siyasetçi, Bahreyn
Security Council, 10189th Meeting (AM) Iran
The Security Council will meet today, at the request of Bahrain, following Iran’s recent attack on the kingdom. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani is expected to participate in the session.
Security Council LIVE: Emergency meeting on Iranian attack in Bahrain
The 15-member Security Council is meeting in emergency session on Thursday morning to address the escalating tensions in the Gulf region following Iran attacks in recent days on Bahrain and Kuwait while Tehran and Washington continue to trade strikes over the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint. Stay tuned for live updates.
We stand in solidarity with Bahrain, Kuwait, and all our partners across the Gulf: UK statement at the UN Security Council
Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Bahrain.
- Güvenlik02 Tem
Four killed, 36 injured as first monsoon spell hits KP
A house damaged in a flash flood in Seen Kurum village, Lower Chitral. — Dawn PESHAWAR: As the first spell of monsoon rains hit several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, four people were killed and 36 injured in downpour-related incidents. The casualties were reported in Upper Dir, Khyber, Shangla, Mardan and Bajaur districts. At least 21 female students were injured in a stampede as lightning struck near their Upper Dir seminary during heavy rain. Besides, separate rain-related incidents and road accidents in the district also left one child dead and several people injured. According to Wari DSP Fakhar Alam, around 250 students were present at the Jamia Hafsa Lil-Banat in the Osorai Dara area at the time of the incident. The lightning strike triggered panic, causing a stampede that injured 21 students. The rescue teams shifted the injured to the Wari Hospital, where doctors said they all were out of danger. 21 female seminarians injured in Dir stampede following lightning strike In Lower Dir district, a girl was injured after a wall collapsed in Walai Kandao area, while a boy suffered injuries after being struck by a falling concrete block in Munda tehsil. Rescue 1122 teams provided first aid to the injured before shifting them to the hospital. In another incident, a child was killed and several people were injured when a passenger coach collided with a mini-truck in the Gulabad area of Adenzai tehsil. Separately, three people were injured in a collision between a passenger coach and a car in the Khongi area of Lower Dir. Rescue 1122 personnel provided emergency medical assistance before transporting the injured to a nearby hospital. The rain brought relief from the heat in Upper and Lower Dir districts by lowering temperatures. However, swollen streams disrupted traffic on link roads, while thunderstorms led to prolonged power outages in many areas before the rainfall began. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said two children were killed and three injured in a lightning strike in the Bazar Zakhakhel area of Khyber tribal district. It said that the injured were shifted to the hospital. Similarly, a woman was killed and another suffered injuries after being washed away in flash flood in Puran tehsil of Shangla district. Rescue 1122 said that its workers recovered a woman in critical condition. In the early hours of Wednesday, a cloudburst followed by torrential rain unleashed widespread destruction across multiple villages in both Lower and Upper Chitral districts, leaving dozens of families homeless and cutting off vital supply lines. Massive damage to public property was reported in several villages of Broze, Ayun and Drosh areas in Lower Chitral as well as in Phask, Khruzg and Lasht area of the Yarkhoon valley in Upper Chitral. More than a dozen houses were destroyed by flash flooding, rendering families homeless. Nearly 100 houses were partially damaged, while two mosques were destroyed. Severe flooding occurred in the streams and nullahs of Goldeh, Seen Kurum and Kor villages in Broze and Muldeh areas of Ayun and Osiak of Drosh. The downpour destroyed standing crops of maize, rice and sorghum across hundreds of acres, while pear, apple, grape, peach and pomegranate orchards were damaged. Also, dozens of domestic animals, including cows, were either swept away by the raging floodwaters or buried under the debris of collapsed sheds. A shortage of drinking water was reported in several areas as pipelines were washed away and natural springs and streams were inundated. The floodwaters also blocked the main Chitral-Peshawar Road in Broz, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded on both sides. The National Highway Authority deployed heavy machinery to restore traffic. Lower Chitral deputy commissioner Rao Mohammad Hashim Azim said both food and non-food items had been dispatched to the affected villages. Also, the upper parts of Hazara Division received heavy rainfall. The rain started at around 5pm and continued intermittently for the rest of the day in Mansehra, Torghar, Upper and Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts, providing relief from the prolonged heatwave. District emergency officer Ibrar Ali warned water levels in rivers and streams could rise rapidly due to accelerated glacier melting. The downpour also lashed upper parts of Swat Valley, especially Matta, Bahrain and Jambil valleys, significantly lowering temperatures. Mingora received light rain. The Kokarai stream in Jambil Valley recorded a low-level flooding. The closure of link roads along swollen streams was reported in Bajaur tribal district. Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2026
Rus İHA Saldırıları Herson Bölgesinde Beş Kişiyi Yaraladı US to form specialised ‘anti-drone force’
