced on Saturday. Britain&#39;s defense ministry said the US had begun using the military sites for &quot;specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region.&quot; UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer annoyed US President Donald Trump for initially refusing to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which started a week ago, on February 28. He later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a &quot;specific and limited defensive purpose.&quot; Those bases are Fairford in Gloucestershire, southwestern England, and the UK-US Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. A US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber landed at Fairford on Saturday, an AFP photographer saw. An American C-5 Galaxy plane could also be seen on the runway of the base, as anti-war protesters demonstrated outside. Trump had said he was &quot;not happy with the UK.&quot; He mocked Starmer, saying, &quot;This is not Winston Churchill that we&#39;re dealing with.&quot; London protestStarmer, a former human rights lawyer, has defended his initial decision by saying any UK action &quot;must always have a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan.&quot; He has also insisted that he was right to change that position because Iran&#39;s retaliation with missiles and drones to the US-Israeli strikes have threatened British interests and allies in the region. Lawmakers in Starmer&#39;s ruling Labour party remain haunted by former prime minister Tony Blair&#39;s disastrous support for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A Survation poll of 1,045 Britons published on Friday found that 56 percent of respondents believed Starmer was right not to involve Britain in the initial strikes. Only 27 percent said he was wrong. Several thousand people, many waving Iranian flags, marched through central London to the US embassy on Saturday to protest against the war. Some demonstrators waved placards with slogans including &quot;Stop Trump&#39;s Wars&quot; and &quot;Stop Arming Israel.&quot; UK media speculated that HMS Prince of Wales, one of Britain&#39;s two aircraft carriers, could be deployed to the Mediterranean after the government said it was quickening its preparedness. No decision has yet been taken, said the reports. &quot;HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness, and we are increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment,&quot; a defense ministry spokesperson said.

United States started using British bases for certain operations against Iran during the Middle East war; Britain's defense ministry says US begun using military sites for "specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region"

US starts using UK bases for 'defensive' Iran operations

WASHINGTON: Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday said the US navy was preparing to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz &quot;as soon as it&#39;s reasonable to do it,&quot; as traffic through the key trade route remains choked due to the US-Israel war on Iran.&nbsp;&quot;As soon as it&#39;s reasonable to do it, we&#39;ll escort ships through the straits and get the energy moving again,&quot; he told US broadcaster Fox News&#39;s &quot;Fox and Friends&quot; show.&nbsp;US President Donald Trump had said on Tuesday that the US Navy would &quot;begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible&quot; in a bid to avoid disruption of global oil supplies.

Asia

US plans to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz soon, after disruptions caused by the Israel–Iran conflict, with US president Donald Trump supporting tanker protection to maintain global oil supplies.

US says to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz 'soon'

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan passed on to Iran Saudi assurances that their territory would not be used for attacks against it. This resulted in minimal or no attacks by Iran on Saudi Arabia and Oman during the recent escalation, said Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday.&nbsp;Addressing a media briefing at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, the foreign minister said that Pakistan remains engaged in &quot;shuttle communication&quot; to de-escalate the recent situation in the Middle East.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dar said he spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, and mentioned the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed in September 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;Based on the agreement, Dar said that he sought assurances from the Saudis and passed them on to the Iranian side, reiterating that Saudi territory would not be used for attacks against Iran. Because of these assurances, he said, there have been minimal or no Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia and Oman during the recent escalation.&nbsp;In the session, the foreign minister said that he has been in contact with foreign ministers of Turkey, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Palestine, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain, as well as representatives from the European Union, to promote diplomacy and dialogue.&nbsp;Regarding Afghanistan, Dar said that Pakistan continues to pursue regional connectivity, specifically a rail project connecting Uzbekistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan.&nbsp;He expressed disappointment that the current Afghan regime has failed to prevent its soil from being used by terrorist groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).&nbsp;Addressing concerns about stranded Pakistanis in Iran and the Gulf region amid the fluid security situation, Foreign Minister Dar noted that, with the exception of Oman and Saudi Arabia, most airspace in the region is currently closed.&nbsp;To assist stuck citizens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated its Crisis Management Unit, which is operational 24/7.&nbsp;&nbsp;The minister said that 792 Pakistanis have already returned from Iran through various border points: 694 via Taftan, 59 via Ramdan, and 39 via Astara. Additionally, 46 students returned through Taftan and 62 through Ramdan, he added.&nbsp;Because the northern part of Iran is closer to Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan government is providing &quot;Visa on Arrival&quot; and logistical support to Pakistanis, he added. So far, 64 Pakistanis have reached Azerbaijan from Iran; 42 have arrived in Lahore via Azal Airlines&nbsp;&lsquo;Unwarranted&rsquo;Earlier, Foreign Minister Dar sharply condemned the recent attack on Iran and the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for an immediate halt to regional escalation through diplomacy.&nbsp;Addressing the Senate, Dar described the Feb. 28 strike against Iran as &quot;unwarranted&quot; and expressed deep concern over the violation of international law, noting the &quot;age-old convention&quot; that heads of state should not be targeted.&nbsp;&quot;The government and the people of Pakistan join the people of Iran in their hour of grief and sorrow,&quot; Dar said, following a formal statement of condolence from the prime minister.&nbsp;The deputy prime minister revealed that, prior to the escalation, Pakistan had been actively mediating between the United States and Iran, alongside Oman.&nbsp;&nbsp;He noted that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had expressed optimism about the &quot;positive direction&quot; of the talks during a recent meeting in Austria.&nbsp;Dar told the Senate that Pakistan has consistently advocated for Iran&#39;s right to the &quot;peaceful use of nuclear energy.&quot; He disclosed that Pakistan had argued against the total destruction of Iran&#39;s nuclear infrastructure, supporting the 3.67% enrichment level previously accepted under the JCPOA, provided it remained under international surveillance.&nbsp;According to Dar, both Washington and Tehran had previously expressed willingness to use Islamabad as a venue for mediation.

Security

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan passed on to Iran Saudi assurances that its territory would not be used for attacks against it, resulting in minimal or no attacks by Iran on Saudi Arabia and Oman during the recent escalation

Articles tagged with "Israel-Iran conflict"

Netanyahu says Iran war goals achieved 'beyond halfway point'

US military identifies 6 soldiers killed in Iraq plane crash

US starts using UK bases for 'defensive' Iran operations

US says to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz 'soon'

Pakistan passed on Saudi assurances to Iran of no use of territory: Dar