In pictures: Some of the lastest images on the Mideast war
Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a US air strike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, second right, attends a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, on Thursday April 2, 2026, with around 35 countries to discuss ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
People walk past a live screen on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building showing news about the market impact of the Iran war in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
People watch a TV screen showing a live broadcast of US President Donald Trump’s speech at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Iraq’s March oil revenues drop more than 70% on previous month: official
Putin and Saudi MBS discuss Middle East, OPEC+ cooperation, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the Middle East crisis and cooperation within OPEC+ in a phone call on Thursday, the Kremlin said.
“Serious concern was expressed regarding the deteriorating military and political situation in the region, civilian casualties, and the destruction of strategically important infrastructure,” it said in a statement.
The Kremlin said both sides stressed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the intensification of diplomatic efforts towards a settlement of the conflict.
The fallout of the mideast crisis on energy production and transportation and overall global energy security, were underscored during talks, the Kremlin said.
G7, Gulf Arab countries to meet for talks on Hormuz next week, French Foreign Ministry says
The G7 nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will hold a meeting next week to discuss the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, France’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said at a news conference on Thursday.
France currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7.
How a Lebanese boy’s battle with cancer is impacted by the Middle East war
In Lebanon, the reach of the war is stretching far beyond the front lines. For those with chronic illnesses, the conflict has created a silent, secondary crisis – cutting off access to the life-saving medicine they need to survive. In Beirut’s oncology wards, the cost of treatment is too much for some families to bear. Among them is eight-year-old Hani, whose battle for recovery is now a race against time. FRANCE 24’s Olivia Bizot, Mélina Huet, and Achraf Abid report.
US war on Iran: Reactions in Israel as Trump’s address ‘barely’ mentions ally
Iran responded to US President Donald Trump’s address to Americans on the war with new missile attacks targeting Israel and the Gulf Arab states Thursday, underlining Tehran’s insistence that it rejected Washington’s outreach for a ceasefire while maintaining its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.
Oil prices extend climb after Trump’s Iran speech
Oil prices extended gains on Thursday in the wake of US President Donald Trump threatening further heavy strikes on Iran, dampening hopes of de-escalation.
The main US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, jumped 10.3 percent to $110.47 per barrel.
International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose 8.2 percent to $109.40 per barrel.
Austria says refused US requests for military overflights
Austria has rejected all US requests for military overflights of its territory since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, a defence ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
“There have indeed been requests and they were refused from the outset,” Colonel Michael Bauer said, adding that every time a similar request “involves a country at war, it is refused”.
Iran’s biggest steel plants out of service after strikes
Iran’s two largest steel plants have been forced out of action by several waves of US and Israeli attacks, the companies have said.
“Our initial estimate is that restarting these units will take at least six months and up to one year,” Mehran Pakbin, deputy head of operations at the Khuzestan Steel Company, was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online website.
Mobarakeh Steel Company in central Isfahan province said that its “production lines have completely shut down following the high volume of attacks”.
Highway bridge in Iran hit by air strike, Fars news reports
A highway bridge linking Iran’s capital Tehran to the western city of Karaj has been hit by air strikes, Fars news reports, adding that early assessments point to several injured people and that other areas of Karaj were struck.
Fars said that the B1 bridge is considered the Middle East’s highest bridge and was inaugurated earlier this year.
Iran sets up de facto ‘tollbooth’ in Strait of Hormuz
Iran has reportedly begun collecting tolls from ships seeking safe passage through the Hormuz Strait.
Our business editor Charles Pellegrin takes a look at how this process is unfolding and whether it could be formalised.
Loud explosions heard in Iranian capital
A series of loud explosions have rocked the Iranian capital, shaking buildings and sending reverberations across the city, local media and an AFP journalist said.
It was not immediately clear what was targeted but the blasts were felt in central Tehran, while local media including the Shargh daily reported explosions in western and eastern parts of the city.
Citigroup says staff in Paris and Frankfurt working remotely after foiled attack on other bank
Citigroup staff in Paris and Frankfurt are working remotely as a precautionary measure, the group has said in an emailed statement to Reuters, following a foiled attack on Bank of America’s Paris offices last Saturday.