WASHINGTON: The United States Air Force is creating a new military speciality dedicated to defending its air bases against missile and drone attacks, after recent conflicts exposed vulnerabilities at American military installations in the Middle East and elsewhere. The move follows an internal review of the Iran war by senior Air Force commanders, who concluded that the growing threat posed by inexpensive but highly effective drones and precision-guided missiles requires personnel specially trained to protect military bases. According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, the Air Force also plans to establish dedicated air base defence units at selected installations. These units will bring together personnel from different military occupations and train them to detect, track and defeat incoming drones and missiles. US officials were alarmed by Ukraine’s 2025 ‘Operation Spiderweb’, in which remotely piloted drones struck Russian strategic bombers parked at air bases deep inside Russia. The operation prompted the Pentagon to reassess the protection of American military installations. The Air Force has also faced criticism at home after unidentified drones repeatedly flew over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in late 2023. Similar incidents were later reported at bases in Ohio, Utah and Britain. The urgency of strengthening air base defences increased after Iranian missile and drone attacks during the recent Iran-US conflict damaged several American military facilities in the Gulf. Reports said aircraft were destroyed or damaged on the ground, while key command facilities at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain also sustained significant damage. The challenge is particularly acute in the Indo-Pacific region, where American air bases in Japan are within range of China’s expanding missile arsenal. Although the US Army operates Patriot missile defence systems, military officials acknowledge there are not enough batteries to protect every Air Force installation. The Air Force is seeking about $1.4 billion in its proposed 2027 budget for a new air base missile defence system, but officials say it will take several years before the capability becomes operational. Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink told Congress in May that protecting military bases had become an increasingly important priority. The Air Force has not announced when the new specialised force will become operational, as developing training programmes and integrating the new role into the service are expected to take time. Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2026
ABD, İran Saldırıları Sonrası Körfez Üslerini İsrail'e Taşımayı PlanlıyorTrump says US 'getting along well' with Iran as both countries hold indirect talks in Qatar
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States is “getting along well” with Iran, as the two countries began indirect talks via mediators in Doha on Wednesday, in a bid to advance negotiations and ease tensions following exchanges of fire between the two sides. “The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters before leaving for a trip. “They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see.” He added that Tehran had “come a long way” in negotiations with Washington. “We hit them very hard last week. I think they’re fine,” he said. “It’s the denuclearisation of Iran, it’s very simple, and Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” Both the US and Iran said they would send officials to discuss the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war, but Iran insisted direct negotiations would not take place. A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed negotiations were underway, after earlier saying the foes would take part in “indirect technical talks on Wednesday in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators”. The discussions, being held at a lower level and focused on the details of the MOU, will “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit”, the diplomat told AFP. However, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazim Gharibabadi said that the negotiations for a final deal with Washington have yet to begin, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. “Follow-up working groups for implementing the understanding and negotiating the final agreement have been formed, but no negotiations have yet begun in these formats,” Gharibabadi said. The memorandum of understanding, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, culminated in a summit last month in Lucerne, Switzerland. It includes a 60-day ceasefire pausing the war that broke out with US-Israeli strikes in late February, as well as the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a timeframe for a final deal to permanently end the conflict and reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme. Last week, Tehran denied a claim by US President Donald Trump that there would be direct talks in Doha. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Iranian delegation would be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, but said the officials “have no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days”. ‘Different public messages’ US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were not taking part in the technical talks, the diplomat told AFP, after they met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday. In a statement, Qatar’s foreign ministry said the trio discussed “the ongoing talks between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran within the framework of the memorandum of understanding”, as well as developments in Lebanon. Anna Jacobs, non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP it was “very early in the negotiation process and battles are being fought privately and publicly”. “The overall positive message is that they are continuing to engage after the clashes last week,” she said. H.A. Hellyer, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said there was a “lack of transparency” surrounding