Page 90 - Israel Iran Conflict

How Israel and US secretly tracked Khamenei for years before deadly strike

Israel and the US spent years gathering secret intelligence on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tracking his movements and meetings, before launching a precise strike that killed Iran's supreme leader

Gold extends gains as ongoing West Asia crisis boosts safe-haven demand

Spot ​gold was up 1 per cent at $5,377.21 per ounce. US gold futures for April delivery were up 1.5 per cent at $5,391.90

Asian shares fall, oil jumps as Iran war stokes energy supply fears

Asian shares mostly declined and oil prices surged higher Tuesday as investors eyed risks to the region's energy supply because of the Iran war. Shares in South Korea sank 4.8% as markets reopened after a holiday on Monday, to 5,946.06. Benchmark US crude rose 77 cents to $72.00 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.10 to $78.84 a barrel. They jumped Monday then fell back although still at higher levels than before due to worries that the war could clog the global flow of crude. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 2.1% to 56,853.48. Like other resource-poor countries in the region, Japan could be especially hit by the lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz since much of its oil and natural gas is shipped through there. However, analysts say Japan has a sizable stockpile lasting more than 200 days and so the threat is not immediate. Japanese energy stocks plunged, with Eneos Corp. down nearly 6% and Idemitsu Kosan down nearly 4%. Defense-related issues, which ha

Indian missions step up aid for passengers amid flight disruptions in Gulf

The Embassy of India in Kuwait, in a post on X, said it remains 'fully engaged' in assisting Indian nationals affected by the disruption

Asian banks' billions in Gulf loans at risk amid West Asia turmoil

Asian and Chinese banks, which have emerged as the Gulf's top financiers, extended more than $15 billion in loans last year - a record high and triple the previous year

West Asia crisis: SpiceJet to operate 4 special flights from UAE's Fujairah

SpiceJet on Tuesday said it will operate four special flights from Fujairah in the UAE to bring back stranded passengers. Flight operations have been disrupted due to the close of airspaces in the Middle East amid the escalating conflict involving US, Israel and Iran. In a statement, SpiceJet said it would operate four special flights to connect Fujairah with Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi on Tuesday and for the next few days. Out of them, two flights would be operated to Mumbai. The airline is also exploring the possibility of operating more special flights, subject to passenger requirements and regulatory approvals. SpiceJet will restore its scheduled Fujairah-Delhi and Fujairah-Mumbai flights from March 4, the statement said.

Amazon Web Services' data centres in UAE, Bahrain damaged by drone strikes

According to company's latest update, the facilities suffered 'physical impacts to infrastructure' as a result of drone strikes, causing structural damage, power disruption

Strikes aimed at destroying Iran's ballistic missile capabilities: Rubio

Speaking to the press, Rubio made it clear that the primary goal of the operation was to neutralise Iran's ballistic missile and naval threats

Govt's silence on Khamenei assassination not neutral but abdication: Sonia

In a scathing criticism of the Modi government, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said its silence on the targeted assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not neutral but an abdication, and raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of India's foreign policy. The former Congress president also demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget session, the government's "disturbing silence" over the breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion. In her article published in The Indian Express, Gandhi said there is an urgent need for "us to rediscover" the moral strength and articulate it with clarity and commitment. "On March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, had been assassinated in targeted strikes carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel. The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of

You can blame Barack Hussein Obama, sleepy Biden: Trump on Iran threat

Trump said the Iranian regime's missiles already had the capability of striking Europe and American bases, with the potential of developing long-range missiles capable of targeting the United States

Iranian drones buzz across Persian Gulf after use by Russia in Ukraine

The distinctive buzz of Iranian-designed drones has become a familiar sound in Ukraine over the past four years. Now, it's increasingly heard across the Persian Gulf as Tehran strikes back with the cheap but effective weapons following the attack by the US and Israel against Iran. The Shahed drones have made a transformative impact on modern warfare, with Russia sending swarms of the deadly weapons into the skies above Ukraine on nightly missions. While ballistic and cruise missiles fly much faster and pack a bigger punch, they cost millions and are available only in limited quantities. A Shahed drone costs only tens of thousands of dollars - a tiny fraction of a ballistic missile. Available in big numbers, the drones have shown their capability to oversaturate air defences and inflict painful damage at a very low cost. After Russia's botched attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital after its full-scale invasion with tanks, troops and missiles in February 2022, the fighting has tur

