Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a tweet late Wednesday, outlined terms to end the war in the Middle East, reaffirming his country&#39;s commitment to regional peace. &quot;The only way to end this war [...] is recognizing Iran&rsquo;s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression,&quot; he said in a post on X. He said he had earlier spoken with the leaders of Russia and Pakistan, reaffirming Iran&#39;s commitment to peace in the region.&nbsp; <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 344px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2031794088526168170&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=851b3232460997a6b3b6c2bab056b2fd29af7ac1&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div> Meanwhile, Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards warned that they would strike &quot;economic centers and banks&quot; linked to US and Israeli interests.&nbsp; The defiance from Tehran came as fighting around the strategic Strait of Hormuz &mdash; the waterway carrying a fifth of the world&#39;s oil &mdash; sent shock waves through energy markets, prompting emergency releases from global reserves and a limited draw on US stockpiles. Oil prices have surged since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into conflict. Retaliatory Iranian missile strikes and drone attacks have brought shipping through the strait almost to a halt, forcing governments to scramble to contain the fallout, while US President Donald Trump said Iran was &quot;pretty much at the end of the line.&quot; &quot;Doesn&#39;t mean we&#39;re going to end it immediately, but they are,&quot; Trump told reporters. He said Iran&#39;s navy and air force had been destroyed, that it was close to running out of missiles and that US forces could knock out the electricity supply &quot;within one hour&quot; &mdash; leaving the country with a reconstruction that could take a generation. But the US leader indicated that he would rather show restraint than take actions that would make it &quot;almost impossible for them to rebuild their country.&quot; The president had earlier said the United States must &quot;finish the job&quot; in Iran, adding that US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels. He said Washington would tap US strategic reserves &quot;a little&quot; to help stabilize markets roiled by the war, and his administration later announced that he had authorized the release of 172 million barrels, beginning next week. The International Energy Agency agreed to release a record 400 million barrels. Israel&#39;s military, however, signaled the campaign was far from finished, and that it still had &quot;a broad bank of targets.&quot; Economic shockWith the conflict in its 12th day, Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards warned Wednesday they would strike &quot;economic centers and banks&quot; linked to US and Israeli interests, prompting more international firms to evacuate staff from Dubai. The United States and Israel &quot;must consider the possibility that they will be engaged in a long-term war of attrition that will destroy the entire American economy and the world economy,&quot; Ali Fadavi, an adviser to the Guards&#39; commander-in-chief, told state television. Iran said it targeted two commercial vessels in the Gulf after they entered the Strait of Hormuz, &quot;after ignoring the warnings&quot; of its navy. Analysts warn that a prolonged disruption to shipping through the strait &mdash; which also carries roughly a third of the fertilizer used in global food production &mdash; would deliver a severe economic shock, particularly in Asia and Europe. The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding Iran halt attacks on Gulf states, prompting the Islamic republic&#39;s ambassador to the United Nations to accuse it of a &quot;blatant misuse&quot; of its mandate. The conflict has already disrupted two pillars of the Gulf economy &mdash; energy production and commercial aviation. On Wednesday, drones fell near Dubai airport, injuring four people, authorities said. Others struck fuel tanks at Oman&#39;s Salalah port, according to the Oman News Agency. &#39;Wave of strikes&#39;&nbsp;In an apparent first since the war began, Israeli drones also struck targets in Tehran on Wednesday evening, killing members of the security forces, Iran&#39;s Fars news agency reported. The Israeli military later said it was carrying out a &quot;wide-scale wave of strikes&quot; after the IRGC announced just after midnight on Thursday that it had carried out a joint missile operation with Hezbollah against targets in Israel. Pentagon officials have meanwhile briefed US lawmakers that the cost of the war exceeded $11.3 billion in its first six days, The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the classified briefing. The conflict has continued to spill across the region.

Americas

Middle East

Iran Guards warn they will strike 'economic centers and banks' linked to US and Israeli interests; Iran’s president says only way to end war is recognizing Iran’s 'legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression.'

Iran outlines terms to end war, reaffirms regional peace in talks with Pakistan

Iran launched a new salvo of missiles on Tuesday at Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and US targets in the region, the Revolutionary Guards said, as fighting between the foes showed no signs of letting up.

All you need to know about Day 11 of US-Israeli war on Iran

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations condemns US interference after President Donald Trump insisted that he should be involved in selecting the successor of slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

All you need to know about Day 7 of US-Israeli war on Iran

According to the Iran state TV, Iranian Drones struck aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warns any ground invasion of Iran would be disastrous for its enemies. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of "terrorism" after drone attacks but Iran denied involvement and blamed Israel. 