“The safety of our employees is our number one priority, and we are taking the necessary measures to keep our employees safe,” Citi said. “Employees in Paris/Frankfurt are working remotely, as a precautionary measure.”
Earlier, Goldman Sachs also said its Paris staff had been instructed to work from home out of an abundance of caution.
Iran did not ‘restart enrichment’, envoy to UN atomic agency tells AFP
Iran is not looking to enrich uranium to the levels needed to build an atomic bomb, Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations’ atomic agency has said in an interview with AFP.
Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said that US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic’s Bushehr nuclear power plant constitute a “war crime” under international law.
Israel and the United States have long accused Iran of having ambitions to build a nuclear weapon, with US President Donald Trump claiming that threat as justification for both the 12-day conflict last year and the ongoing war sparked by US-Israeli strikes on February 28.
But Najafi argued that that justification, which alleged that Tehran was looking to enrich uranium to the purity needed to build an atomic weapon, was a “lie”.
Macron calls military operation to ‘liberate’ Strait of Hormuz ‘unrealistic’
France’s Emmanuel Macron has voiced strong criticism of the war waged by the US and Israel on Iran during a visit to South Korea.
Macron said the war does not provide a “lasting solution to the nuclear issue”, referring to Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
He also described talk of a military operation to “liberate” the Strait of Hormuz as “unrealistic”.
“Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied,” Macron told reporters.
Macron pays tribute to fallen French soldiers who fought for South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. Credit: Jung Yeon-je, AFP
“This was never the option we have supported because it is unrealistic,” he added. “It would take forever, and would expose all those who go through the strait to risks from the guardians of the revolution but also ballistic missiles.”
Touching on Trump’s repeated threats to pull the US out of NATO, Macron said the US president was undermining the alliance by sowing doubts about US commitment.
Russia says it’s ready to help resolve Iran conflict
Russia is ready to contribute to resolving the Iran conflict and President Vladimir Putin is continuing to talk with regional leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters.
“The president is continuing these contacts, and if our services are somehow required, we are, of course, ready to make our contribution to ensuring that the military situation transitions to a peaceful course as soon as possible,” Peskov said.
Peskov was responding to a question about Trump‘s Iran war address and his separate comment that he was considering pulling the United States out of NATO.
Russia views NATO as a hostile alliance, Peskov said.
Iran executes man arrested over January protests
A man convicted of participating in an attack on a classified military facility during recent unrest in Iran was executed today, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan said, after his appeal was rejected and the Supreme Court upheld his sentence.
The judiciary said Amirhossein Hatami was found guilty of entering a restricted military site in Tehran, damaging and setting fire to the facility, and trying to seize weapons and ammunition
Iran to allow safe passage of Philippine ships through Strait of Hormuz
The Philippines has received an assurance from Iran that it will allow the safe passage of Philippine-flagged vessels, fuel and Filipino seafarers through the Strait of Hormuz, Manila’s foreign ministry has said.
The assurance came after Philippine foreign minister Theresa Lazaro spoke with her Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi.
“During the call, the Iranian Foreign Minister assured the Secretary that Iran will allow the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage through the Strait of Hormuz of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources, and all Filipino seafarers,” the Philippine foreign ministry said in a statement.
Eight Muslim-majority countries condemn Israel’s new death penalty law
Eight Muslim-majority countries “strongly condemned” Israel’s move to pass a law making death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks, a joint statement released by Pakistan said on Thursday.
Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in the statement also emphasised the “urgent need to refrain from measures” that risk further inflaming tensions on the ground.
Iran’s health ministry says strikes hit century-old Pasteur medical facility
Strikes have hit a century-old medical centre in the Iranian capital, causing extensive damage, according to the country’s health ministry.
“The aggression against Pasteur Institute of Iran – a century-old pillar of global health and member of International Pasteur Network – is a direct assault on international health security,” said health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour in a post on X.
He posted images from the site showing the building heavily damaged, with parts of the facility reduced to rubble.