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Middle East
US warns Iran war nearing decisive phase
United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the next phase of the war with Iran would be “decisive” within days, as Tehran threatens to target major U.S. companies and the conflict continues to derail global energy markets. The exchange of warnings underscores a rapid escalation in a month-long conflict that has spread across the Middle East since late February, which has killed more than 3,000 people and destabilised oil supplies. Despite signals from Washington that it is open to a negotiated settlement, both sides have intensified military and economic pressure, while divisions among U.S. allies have deepened. Speaking in Washington, Hegseth said the U.S. had “more and more options” and claimed Iran’s military capacity had been significantly degraded after weeks of sustained strikes. According to remarks reported by Reuters, he said Washington was prepared to escalate further if Tehran did not agree to terms, adding that President Donald Trump remained open to a deal. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded by threatening to target 18 U.S. companies operating in the region, including major technology and industrial firms, from Wednesday. The warning coincided with a U.S. State Departmen
Middle East
US aims to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz when possible
The United States plans to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz once it is “militarily possible”, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The U.S. Navy could escort these vessels alongside international allies, Bessent told Sky News. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC today that the Navy could not escort ships now, but may be able to by the end of March. “My belief, that as soon as it is militarily possible, the U.S. Navy and perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through,” said Bessent. Iran will keep the strait closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy”, its new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement today. Around 20% of global oil flows would usually transit through the strait. The Navy has reportedly been refusing requests for escorts from the shipping industry, citing safety issues. While France said this week that it was preparing for future escort missions alongside allies, this would only begin “after the most intense phase of the conflict has ended”. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp. said yesterday that it would partner with Chubb on a program to insure ships passing through the strait. Bessent also said mines in the strait would not be an ob
Middle East
Benjamin Netanyahu moves up meeting with Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit United States President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss negotiations with Iran. Netanyahu’s statement ahead of their next meeting indicates that he is concerned that the U.S. might pursue a narrow nuclear deal with Iran that will not address other Israeli concerns and wants to try to influence the president. “The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles, and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement, referring to Tehran’s support for militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. The meeting was initially set to take place on 18 February, and it was Netanyahu who requested the earlier meeting, White House officials told Axios. The last time the two met was in December last year. The White House hasn’t made an official statement on the matter. This comes after the U.S. and Iran held indirect talks on Friday in Oman that appeared to return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump said the talks were “very good” and planned more for early next week. Washington was represen
Middle East
Financial gap draft law passed in Lebanon
A draft law has been passed in Lebanon, which aims to tackle a years-long financial crisis. The Lebanese economy has struggled for six years, after a collapse between the central bank, commercial banks, depositors and the state itself, but the new draft legislation has faced heavy pushback. It passed through the cabinet at the end of last week with a vote of 13 to 9, despite the opposition from ministers across the political spectrum, and protests outside government headquarters. The law, known as the “financial gap”, is aiming to help depositors, who have been frozen out of accessing their savings, to start to recover their money from the 2019 collapse, with depositors stating it does not protect them enough. “The banking sector’s credibility has been severely damaged. This law aims to revive it by valuing assets, recapitalising banks, and ending Lebanon’s dangerous reliance on a cash economy,” said Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during a press conference.
Middle East
Netanyahu opposes Palestinian state plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is opposed to a Palestinian state on Sunday, following protests by far-right coalition allies over a United States-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence. He spoke after Israel’s key ally, the U.S., and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft UN resolution that backed U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and said the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood. Negotiations from the 15-member UN Security Council began on 7 November and would mandate Trump’s proposal for a “Board of Peace” transitional administration in Gaza to address issues including post-war reconstruction and economic recovery. The plan includes a clause suggesting reforms in the Palestinian Authority that could lead to a credible path for Palestinian self-determination. Netanyahu issued a statement on Sunday, following pressure from far-right ministers who threatened to walk out if he didn’t act. "Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed,” Netanyahu said. “Gaza will be demilitarised and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone."

Middle East
France to help Palestine draft a constitution: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France will help Palestine draw up a constitution. Macron held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris this week, after France formally recognised a Palestinian state in September. They were not the only Western nation to do so that month, with many citing frustration over Israel's ongoing devastation and a push for a two-state solution. Now, France has declared its intent to help the Palestinian Authority draft a constitution for a future state, put together by a joint committee. "This committee will be responsible for working on all legal aspects: constitutional, institutional and organisational," Macron told reporters. "It will contribute to the work of developing a new constitution, a draft of which President Abbas has presented to me, and will aim to finalise all the conditions for such a State of Palestine." France will also contribute 100 million euros in humanitarian aid to Gaza for 2025. “We are committed to a culture of dialogue and peace, and we want a democratic, unarmed state committed to the rule of law, transparency, justice, pluralism and the rotation of power,” Abbas said of the deal.
Middle East
Starmer shares UK's Middle East peace plan with Trump
The United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shared the U.K.-led peace plan for the Middle East with United States President Donald Trump during the President’s visit to Scotland. Starmer has worked on the plan with France and Germany over the weekend during an emergency call with the countries' leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz. “The Prime Minister welcomed the President’s efforts to secure this, and shared the plans he is working on with other European leaders to bring about a lasting peace,” a No 10 spokesperson said. While specifics of the plan have not been released yet, Sanders said the proposal would also be presented to allies, including Arab states, in the coming days. Starmer said the British are “revolted” by the images they’re seeing in Gaza and urged Trump to help set up new food centres in Gaza without fences after the U.S.-led arrangement had led to the killing of many Palestinians. “It’s a humanitarian crisis, it’s an absolute catastrophe,” Starmer said. “Nobody wants to see that. I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they’re seeing on their screens, so we’ve got to get to that ceasefire.” Israel has announced that it would suspend fighting in Gaza in three areas f
Middle East
Iran open to talks after banning nuclear inspections
Iran has formally severed ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following a United States-Israeli bombing campaign targeting its nuclear facilities, marking an escalation in the nuclear standoff that threatens to unravel years of diplomatic efforts. President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the suspension law on Wednesday, implementing parliament-approved legislation that blocks IAEA inspectors from accessing Iranian nuclear sites without approval from Tehran's Supreme National Security Council. The move comes as Iran's foreign minister dismissed the prospects of swift diplomatic talks with Washington following recent military strikes.Diplomatic doors stay openHowever, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did signal Tehran's continued openness to negotiations in his first interview with American media since the bombings. In an interview with CBS News, Araghchi insisted that "the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut," - though he poured cold water on U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that talks could resume “as early as this week”. "I don't think negotiations will restart as quickly as that," Araghchi told CBS. "In order for us to decide to re-engage, we will have to first ensure that America
Middle East
Nuclear sites not destroyed by US' Iran strikes: report
United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have likely only set the country’s nuclear program back by a few months, according to a Pentagon report. The Defense Intelligence Agency preliminary report concluded that U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy two of these sites, per The Guardian. U.S. President Donald Trump had said following the strikes that the three nuclear enrichment sites had been entirely destroyed. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the report’s factfulness. “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” Leavitt told CNN. “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.” Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was not damaged, according to the report, having been moved from the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites before the U.S. attacks began. The facilities above ground were heavily damaged, the report said, including power infrastructure, but these strik