the talks with both sides “sending very different public messages”. Since the signing of the US-Iran deal on June 17, both sides have exchanged fire in the Gulf, with Tehran targeting a commercial ship it said had deviated from its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command responded by saying it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over the weekend. Iran then hit back with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, which both condemned Tehran for the attacks. ‘Implementation challenges’ Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday in a televised interview that “when a war of this magnitude comes to an end… it is inevitable that there will be implementation challenges, incidents, and differences of opinion, especially where parties such as the Israeli regime are concerned”. He said the Iranian delegation in Doha would be focused on the implementation of clauses in the deal related to the Strait of Hormuz and fighting in Lebanon. “Naturally, the Islamic Republic is committed to ensuring that the agreement is implemented, and the enemy, the United States and its ally, must also fulfil their commitments,” he said. The exchanges of fire appear to have calmed in the days leading up to the talks in Qatar. On the Lebanon front, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been relatively quiet. Tehran has insisted any deal should include an end to the parallel conflict in Lebanon and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from its south, part of which they have occupied. Ghalibaf also said Iran’s oil exports had surged since the end of the US blockade on its ports, which Washington imposed in retaliation for Iran blocking shipping through Hormuz. “From the day the blockade was lifted until today, we have exported more than 40 million barrels of oil,” he told state television. “By contrast, during the previous 50 to nearly 60 days, we were genuinely unable to export even a single barrel of oil.”
ABD-İran Mutabakatına Doğru: İsrail ‘Geçici Çözüm’den RahatsızTalks in Qatar after US-Iran deal: What we know
US envoys were meeting with Qatari mediators on Tuesday in Doha to discuss negotiations with Iran, the Gulf state said, after Tehran and Washington agreed to a memorandum of understanding this month to halt the Middle East war. Iran said a team would head to Doha this week but contradicted US President Donald Trump’s claim that direct talks will take place. Qatar also said no high-level meetings or direct talks between the longtime foes were planned in Doha. Here is what we know about the discussions: Who and when Trump posted on Monday that Iran had requested fresh talks in Qatar the following day. “IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” he wrote. After his social media post, his spokeswoman told Fox News that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner “will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week”. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari confirmed on Tuesday that Witkoff and Kushner were in Doha, but said “they are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians”. They were there to “meet with mediators, with Qatari officials, and the talks will be around all regional issues… including, of course, negotiations with Iran, but also including Lebanon”, he added. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, meanwhile, said on Monday that a delegation of experts would only travel to Doha “later this week” for discussions on the deal, not for direct US talks. “We have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement,” he said, noting that “over the coming days, we will not have any negotiation meetings with the US side at any level”. Issues on the table A key issue in the accord that needs to be ironed out is Iran’s chokehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with the agreement providing for its reopening. Traffic in the strait dropped over the weekend after a vessel was struck while transiting the waterway on Saturday. A US official said talks were “slated to continue on all areas of the MoU”. Iran has also held recent talks with Oman on what it called the “future management” of vessels transiting the Hormuz strait. Another key issue for Iran is the unlocking of its funds frozen by crippling US sanctions. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that the necessary steps to unfreeze these funds were “underway”, saying $6 billion was to be released back to the country out of $12 billion. Baqaei said Tuesday that talks would be held with the Qatari side “probably tomorrow” on the “provision concerning the release of Iran’s restricted assets”. Fighting calms Since the signing of the US-Iran deal, both sides have traded sporadic fire in the Gulf. Tehran’s enforcement of its claim to the Strait of Hormuz has sparked repeated flare-ups. The latest came early Sunday when US Central Command said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping”. Iran said it retaliated with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, both of whom condemned Tehran. Yet those exchanges appear to have calmed in the days leading up to the talks in Qatar. On the Lebanon front, fighting in the war between Israel and Hezbollah has also been relatively quiet in recent days. Tehran has insisted any deal should include an end to the parallel conflict and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, part of which they have occupied. A lull in fighting in the country began in the days after the announcement of the Iran-US deal.
Katar'daki İran-ABD Görüşmeleri Hürmüz Boğazı'nda Gerilimi AzalttıMinister Anand to travel to Bahrain, United Kingdom and France
The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will travel to Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain (Bahrain), London, United Kingdom, and Paris, France, from June 10 to 12, 2026.
