Australia and Singapore boost energy security ties as Middle East tensions strain fuel supplies
Australia and Singapore have agreed to deepen cooperation on energy security as global fuel markets come under strain from disruption linked to the...
The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran,” and President Donald Trump "has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have been reported killed in a crackdown on the protests against clerical rule.
But on Thursday, Trump adopted a wait‑and‑see posture, saying he had been told that the killings were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions.
"President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," Waltz told the Security Council meeting, which Washington had requested.
Waltz dismissed allegations by Iran that the protests are "a foreign plot to give a precursor to military action."
"Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before, and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets. They are afraid. They're afraid of their own people," Waltz said.
Iran's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi said Iran does not seek escalation or confrontation and accused Waltz of resorting "to lies, distortion of facts, and a deliberate misinformation campaign to conceal his country’s direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence."
"However, any act of aggression - direct or indirect - will be met with a decisive, proportionate, and lawful response," he told the Security Council.
"This is not a threat; it is a statement of legal reality," he added.
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the United States of convening the Security Council in a bid to “justify blatant aggression and interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state" and threats to "solve the Iranian problem in its favorite way - through strikes aimed at overthrowing an undesirable regime.”
“We strongly urge the hot heads in Washington and other capitals … to come to their senses,” he said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged “maximum restraint at this sensitive moment and calls on all actors to refrain from any actions that could lead to further loss of life or ignite a wider regional escalation,” senior U.N. official Martha Pobee told the council.
“Loud and clear, again and again, we hear the Iranians lift their voices for a better life,” Denmark’s U.N. Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen told the Security Council.
“For too long the leaders in Tehran have not heeded this call. The time has now come for the government of Iran to finally listen, to respond to the will of its people through peaceful means. We urge them to start today.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has given an instruction for Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarming of Hezbollah.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to continue dialogue and avoid steps that could worsen tensions after China-hosted talks in Urumqi, with Kabul and Beijing saying the meetings focused on easing differences and improving relations.
Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's President said an Israeli strike killed 13 security personnel in Nabatieh.
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during U.S.-Israeli attacks on 28 February.
Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to one daily flight to its airports until 31 May due to the Iran crisis, raising fears of significant revenue losses for Indian carriers, industry letters show.
Australia and Singapore have agreed to deepen cooperation on energy security as global fuel markets come under strain from disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
Donald Trump’s flagship plan for post-war Gaza has come under scrutiny after reports that its financing is falling short of expectations, claims firmly rejected by the White House-backed Board of Peace.
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for libel at the High Court in London, according to a court record published on Friday (10 April).
The European Union and Washington are nearing an agreement to coordinate the production and security of critical minerals, Bloomberg News reported on Friday (10 April).
In a forceful rebuke to Washington’s foreign policy in the Americas, a senior Russian diplomat has declared that Moscow will never abandon Cuba, pledging ongoing support to help the Communist-run island overcome a severe energy crisis linked to the United States embargo.
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