Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: hardline revolutionary leading Iran’s Islamic Republic

Trump claims Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead after reported strikes; claim unverified Former U.S. President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is dead, calling him “one of the most evil people in history.” Trump’s post came as he described a massive wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting sites across Iran, including Khamenei’s compound in Tehran. The claim could not be independently verified. Khamenei, 86, has dominated Iran’s political and…

Trump threatens Iran with unprecedented military response amid rising Middle East tensions

When Donald Trump threatens Iran with “force never been seen before,” the words do more than light up headlines. They signal a strategy of coercive diplomacy that has defined the most fraught chapters of U.S.-Iran relations this century, raising the stakes across a Middle East already primed for miscalculation. Rhetoric at that volume can deter, but it can also lock leaders into escalatory paths, unsettle markets and embolden hard-liners on both sides who thrive on grievance and spectacle. The central question is not whether…

War Divides Trump Coalition as U.S. and Iran Spar at UN

NEW YORK — The United States launched a sweeping series of strikes against Iran over the weekend under the banner of Operation Epic Fury, jolting a country that had not been primed for war and igniting a rapid clash of narratives at home and at the United Nations. Many Americans awoke to the news with confusion and unease. “No one in my circle ever talks about Iran,” a New Yorker told RTÉ News, adding he felt less safe and was unsure about gathering in public spaces. President Donald Trump addressed the Iranian public…

Trump hails Iranian leader’s death, pledges military strikes will continue

Trump claims Khamenei killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes as Iran fires missiles and drones across Gulf; Tehran denies WASHINGTON and ABU DHABI — President Donald Trump said U.S.-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and vowed operations would continue, even as Tehran denied the claim and launched waves of missiles and drones that hit targets across the Gulf, killing at least two people in Abu Dhabi and injuring dozens in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. Trump, monitoring the operation…

Pakistan carries out cross-border airstrikes in Afghanistan as minister declares ‘open war’

Pakistan bombed Taliban government forces in Kabul and Kandahar overnight in the first direct strikes on Taliban military sites since the group returned to power in 2021, a sharp rupture between the neighboring Islamic nations that Islamabad’s defense minister described as “open war.” The escalation raises the risk of a broader conflict along the 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) frontier and deepens a crisis already fueled by cross-border militant attacks. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and…

France requests emergency UN Security Council meeting on Iran

France has called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Iran, elevating the issue to the world’s top diplomatic forum as member states weigh next steps and potential responses. The request places Iran back on the Security Council’s immediate agenda. While details on timing, the precise agenda and potential outcomes were not immediately available, an emergency session would allow council members to receive briefings, consult behind closed doors and consider statements or resolutions addressing the situation.…

At least 15 dead after military aircraft crashes in Bolivia

At least 15 people were killed when a Bolivian military C-130 Hercules cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near La Paz, prompting police to use tear gas to push back crowds grabbing scattered cash and leading authorities to burn the money at the scene. The aircraft veered off the runway at El Alto International Airport and careened onto a nearby avenue, smashing into cars and damaging trucks, according to local media footage. Twisted metal and torn fuselage parts littered the roadway as bystanders rushed…

What a U.S.-Iran war would mean for America and the world

Analysis: U.S. military buildup in the Middle East raises specter of war with Iran as diplomacy stalls The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier — at a U.S. naval base on Crete has turned a simmering standoff with Iran into a test of resolve and restraint. With the USS Abraham Lincoln already in the region, hundreds of fighter jets, and critical enabling assets such as refueling tankers and airborne warning and control systems in place, Washington has amassed its most formidable presence in…

Four years later, Kharkiv balances deep sorrow with unbowed resolve

Kharkiv, Ukraine — On a frigid Friday morning, as children climbed the steps from Lyceum No. 105 — an underground school purpose-built to shield them from Russian airstrikes — municipal crews were out in force. They hacked at ice, scooped slush, and scrubbed sidewalks clean. The joke among Ukrainians about Kharkiv’s devotion to well-groomed streets survives even here, under constant threat from the sky. The city authorities have had little rest since February 2022. Vladimir Putin’s forces have pounded Ukraine’s…

Israel’s Defense Ministry says it launched preemptive strike against Iran

Israel launched what it called a “pre-emptive strike” on Iran as air-raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and Israelis received mobile alerts warning of an “extremely serious” threat, the Defense Ministry said Saturday. “The State of Israel has launched a pre-emptive strike against Iran. Defence Minister Israel Katz has declared a special and immediate state of emergency throughout the country,” the ministry said in a statement. An Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran was preparing for retaliation and vowed a “crushing”…