Melting mountains and returning floods — Swat’s climate emergency
SWAT: On June 27, authorities issued a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (Glof) alert for the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Swat, warning that soaring temperatures were expected to accelerate snow and glacier melt across mountain valleys and increase the risk of flash flooding, landslides and sudden inundation downstream. Authorities urged monitoring of vulnerable sites, evacuation preparedness and public awareness in communities living along rivers and streams. For the residents of Swat, however, the warning did not sound theoretical. It reopened memories of a crisis that has unfolded over more than a decade, one measured not only in damaged roads and collapsed bridges, but also in disrupted identities, broken landscapes and communities learning to live with uncertainty. The Swat River has always been dynamic. Its channels shift, widen and reclaim floodplains during periods of high discharge. Yet in recent years, changing climate patterns combined with expanding development have altered the relationship between people and the river. Satellite-based information published through Space4Climate, powered by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), has highlighted how urban expansion into active floodplains at Bahrain increased exposure to flood damage. Comparative imagery published for 2010–2022 shows substantial construction along sections of the river corridor, narrowing natural water pathways before the destructive floods of August 2022. According to the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), the country has faced 89 flood events in the last 25 years, with impacts becoming more severe due to increasing urban expansion and development within active riverbeds and floodplains. Using satellite-based monitoring, Suparco provides continuous assessments of river behaviour and surrounding land use, supporting informed decision-making for flood risk reduction and climate-resilient development. Normal river water as of May 2022 appears light blue in this satellite image of River Swat and its tributary. — via Space4Climate River water during the August 2022 floods appears muddy in the channels in this satellite image of River Swat and its tributary. The image highlights the risks to the settlements (outlined in yellow). — via Space4Climate The implication extends beyond one town: climate hazards become more destructive when natural river systems lose space to absorb extreme flows. Long before flood damage became international news, communities in Upper Swat had already begun documenting change. From Gabral to Mankiyal, from Matiltan to Daral, repeated floods and climate-linked extremes since around 2010 have reshaped everyday life. Yet physical destruction tells only part of the story. Teachers, local organisers and cultural workers increasingly speak about less visible impacts: anxiety during monsoon seasons, prolonged uncertainty among displaced families, changing settlement patterns, and the gradual weakening of community traditions rooted in place. For many younger residents, repeated disaster cycles have altered how they imagine their future in the valley. Among those who have consistently spoken about these wider consequences is Zubair Torwali, a cultural and linguistic activist and researcher from Upper Swat. Torwali has repeatedly argued in public discussions and writings that development and climate responses in mountain regions should not be reduced to engineering solutions alone. “Mountains are not empty landscapes,” he has said in various public forums and interviews over the years, emphasising that when communities are displaced or landscapes transformed, languages, memories and cultural practices are also placed at risk. Local activists and researchers have similarly argued that repeated environmental shocks in Upper Swat affect social cohesion, oral traditions, seasonal movement patterns and people’s sense of belonging. For many families, recovery is no longer a single rebuilding effort; it has become a recurring condition. The August 2022 floods marked a moment of national reckoning. Across northern Pakistan, extreme rainfall combined with swollen rivers to overwhelm settlements and infrastructure. In Bahrain and the surrounding areas of Swat, the destruction has reignited debate over land use, river governance and construction practices inside active flood corridors. Satellite assessments later drew attention to the overlap between damaged structures and historically active river areas. Climate scientists increasingly warn that warmer conditions amplify hydrological extremes: accelerated glacier melt, more intense rainfall and unstable mountain systems. The current Glof warning again places Swat at a crossroads. Authorities have advised communities to avoid riverbanks, maintain evacuation readiness and strengthen local monitoring systems. But adaptation may ultimately require broader choices. Scientists argue for stricter floodplain regulation, better mountain planning, protection of natural river corridors and investment in community-based resilience. Local voices add another requirement: climate adaptation must also protect people’s relationship with place. In Swat, the question is no longer whether the mountains are changing. The question is whether policy, planning and public memory can change quickly enough to live with what comes next.
