Page 4 - Iran

At least 1.2 mn Afghans forced to return from Iran, Pakistan this year: UN

At least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, the UN refugee agency said Saturday, warning that repatriations on a massive scale have the potential to destabilise the fragile situation in Afghanistan. Iran and Pakistan in 2023 launched separate campaigns to expel foreigners they said were living in the country illegally. They set deadlines and threatened them with deportation if they didn't leave. The two governments deny targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland to escape war, poverty or Taliban rule. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that of the 1.2 million returning Afghans, more than half had come from Iran following a March 20 government deadline for them to leave voluntarily or face expulsion. Iran has deported more than 366,000 Afghans this year, including refugees and people in refugee-like situations, according to the agency. Iran's 12-day war war with Israel also has driven departures. The highest number of return

Iran rules out US talks, vows revenge, suspends UN nuclear oversight

Iranian lawmakers passed a "binding" bill to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog

Evacuated over 4,400 Indians from Iran, Israel in 19 flights so far: MEA

India has evacuated more than 4,400 Indian nationals from Iran and Israel so far in 19 special flights under Operation Sindhu launched on June 18 to bring home its citizens amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. A fresh batch of 173 Indians evacuated from Iran reached Delhi late Thursday night in a flight from Armenian capital Yerevan, the MEA said in a post on X. At his weekly media briefing a day before, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in response to queries on Operation Sindhu, said New Delhi was assessing the situation on the ground and a decision on the future course of action would be taken based on it. Over 3,400 Indian nationals have been evacuated so far in 14 flights from Iran since the start of Operation Sindhu, according to data shared by him during the briefing. Jaiswal later shared updated evacuee figures in the post on X after the arrival of the flight from Yeravan. "A special ...

Trump admin focused on diplomacy, communication with Iran: White House

Leavitt underscored how the US President is hopeful that the more countries in the Middle East would sign the Abraham Accords for enduring peace in the region

Khamenei claims 'victory' over Israel in first statement since ceasefire

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed victory over Israel and said his country had delivered a hand slap to America's face on Thursday, in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared in the war between the two countries. Khamenei spoke in a video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19. He told viewers that the US had only intervened in the war because it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed. But he said, however, that the US achieved no gains from this war. The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America's face, he said, in apparent reference to an Iranian missile attack on an American base in Qatar on Monday, which caused no casualties.

How Trump's strike on Iran might affect China's calculus on Taiwan

By attacking Iran, President Trump has shown he is willing to engage in a distant war. This raises questions in Beijing about what he might risk for Taiwan

Trump says US, Iranian officials will talk next week as ceasefire holds

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding on Wednesday while US President Donald Trump asserted that US and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace even as Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear programme. Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday on the 12th day of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit that he wasn't particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that US strikes had destroyed its nuclear programme. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack. We may sign an agreement, I don't know, Trump said. The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done." Iran has not acknowledged any talks taking place next week, though US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of negotiations betwe

Iran's uranium may have survived Israeli, US attacks: UN nuclear chief

The IAEA says no other country has enriched to such a high level without producing nuclear weapons, and Western powers say there is no civil justification for it

Trump declares Iran 'victory for everybody' despite concerns over damage

Trump said he was confident Tehran would not try to rebuild its nuclear sites and would instead pursue a diplomatic path towards reconciliation

Iran executes 3 for Mossad ties, arrests 700 after US-brokered ceasefire

The executions and arrests in Iran following a US-brokered ceasefire with Israel raise fresh doubts about the truce's durability amid mutual violations and ongoing nuclear tensions

Drone debris found in Ukraine indicates Russia using new tech from Iran

Last week, Ukrainian drone hunters picking up the debris from Russia's nightly assault on their cities found a weapon that stood out from the rest. It had an advanced camera, a computing platform powered by artificial intelligence and a radio link, allowing an operator to pilot it remotely from Russia. It also contained new, Iranian-made, anti-jamming technology, according to a Ukrainian drone expert. Most Russian attack drones are black, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an electronics expert more widely known as Flash. The new one, he told The Associated Press, was white. Inside, there were no markings or labels consistent with Russian-made drones. Instead, the stickers followed a standard Iran labelling system, Beskrestnov said. Experts who spoke to AP said the labels are not conclusive proof but the English-language words are consistent with how Iran marks its drones. It is quite possible, they said, that it was sold by Iran to Russia to test in combat. Moscow has pummelled Ukraine alm

