U.S. President Donald Trump said he sees progress between Israel and Lebanon after talks with Netanyahu, while Hezbollah has rejected a new ceasefire proposal and Israel has ruled out a troop withdrawal.
Iran has launched multiple drones towards the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported on Friday, citing a U.S. official who also said at least four drones were shot down by U.S. aircraft
"They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21-22% of their missiles. It's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we first attacked," Trump was quoted as saying.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that lowering gasoline and diesel prices will ultimately take a resolution with Iran to get more oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Russia wants oil prices on global markets to be balanced and stable amid the U.S. war against Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
Speaking at Russia's annual economic forum, Putin said that the reduction in oil supplies was causing concern in the market, but that Russia was participating in OPEC+ in order to balance the market.
The United States will add 40 million barrels to its strategic petroleum reserve after the conflict in Iran is over, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday in an interview on Fox Business.
The United States imposed new Iran-related sanctions on Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department's website showed.
Iran has reaffirmed its support for Hezbollah and insisted that any wider peace agreement with the United States must include a ceasefire in Lebanon and an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
"This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, adding that "the end of the war on Lebanon must be accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they have occupied''.
Iranian Official has criticised Germany after it failed to secure a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, calling the outcome a sign of growing international dissatisfaction.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the vote as a 'stark rebuke,' linking it to Berlin’s stance on the Gaza conflict and its support for Israel.
Germany has expressed disappointment over the result but says it will continue to engage in international diplomacy through the United Nations.
European shares are trading flat as investors remain cautious over ongoing tensions in the Middle East, with markets on track to end the week slightly lower.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index is broadly unchanged in early trading and down around 0.3% for the week so far.
Concerns over a lack of progress in U.S.-Iran diplomacy and uncertainty around the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire are keeping oil prices elevated, with Brent crude hovering near $95 a barrel.
Technology stocks are leading losses, falling after a strong two-month rally, while chipmakers such as Infineon and Aixtron are among the biggest decliners.
Investors are also focusing on rising eurozone inflation, which has increased expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates next week.
The Middle East conflict is pushing millions of people closer to hunger, as rising fuel and transport costs drive up food prices while funding shortfalls force aid agencies to scale back assistance, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered a regional conflict stretching across the Gulf and into Lebanon, disrupting key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, forcing vessels to reroute and sharply constraining global energy flows and supply chains.
In March, the WFP forecast as many as 45 million people could fall into acute food insecurity if oil prices remained around $100 per barrel through June. That scenario is now unfolding, the agency said, with benchmark crude prices staying above that level since early March.
Households in Afghanistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka are among the most seriously affected and face mounting pressure due to higher fuel costs, food price spikes, income losses and disrupted trade.
The United Nations (UN) has doubled the amount of money it says it needs to help Lebanon meet surging humanitarian needs, as the war enters its fourth month.
Lebanon was drawn into the wider regional war in early March when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, which was under U.S.-Israeli attack, prompting a major Israeli air and ground campaign.
Since 2 March, more than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese authorities, whose data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since March.
The UN is launching a fresh aid appeal with the Lebanese government to seek an additional $331.5 million to reach 1.4 million people, bringing the total appeal to $639.9 million.
So far, it has received $185.9 million as of 31 May.
"In the past three months, communities across Lebanon have faced an appalling situation due to the escalation of hostilities," UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza said, pointing to high casualties, widespread displacement and extensive damage to infrastructure.
"The toll on civilians is alarming and worsening by the day."
France faces no fuel supply concerns ahead of the summer travel season.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said there is "no major concern on supply" of either jet fuel or petrol. However, he warned that "there is the question of cost, of course", he told French broadcaster CNews/Europe 1 on Friday.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, accused the United States and Israel of killing children in Gaza, the West Bank, Iran's Minab and elsewhere around the world.
“For what crime are innocent children being killed?” Baghaei asked in a social media post.
“From Gaza and the West Bank to Beirut, Minab, Lamerd, Tehran, and many other places across Iran and the world, wherever children have perished under the bombs and missiles of the United States and the Israeli regime, the truth is the same: no military objective, no political interest, and no security pretext can ever justify the slaughter of children,” he wrote.
“Children are neither parties to war nor tools of it. They are the living conscience of humanity. Every child killed or maimed is a burial of a part of our shared humanity.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believed progress was being made between Israel and Lebanon and that Lebanon "deserved peace", despite fresh setbacks to efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and added: "I actually spoke to Hezbollah about it." He said he believed progress was being made after years of tensions.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be...
A British inquiry has heard fresh allegations that UK special forces killed three Afghan farmers and abused detainees during operations in Afghanistan...
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have begun installing the first border markers along their shared frontier, marking the start of the physical demarcation of...
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
India's investigation into last year's Air India crash that killed 260 people has entered its final stages, with investigators completing a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder and carrying out a psychological autopsy as they work towards a final report.
The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than efforts to contain it, global humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned, calling for an urgent expansion of containment and care measures.
India and the United Kingdom's Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into force on Wednesday, cutting tariffs on thousands of products and creating new opportunities for businesses, investors and professionals in both countries.
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claims it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged fresh attacks on Tuesday, with Kyiv targeting shipping and energy infrastructure inside Russia while Moscow launched another large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukrainian cities.
IBM has warned that a surge in spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure is weighing on its core business, in one of the clearest signs yet of how the AI boom is reshaping the technology sector.
A British inquiry has heard fresh allegations that UK special forces killed three Afghan farmers and abused detainees during operations in Afghanistan. The claims were published this week as part of an investigation into alleged unlawful killings and a possible cover-up.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have begun installing the first border markers along their shared frontier, marking the start of the physical demarcation of a boundary that was disputed for decades before being formally settled under a landmark agreement signed earlier this year.
The condition of cultural heritage sites in Azerbaijan's Garabagh region remains a major point of debate after decades of conflict. Despite Azerbaijan’s calls for a UNESCO assessment and post-2020 negotiations, disagreements over access, scope and the mission’s framework have prevented a review.
The four-year truce that helped stabilise Yemen appears to have collapsed after the Houthi movement fired missiles at Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under its control. The escalation raises fears of a wider regional conflict.
A Turkish-owned civilian merchant vessel carrying 11 Azerbaijani crew members was struck by a drone near Ukraine's Odesa coast on 14 July. Azerbaijani authorities said all crew members except the captain have been brought ashore, while search operations for the missing captain continue.
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