Swat'ta İklim Krizi: Buzul Taşkınları Alarm VeriyorPM Shehbaz to visit Iran, Turkiye as part of mediation efforts to end Middle East war: sources
ISLAMABAD: As part of Pakistan’s efforts to help broker an end to the war in the Middle East, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will pay official visits to Iran and Turkiye from July 3 to 6, sources in the PM Office told Dawn on Monday. The US military said it carried out new strikes on early Sunday on multiple targets in Iran, in response to a fresh Iranian attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran responded by launching strikes against US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait before both sides agreed to halt attacks. Sources said that during his visit, the prime minister will meet the leadership of both Iran and Turkiye and call on Tehran and Washington to exercise restraint, particularly following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of the peace process. The strikes underscored the fragility of the Pakistan-brokered interim peace deal aimed at ending a war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, which disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and rattled global energy markets. Yesterday, Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said that “we should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region”. This echoed a proposal put forward by Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier this week, who called for a new “regional security structure” among regional countries. Pezeshkian floated the concept during a visit to Pakistan, where he expressed gratitude to PM Shehbaz and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for their efforts to bring about an end to the war.
Burgenstock'ta ABD-İran Barışı İçin 60 Günlük Yol HaritasıSupreme court nears the end of its term with cases about Donald Trump’s power to be decided – US politics live
Court expected to hand down decisions on several outstanding cases, wrapping up term that has focussed on Trump’s expansive claims of presidential power Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. The supreme court is expected to hand down decisions later today on several outstanding cases, before wrapping up a term that has focused on Donald Trump’s expansive claims of presidential power. Joe Biden has said Donald Trump has diminished America’s standing in the world “more than any president in history”. The former president delivered remarks highly critical of his successor, while giving the keynote address at a gala in Hanover, Maryland, hosted by the state’s Democratic party, which is hoping to help wrest control of Congress away from Trump and his Republican allies during November’s midterm elections. A new round of escalating strikes between Iran and the US has continued, further undermining the fragile interim peace agreement between the two countries, and prompting Trump to threaten violence that would ensure Iran “will no longer exist”. On Sunday, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait after new US strikes on sites in southern Iran, and threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war. Migrants in the US on temporary protected status should seek permanent residence or leave, Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, said in the wake of last week’s supreme court decision that stripped humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants. An opaque White House office staffed largely by veterans of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has quietly rebuilt some of the federal government’s most sensitive websites – for passport applications, voter registration, prescription-drug pricing and children’s savings – in ways critics say appear to violate federal law. Continue reading...
Joint statement on the Multinational Military Mission for the Strait of Hormuz: 12 May 2026
Joint statement from the United Kingdom, France, Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Net…
Iran and US agree to halt attacks and renew talks, US official says
Iran and the United States agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks regarding their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said on Sunday, raising hopes of saving an interim peace deal that was under pressure from days of tit-for-tat strikes. The exchanges have underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered agreement to end the conflict that has killed thousands and snarled the flow of oil shipments through the vital Strait of Hormuz. “Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the memorandum of understanding (MoU). Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely,” the official said, referring to the 14-point agreement that was agreed on June 17 under which the strait would be re-opened for traffic. Iran has not immediately commented on the US statement. Axios, which first reported the cessation of hostilities, citing a senior US official, said talks would resume on Tuesday in Qatar. A return to diplomacy would follow several days of strikes and counterstrikes since an Iranian projectile hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with both the US and Iran accusing the other of breaking an interim ceasefire that was agreed to on June 17. Iran launched missiles and drones at US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early on Sunday, shortly after US President Donald Trump threatened that the Islamic Republic would cease to exist if it did not honor the agreement to end the war. Meanwhile, Israel said on Sunday it had once again struck Iran-backed armed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, destroying underground infrastructure used by the group in a village in southern Lebanon. That came after another strike on Saturday, which closely followed its latest ceasefire deal with Lebanon on Friday. Iran says the fighting in Lebanon must end if the wider agreement is to stick. The US military said earlier it had struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy shipping route, which Tehran has largely closed for most of the conflict. “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump said on social media, before the Axios report. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” he added. The 14-point interim peace accord was meant to halt the fighting, which the US and Israel started on February 28, and reopen the strait while talks proceeded on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program. Violence, accusations follow peace deal One round of mediated talks, led by Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, was held in Switzerland a week ago and Washington waived sanctions on Tehran, but fighting has since resumed and intensified. About an hour after Trump’s post, Kuwait’s army said its air defences were responding to missile and drone attacks, while Bahrain said sirens had sounded there. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement its navy and air forces had launched missile and drone operations targeting US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain. The Guards said US strikes had violated the ceasefire and “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes”, state-run Press TV said. The IRGC navy command said American bases in the region “will experience hell in the coming days”. A US official, confirming Iran had targeted US facilities, told Reuters there were no reported US casualties or major damage to US sites in the Middle East but the situation was still unfolding. Hours later, alarms sounded for a second time in Bahrain, where authorities said an Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province, with no casualties reported. Bahrain urged the UN Security Council to hold an urgent session to hold Iran accountable. The Kuwaiti army said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties. Separately, Qatar said one of its nationals had died after sustaining injuries from shrapnel aboard a vessel that had gone missing on Saturday. A second person was injured in the incident, which was due to “military operations in the area”, the interior ministry said, without giving a location or apportioning blame.
