Strait of Hormuz blockade should continue says Iran's new Supreme Leader: Middle East conflict on 12 March
Iran should continue “blocking the Strait of Hormuz,” while the U....
Israel has launched a series of airstrikes on Gaza, following the collapse of negotiations to extend a ceasefire. The strikes have resulted in significant casualties, while efforts to resume peace talks remain stalled.
Israel has confirmed it launched its most intense airstrikes on Gaza since the January ceasefire, conducting at least 35 strikes overnight. Palestinian health officials report more than 100 fatalities, with many others injured, as truce extension negotiations collapsed.
The Israeli military stated it targeted "terror sites" linked to Hamas. The Palestinian civil emergency service confirmed that at least 35 airstrikes hit multiple locations, with medics reporting significant civilian casualties, including children. This marks the largest wave of airstrikes since the ceasefire ended on 1 March.
Eyewitnesses described the destruction, with one Gaza resident, holding a baby, saying that almost their entire family was killed and their house collapsed.
Israel accuses Hamas of failing to release hostages, warning of intensified military actions against the group. Hamas, in turn, has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. As a result, the fate of 59 hostages in Gaza remains uncertain.
Hamas previously released 33 hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 prisoners, but talks for a second phase of the ceasefire to release 60 more hostages and end the conflict have stalled. U.S. proposals to extend the ceasefire have also failed, with both sides at an impasse. Mediators from the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar are working to revive the negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to resume the war and stop food and aid deliveries to Gaza. Hamas has stated it will only release hostages if Israel lifts its blockade, withdraws from a strategic corridor, and frees more Palestinian prisoners.
So far, the ongoing conflict has claimed over 48,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The war escalated following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of 251 hostages.
The 32 countries belonging to the Internatioanl Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil on Wednesday (11 March), in efforts aimed at bringing down the price of crude oil, which has soared since fighting between Iran, Israel and the U.S. started at the end of February.
The U.S. should shut down its military bases in the Middle East, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (12 March). His words were read out by a broadcaster on state Iranian television.
A towering lava fountain from Kilauea shot about 400 metres into the air late on Tuesday (11 March) on Hawaii Island, prompting temporary closures at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and part of a key highway as volcanic ash and debris fell over nearby areas.
More than 68,000 children in eastern Afghanistan have been displaced after clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces intensified along the border, according to a new report by Save the Children.
Georgia has cancelled international tenders for the construction of major road sections that form part of a regional highway linking the country with the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Iran should continue “blocking the Strait of Hormuz,” while the U.S. should “shut” its Middle East military bases, new Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday in his first speech since being elected. He is still yet to appear in public, and a broadcaster read out his words.
International security and climate change are top of the agenda as leaders and policymakers from around the world meet at the 13th Global Baku Forum in the Azerbaijani capital this week.
Fifteen Turkish-owned vessels remain stranded in the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Wednesday.
New Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran should continue ‘blocking the Strait of Hormuz’ in his first statement since his election, read out on Iranian State television on Thursday (12 March).
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has set recognition of Tehran’s inalienable rights, payment of war compensation, and international guarantees against any future invasion as conditions for ending the U.S.–Israel war with the Islamic Republic.
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