Trump makes U-turn, says not keen on regime change in Iran after ceasefire

This marks the third time that Trump has changed his stance about regime change. Earlier on Sunday, Trump suggested the possibility of a regime change as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalated

Shares rally, oil slumps as Iran-Israel ceasefire goes into effect

Brent futures had already slid 7% on Monday and U.S. shares jumped after Iran made a token retaliation against a US base and signalled it was done for now

Indian embassy in Iran begins winding up evacuation mission after ceasefire

The Indian Embassy in Iran said on Tuesday that it is "winding up" the evacuations initiated during the military conflict between Iran and Israel after a ceasefire was reached between the two nations. In a thread on X, however, the Embassy said India is closely monitoring the situation and will revise its strategy if Indian nationals face any security threats. "Since there has been an announcement of ceasefire, the Embassy is gradually winding up the evacuation exercise initiated during the military conflict in Iran," it said. "Hence the Embassy has closed the contact desk that was opened to register new names for evacuation. At the same time, Govt. of India is keeping a careful eye on the evolving situation, & will reassess its strategy in case there is again a threat to the security of Indian nationals in Iran," it added. India launched Operation Sindhu last week to bring back Indians from Iran and Israel, given the increasing hostilities between the two nations. In its post, .

Operation Sindhu: India evacuates over 3,100 Indians from Iran, Israel

India on Tuesday evacuated over 1,100 citizens from Iran and Israel amid ongoing tensions between the two countries, taking the number of evacuees under Operation Sindhu to 3,170. It brought back 594 Indians from Israel, using C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force to fly out over 400 people after they were moved out of Israel to Jordan and Egypt by land transit points. Also, 161 Indians were brought back in a chartered flight from Amman after they moved to the Jordanian capital from Israel by road. A total of 573 Indians, three Sri Lankan and two Nepalese nationals were evacuated from Iran in two chartered flights on Tuesday, according to details shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). With the fresh batches of evacuees from Iran, India has brought back 2,576 Indians from the Persian Gulf nation so far. In total, India evacuated 3,170 Indians from Iran and Israel after Operation Sindhu was launched last week following the conflict between the two countries. T

Israel and Iran wanted to stop the war equally, says Trump after ceasefire

Trump's statement came shortly after the formal announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, mediated by the United States

Trump slams Israel, Iran for violating ceasefire hours after announcement

US President Donald Trump accused both Israel and Iran of violating a ceasefire he brokered, urging immediate restraint as renewed strikes threatened hopes of lasting peace

What we know about Iran’s attack on US base in Qatar | Iran-Israel war | Trump | B-2 bomber

On Monday, Iran launched missiles at the U.S.-operated Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, triggering fresh alarm across West Asia. The attack came in response to American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilitie

India should intervene diplomatically to stop Iran-Israel conflict: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed concern over the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict and urged the Centre to take diplomatic initiatives to help end the hostilities between the two West Asian nations. The conflict has seen hundreds of missiles and drones exchanged between Israel and Iran since tensions escalated over a week ago, with the situation worsening significantly following the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning. During her address in the assembly on environmental issues, Banerjee said, "War has broken out in many parts of the world. Such things cause air and water pollution. We have to take steps to stop this." She said, "External affairs come under the Indian government. Diplomatically, peacefully, we must take initiative so that war stops." Banerjee clarified, "I am not authorised to speak on external affairs and diplomatic issues. This is my personal view as a concerned citizen of this world." Speaking on the flood

India evacuates hundreds from Iran, Israel amid ongoing regional conflict

India on Tuesday evacuated 292 citizens from Iran and 366 nationals from Israel amid escalating tensions between the two countries following the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites. With the fresh batch of evacuees from Iran, India has brought back 2,295 Indians from the Persian Gulf nation so far. India brought back 161 Indians in a chartered flight from Amman that landed at 8:20 am. The Indians were moved from Israel to Jordan through land border crossings. Another group of 165 Indians were flown back to New Delhi from Amman in a C-17 military transport aircraft. They were received at the airport by Union Minister L Murugan. Two-hundred-ninety-two Indian nationals were evacuated from Iran on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad at 3:30 am, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Sharing details about India's evacuation mission Operation Sindhu that was launched following fresh wave of hostilities between Iran and Israel, he said, "2,