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Russia's Foreign Ministry has said the US threats to strike Iran are categorically unacceptable. The ministry on Tuesday warned in a statement that any such strikes would have disastrous consequences for the situation in the Middle East and global security. It also criticised what it called brazen attempts to blackmail Iran's foreign partners by raising trade tariffs. The statement noted that the protests in Iran had been triggered by social and economic problems resulting from Western sanctions. It also denounced hostile external forces for trying to exploit the resulting growing social tension to destabilise and destroy the Iranian state and charged that specially trained and armed provocateurs acting on instructions from abroad sought to provoke violence. The ministry voiced hope that the situation in Iran will gradually stabilize and advised Russian citizens in the Islamic Republic not to visit crowded places.
Iran eased some restrictions on its people and, for the first time in days, allowed them to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones on Tuesday. It did not ease restrictions on the internet or permit texting services to be restored as the death toll from days of bloody protests against the state rose to at least 2,000 people, according to activists. Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several people in the capital told The Associated Press. The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said SMS text messaging still was down and internet users inside Iran could not access anything abroad, although there were local connections to government-approved websites. It was unclear if restrictions would ease further after authorities cut off all communications inside the country and to the outside world late Thursday. Here is the latest: Iranian official calls Trump and Netanyahu 'real killers of peopl
The United States has accused Russia of a dangerous and inexplicable escalation of its nearly four-year war in Ukraine at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance negotiations toward peace. US deputy ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce on Monday singled out Russia's launch of a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile last week close to Ukraine's border with Poland, a NATO ally. She told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that the United States deplores the staggering number of casualties in the conflict and condemns Russia's intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure. Ukraine called for the meeting after last Thursday's overnight Russian bombardment with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including the powerful, new hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which Moscow used for only the second time in what was a clear warning to Kyiv's NATO allies. The large-scale attack came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress .
Britain is discussing with NATO allies how it can help beef up security in the Arctic to counter threats from Russia and China, a government minister said Sunday. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the talks are business as usual rather than a response to recent threats by US President Donald Trump to take over Greenland. Trump said Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region of NATO ally Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from taking it over. We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not, Trump said Friday. Greenland, with a population of around 57,000, is defended by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the US, which has a military base on the island. Denmark's prime minister has warned that a takeover would threaten NATO. Tensions have grown between the US and Denmark since the Trump administration renewed its warnings against Greenland. Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark's ambassador to the US, fir
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday. Meanwhile, thousands of residents were still without power in Kyiv, following an intense Russian bombardment. A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram. Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defences shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. The attack came after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials. For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles, killing three and injuring at least 16 in the capital overnight into Friday, Ukrainian authorities said. Russia also struck critical infrastructure in the western city of Lviv using an unidentified ballistic missile, said Mayor Andriy Sadoviy. The Western Command of Ukraine's Air Force later said the missile travelled at a speed of 13,000 kilometres per hour, and that the specific type of rocket was being investigated. Several districts in Kyiv were hit in the attack, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In the Desnyanskyi district, a drone crashed onto the roof of a multi-storey building. At another address in the same district, the first two floors of a residential building were damaged as a result of the attack. In Dnipro district, parts of a drone damaged a multi-storey building and a fire broke out. Running water and electricity were disrupted in parts of the capital as a result of the attack, Kyiv's May
Russia has strongly condemned the US seizure of an oil tanker, heralding a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spread to other areas and affect President Donald Trump's efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine. The seizure Wednesday of the Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic "can only lead to a further escalation of military and political tensions in the Euro-Atlantic region, as well as a visible lowering of the threshold for the use of force' against peaceful shipping, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't yet commented on the seizure of the tanker and has remained silent about the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro, which his diplomats have denounced as a blatant act of aggression. But while the Russian president has avoided any criticism of Trump, the seizure of the tanker by the US military represents a new challenge for the Kremlin. Hawkish commentators in Moscow .
Expressing serious concern' over capture of its oil tanker by US coastguard, Russia on Thursday demanded compliance of international laws on freedom of maritime navigation and strongly rejected neo-colonist' tendencies of Washington. The Russian Foreign Ministry also demanded humane treatment of the crew members, including an Indian, of the Marinera tanker, previously known as Bella 1, that was seized on Wednesday by the US coastguard in the North Atlantic and said information about the vessel's status was conveyed to America repeatedly. We call on Washington to resume compliance with the fundamental norms and principles of international maritime navigation and immediately cease its illegal actions against the Marinera tanker and other vessels engaged in law-abiding activities on the high seas, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Moscow said it considers the US references to its national sanctions legislation to be unfounded. The statements by some US officials that the seizu
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to President Donald Trump after the UK armed forces provided enabling support for the American seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker, stopped in the North Atlantic by the US Coast Guard. They (Starmer and Trump) discussed the joint operation to intercept the Bella 1' as part of shared efforts to crack down on sanctions busting, recent progress on Ukraine and the US operation in Venezuela, a Downing Street statement said of the Wednesday evening call. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the UK responded to the US request for assistance with its operation by deploying Royal Air Force (RAF) surveillance aircraft and Royal Navy support ship RFA Tideforce'. Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain's support for the pre-planned action was in full compliance with international law and reiterated that the UK-US defence and security relationship is the deepest in the world". Marinera', a Venezuelan-linked tanker previously known as Bella 1', was
The Commerce Ministry's arm, DGTR, has initiated an anti-dumping probe into imports of nylon chips and granules -- used in the textiles industry, from China and Russia, following a complaint by a domestic manufacturer. The applicant has alleged that the dumping of Nylon 6 Chips and Granules with relative viscosity (RV) below 3 is impacting the domestic industry. The applicant, Gujarat Polyfilms, has requested the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports from China and Russia, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) said in a notification. It said that the directorate has prima facie found sufficient evidence of dumping from these countries. "The authority, hereby, initiates an anti-dumping investigation," it said. If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to the domestic player, the DGTR would recommend imposing a levy on imports. The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose duties. Countries conduct anti-dumping probes to determine
Ukraine's allies are meeting on Tuesday in Paris for key talks that could help determine the country's security after a potential ceasefire with Russia. But prospects for progress are uncertain with the Trump administration's focus shifting to Venezuela. Before the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed optimism about the latest gathering of so-called coalition of the willing nations. For months, they have been exploring how to deter any future Russian aggression should it agree to stop fighting Ukraine. In a December 31 address, Macron said that allies would make concrete commitments at the summit to protect Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace." Macron's office said on Tuesday's meeting will gather an unprecedented number of officials attending in person, with 35 participants, including 27 heads of state and government. The US will be represented by President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared ...