Iran warns U.S. of ‘severe retaliation’ if it targets new supreme leader TEHRAN — Iran’s ambassador to Russia warned the United States that any move to target the country’s new supreme leader would invite “severe retaliation,” as hostilities among Iran, the U.S. and Israel entered a second week amid mounting casualties and regional disruption. Ambassador Kazem Jalali told Russia’s Sputnik news agency that Iranians demand revenge and that Washington would face severe consequences if it strikes at Tehran’s leadership. Iran…

Erdogan vows to keep Turkey out of regional war as Ankara says it intercepted Iranian missile ANKARA, Turkey — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Friday that Turkey will not be drawn into the escalating conflict between a U.S.-Israeli alliance and Iran, even as Ankara said it intercepted another Iranian missile that entered Turkish airspace. Speaking at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner, Erdogan disclosed that Turkish defense systems had downed a third Iranian ballistic missile crossing into the country’s airspace. He said…

Iran vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, escalating tensions in a waterway that is a critical artery for global energy and trade and intensifying uncertainty across the Middle East. The threat to close the chokepoint raises the stakes around one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors. The narrow passage, which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, funnels a significant share of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas. Any disruption can ripple quickly through shipping…

Trump threatens ‘unprecedented’ response if Iran mines Strait of Hormuz WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran of severe military consequences if Tehran attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz with naval mines, saying the United States would respond at a level “never seen before.” The warning followed intelligence assessments indicating Iranian forces may be preparing to deploy dozens of mines in the narrow waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply transits. Trump said there were…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Iran’s ambassador to Kenya sought to calm fears on Tuesday, saying Nairobi is not at risk of retaliation as Tehran and its adversaries exchange fire across the Middle East and regional airspace closures ripple through airline schedules. At a press briefing in Nairobi, Iranian Ambassador Dr. Ali Gholampour said Kenya does not host a U.S. military installation of sufficient strategic value to draw Iranian fire. “This country does not provide a US military facility with a magnitude to attack Iran,” he said,…

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that ongoing military operations against Iran will not become an “endless war,” describing a campaign focused on destroying Tehran’s missiles, navy and security infrastructure while U.S. commanders warned the effort will take time and carry a human toll. “We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.” He emphasized the mission is not an attempt to build…

KHARKIV, Ukraine — A Russian-launched Shahed drone struck a residential building in Kharkiv just before 4 a.m., damaging the apartment of a local pensioner, as three areas of the city came under missile and drone attack in the early hours, RTÉ News reported from the scene. Margarita Belkina, a resident of the building, said the blast shattered the sense of relative calm her neighborhood had felt since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “It’s scary now because this district has not been hit since the start of the…

ANKARA, Türkiye — Türkiye vowed Wednesday to stand firmly with Somalia and denounced Israel’s recognition of breakaway North Western State of Somalia, with Ankara’s communications chief warning that regional aggression would not be allowed to spill into the Horn of Africa. “Any attempt targeting Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and actions to legitimize them are unacceptable. Türkiye stands with Somalia as it did in the past,” said Burhanettin Duran, head of the Presidency’s Directorate of…

Hungary’s opposition leader Peter Magyar vowed at a Budapest rally to end corruption, restore civil liberties and revive a stalled economy, sharpening his challenge to Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of the April 12 parliamentary election. Magyar, head of the Tisza party, has emerged as the most potent threat to Orban since the nationalist leader returned to power in 2010. Tisza has led Orban’s Fidesz party in opinion polls for months, turning the race into the most competitive contest in more than a decade. “Not only has…

Prime Minister Mark Carney led a candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, pledging Canada’s enduring support to a grief-stricken community reeling from one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country’s history. Eight victims were killed in Tuesday’s rampage, which began at a family home and continued at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Carney arrived in the remote mining town with the heads of opposition parties in a show of national solidarity. “I know that nothing I can say will bring your children home. I…