Beirut strikes spark backlash against Hezbollah from Lebanon's leaders

Lebanese civilians fled the country's south and Beirut's southern suburbs Monday, seeking refuge in Lebanon's capital following a new and deadly escalation between Israel and the Iran-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that left more than 50 people dead. The Hezbollah missile and drone attacks on northern Israel after midnight Sunday triggered waves of Israeli airstrikes and also brought the harshest criticism yet to the Iran-backed group from the country's leaders. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported at least 52 people were killed and 154 wounded in overnight strikes in the Beirut suburbs and southern Lebanon. The Ministry of Education said that schools will also be closed Tuesday because of the situation. During the day, Israel's military carried out dozens of airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs as well as southern and eastern Lebanon. Shortly after sunset, an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut neighbourhood caused widespread damage and the Israeli military said it targeted a

Khamenei's wife dies after being in coma for 2 days: Iranian media

Iranian media said Mansoureh Khojasteh, wife of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died on Monday. She had been in a coma since Saturday's strikes on her husband's office. Khojasteh, 78, was the only wife of Ali Khamenei. They married in 1964. Separately, an Iranian human rights activists' group cited an education ministry spokesperson as saying that 171 students were killed across Iran in the past 48 hours. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, the ministry spokesperson said the deadliest strike hit the Shajareh Tayebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, where 168 students died and 95 were injured. Additional casualties included two students in Tehran and a 9-year-old child in Abyek, Qazvin, while three others were injured in separate incidents in two districts of Tehran.

Defending Israel, we are also protecting world: Netanyahu on Iran threat

Asserting that Iran's nuclear and missile programme is a threat to the entire world, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said Israel's military actions are aimed not only at defending itself but also at safeguarding global security. "This is the third day of Operation Roaring Lion, which the Israeli army and the State of Israel launched, together with our great friends in the US and President Trump, to thwart existential threats to Israel, and great threats to America and the entire world," Netanyahu said while visiting Bet Shemesh, which was hit by an Iranian ballistic missile on Sunday. Nine people were killed and over 20 injured when the missile hit a residential area in Bet Shemesh, some 35 km from Jerusalem. Netanyahu said Iran's threats extended beyond Israel and the US to Europe and other regions. "They chant, 'Death to Israel, death to America.' That's their ultimate target. But I said that they would also target those in between, that they would target Europe. They

War & wealth: The investor's survival guide to the 2026 geopolitical storm

The most reliable strategy during geopolitical stress is to stay invested, diversify sensibly, and use periods of decline to add to existing holdings rather than exiting in fear.

Limited flights begin from UAE to extract citizens amid escalating conflict

Travellers stranded by a widening war began departing the United Arab Emirates aboard a small number of evacuation flights Monday, even as most commercial air traffic across the Middle East remained suspended. The limited flights out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi took place as the US State Department urged its own citizens in 13 countries, including UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman, to "depart now via commercial means due to serious safety risks." Sweeping airspace closures and flight cancellations across the region left many fewer options for heeding the advice. Since US and Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf states started Saturday, commercial flights have been halted or heavily restricted, leaving tourists, business travellers, migrant workers and religious pilgrims stuck in hotels, airports and aboard cruise ships. Airspace remained closed Monday over Iran, Iraq and Israel. Jordan instituted a temporary closure beginning Monday afternoo

Israel launches fresh strikes on Iran after issuing evacuation warnings

This came after a coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on February 28, which resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei

UK PM Starmer defends decision not to join US-Israel strikes on Iran

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday defended his decision not to join the US-Israel strikes on Iran over the weekend, saying his Labour Party government did not believe in "regime change from the skies". Starmer was updating Parliament on his earlier announcement that the UK had granted permission for the Americans to use British bases for "limited defensive purpose" in West Asia. His statement to MPs in the House of Commons came after President Donald Trump said he was "very disappointed" that the UK PM took "far too long" to change his mind over the use of British bases. "This government does not believe in regime change from the skies," Starmer told the Commons. "The United Kingdom was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. That decision was deliberate. We believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement in which Iran agrees to give up any aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon and ceases its ...

Melania Trump chairs UNSC meeting on children in conflict amid Iran crisis

US first lady Melania Trump presided over a UN Security Council meeting on Monday focusing on children in conflict, one of her signature issues, at a turbulent time as the United States has joined Israel in attacking Iran. She was the first spouse of a world leader to take the president's seat at the United Nations' most powerful body, which is charged with ensuring global peace and security, according to the UN. The wife of President Donald Trump was given the opportunity as the United States takes over the council presidency for the month of March. In the past, presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers have often wielded the gavel. The first lady arrived at UN headquarters in a motorcade and was greeted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. She shook hands with each of the 15 Security Council members and posed for a group photo. The rotating president of the council gets to choose the subject and participants for some meetings. Monday's meeting, which was scheduled .

US asks Americans to leave West Asian countries amid escalating conflict

US Department of State issued a 'depart now' advisory for 14 countries in West Asia, as Secretary of State warned that a harsher phase lay ahead and said the US stood ready to assist citizens