All you need to know about Day 6 of US-Israeli war on Iran

Two drones were shot down near Baghdad airport with no casualties, while Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on Israel. Iraq faced a nationwide blackout, and NATO intercepted an Iranian missile over regional airspace.

All you need to know about Day 5 of US-Israeli war on Iran

WASHINGTON: The US defense secretary on Monday declined to rule out putting troops on the ground in Iran and indicated the war launched over the weekend could go on for as long as six weeks.&nbsp;US forces began carrying out sweeping strikes on Iran Saturday in concert with military action by Israel, and have struck hundreds of targets across the country since then, including the Islamic republic&#39;s missiles, navy and command-and-control sites.&nbsp;When asked if the United States already had boots on the ground, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told a news conference: &quot;No, but we&#39;re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;ll go as far as we need to go,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I think it&#39;s one of those fallacies for a long time that this department or presidents or others should tell the American people and our enemies by the way, &#39;Here&#39;s exactly what we&#39;ll do, here&#39;s exactly how long we&#39;ll go,&#39;&quot; he said.&nbsp;As for how long the war will last, Hegseth said: &quot;Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks, it could move up. It could move back.&quot;&nbsp;He sought to differentiate the Iran operation from past long-running US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying the war is not an effort to build democracy in Iran.&nbsp;&quot;No stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise. No politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don&#39;t waste time or lives,&quot; the Pentagon chief said.&nbsp;&quot;This is not Iraq. This is not endless,&quot; Hegseth said. &quot;Our generation knows better and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation building wars &#39;dumb&#39; and he&#39;s right.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;With every passing day, our capabilities get stronger and Iran&#39;s get weaker. We set the terms of this war from start to finish. Our ambitions are not utopian, they are realistic scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies,&quot; he added.&nbsp;General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, spoke alongside Hegseth, saying that air superiority had been achieved over Iran.&nbsp;Strikes by American forces &quot;resulted in the establishment of local air superiority. This air superiority will not only enhance the protection of our forces, but also allow them to continue the work over Iran,&quot; Caine said.&nbsp;

Central Asia

The US defense secretary declined to rule out putting troops on the ground in Iran and indicated the war launched over the weekend could go on for as long as six weeks.

Pentagon chief refuses to rule out 'boots on ground' in Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Airlines across Asia, Europe and the Middle East suspended or rerouted flights on Saturday after US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered widespread airspace closures and security alerts across the region.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, said it halted services to several Gulf destinations, citing deteriorating regional conditions.&nbsp;&ldquo;PIA&rsquo;s flights to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait have been suspended due to the changing situation,&rdquo; the airline said in a statement.&nbsp;Multiple governments moved to restrict civilian air traffic after Iran closed its airspace and retaliatory activity spread across neighboring states. Pakistan, T&uuml;rkiye, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial airspace closures within hours of the strikes.&nbsp;Airlines suspend regional operations&nbsp;Turkish Airlines said it cancelled flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan until March 2.&nbsp;&ldquo;Flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are suspended for today,&rdquo; spokesman Yahya &Uuml;st&uuml;n said.&nbsp;Qatar&rsquo;s civil aviation authority announced a temporary closure of the country&rsquo;s airspace, prompting Qatar Airways to suspend all departures and arrivals from Doha.&nbsp;The airline said it &ldquo;confirms the temporary suspension of its flights to, and from, Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.&rdquo;&nbsp;Air France said it was suspending flights to Dubai and Riyadh, expanding earlier cancellations that included Tel Aviv and Beirut.&nbsp;&ldquo;Due to the security situation at the destination, the airline has decided to cancel its flights scheduled for February 28 and March 1 to and from Tel Aviv,&rdquo; the company said, adding that the suspension would be extended.&nbsp;Russia&rsquo;s aviation authority said all commercial flights to Israel and Iran were cancelled &ldquo;until further notice,&rdquo; affecting multiple Russian carriers.&nbsp;Air India announced a blanket suspension of Middle East operations.&nbsp;&ldquo;In view of the developing situation in parts of the Middle East, all Air India flights to all destinations in the Middle East have been suspended,&rdquo; the airline said in a statement.&nbsp;British Airways said it would not operate flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 4 and confirmed the cancellation of a scheduled service to Amman.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are closely monitoring the situation and have taken the operational decision to cancel our flights,&rdquo; the airline said.&nbsp;Swiss International Air Lines said it suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 7 and cancelled scheduled services between Zurich and Dubai.&nbsp;&ldquo;As numerous airspaces are closed as a result of the current situation, we are cancelling these flights,&rdquo; the airline said.&nbsp;The Lufthansa Group said it cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7, and temporarily halted services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.&nbsp;&ldquo;These measures are due to the current situation in the Middle East,&rdquo; the group said.&nbsp;Air Alg&eacute;rie said it cancelled flights scheduled for Saturday to Amman, Dubai and Doha, according to a statement released to local media.&nbsp;Norwegian budget carrier Norwegian Air said it suspended flights to and from Dubai through March 4.&nbsp;&ldquo;We will then assess if it&rsquo;s possible to resume flights,&rdquo; communications director Charlotte Holmbergh said.&nbsp;Widespread airspace closures&nbsp;Iran&rsquo;s Civil Aviation Organization said the country&rsquo;s airspace was closed nationwide &ldquo;until further notice.&rdquo; Israel also shut its skies to civilian traffic, Transport Minister Miri Regev said.&nbsp;Iraq closed its airspace entirely, while the United Arab Emirates said it was implementing a &ldquo;partial and temporary&rdquo; closure. Syria&rsquo;s Civil Aviation Authority said southern air corridors near the Israeli border were closed for 12 hours.&nbsp;Jordan&rsquo;s military said its air force was conducting defensive drills to protect national airspace, later stating that two ballistic missiles were intercepted. Kuwait announced a full airspace closure, with its military saying it had &ldquo;engaged incoming missiles.&rdquo;&nbsp;Flight tracking service FlightAware reported that by early afternoon GMT, more than 11,000 flights had been delayed worldwide and over 900 flights cancelled, reflecting the broad impact of the regional escalation on global air travel.

Europe

Pakistan International Airlines suspends Middle East flights as regional airspace closures follow US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with major global airlines cancelling routes amid escalating tensions and widespread disruption across Gulf and neighboring countries

Pakistan, global airlines halt Middle East flights after US, Israel strike Iran

BEIRUT: A Hezbollah official told AFP on Wednesday that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of &quot;limited&quot; US strikes on its backer, Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a &quot;red line.&quot; The US has repeatedly threatened Iran over its contentious nuclear program, and Lebanese authorities fear Hezbollah could become involved if a potential US attack triggered a regional war. But the official told AFP on condition of anonymity: &quot;In the event of limited US strikes on Iran, Hezbollah&#39;s position will be to not intervene militarily.&quot; If the group determines, however, that the United States is trying to &quot;provoke the downfall of the Iranian regime or to target the supreme leader, Hezbollah will then intervene,&quot; they added. The official predicted that in a hypothetical scenario where the US attempted to militarily unseat the Iranian government, US-ally Israel would &quot;inevitably wage a war against Lebanon.&quot; US President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to back up his threats of strikes should ongoing negotiations between the two sides fail to secure a deal. Lebanon&#39;s foreign minister said Tuesday that the government feared Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure if Hezbollah&mdash;which still has an arsenal of ballistic missiles&mdash;became part of a regional conflict between the US and Iran. &quot;What the Lebanese fear is a chain reaction: an American strike against Iran, a Hezbollah retaliatory strike against Israel, followed by a massive Israeli response,&quot; said a Lebanese official who requested anonymity. Hezbollah&#39;s leader, Naim Qassem, has said that his group is in a &quot;defensive position,&quot; but it would consider itself &quot;targeted&quot; by any US attack on Iran. During the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June, which the US later joined, Hezbollah did not intervene. Hezbollah emerged weakened from over a year of war with Israel that a November 2024 ceasefire sought to halt. Despite the agreement, Israel has continued striking targets it says are linked to Hezbollah on a near-daily basis, saying it is enforcing ceasefire provisions against the group rearming.Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have protested the attacks as ceasefire violations. The official speaking to AFP stressed that Hezbollah was refraining from responding to the strikes, but that its restraint &quot;has limits.&quot; &quot;Israeli attacks cannot continue indefinitely without a response.&quot;

Hezbollah said it would not intervene in limited US strikes on Iran but warned targeting Iran’s supreme leader would cross a red line, potentially triggering intervention and escalating regional conflict involving Israel and Lebanon

Articles tagged with "US Iran strikes"