ABD-İran Mutabakatına Doğru: İsrail ‘Geçici Çözüm’den RahatsızUS weighs shifting Gulf bases after strikes
• May move some military assets in Middle East farther west, potentially to Israel • Fifth Fleet HQ in Bahrain among most affected sites, says WSJ • Estimates suggest $5bn damage across 11 US military installations WASHINGTON: The United States is weighing the relocation of parts of its military footprint in the Middle East further westward, potentially to Israel, as Iranian missile and drone strikes expose serious vulnerabilities in forward-deployed bases across the Gulf, according to media and think tank assessments. The reported strikes, which followed the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran on Feb 28, are said to have hit multiple American and allied military installations across the region. The attacks are reported to have killed 13 service members and wounded hundreds, although a comprehensive accounting of casualties and damage has not yet been made public. According to the Wall Street Journal, one of the most significant sites affected was Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Bahrain, the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, located approximately 240 kilometres south of Iran. The base sustained damage to a range of facilities, including the Fifth Fleet headquarters building, barracks, warehouses and a potable water tank. Estimates cited in reporting place damage to the installation at around $400 million, with portions of the destruction not fully acknowledged publicly by the Pentagon. The strikes have triggered internal deliberations within the US administration over whether to significantly reshape its military posture in the Gulf. US officials cited in reporting say options under consideration include relocating key command centres underground at NSA Bahrain, reinforcing hardened facilities, and in some cases opting not to rebuild certain damaged structures. Washington is also reassessing its presence in other Gulf states, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, with discussions under way about shifting certain military assets further west. One location being examined in early-stage planning is Israel, where US military aircraft have reportedly been stationed at Ben Gurion Airport since the build-up to the conflict, the Journal reported. Independent assessments of the damage vary but point in the same direction: significant disruption to US military infrastructure across the region. The American Enterprise Institute estimates that Iranian strikes caused roughly $5 billion in damage across 70 structures at 11 US military installations in seven countries. Its report argues that the scale and spread of the damage may force not only extensive rebuilding, but also selective abandonment or relocation of vulnerable facilities, given the growing risks posed by sustained missile and drone warfare against fixed bases. Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2026
ABD, İran Saldırıları Sonrası Körfez Üslerini İsrail'e Taşımayı PlanlıyorSwiss talks hang in the balance as tit-for-tat strikes rattle Mideast
• US hits Iranian targets after tankers come under fire • IRGC hits US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain in retaliation • Negotiators expected to meet in Doha this week to discuss Hormuz control • Araghchi asserts sovereignty over vital waterway; seeks collective security framework for Gulf states • IRGC vows to make America ‘feel the pain’ after Trump threat Iran will ‘no longer exist’ WASHINGTON: The ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran aimed at ending their confrontation seem to hang in the balance, after developments over the weekend seemed to throw a spanner in the works. Iran did not take part in technical talks slated for Sunday due to recent attacks on the country and unfulfilled conditions of the MoU with the United States, a member of the Supreme Leader’s Office told Iranian state TV on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC and NBC News reported on Sunday that negotiations scheduled to continue in Switzerland had been postponed amid the renewed hostilities. US outlet Axios, however, quoted a senior US official as saying that both sides had agreed to stop strikes against each other. The two sides are now expected to meet in Doha tomorrow (Tuesday) to work out their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet reported. The Tuesday talks were originally set to happen in Switzerland to address Iran’s nuclear programme, but the escalation over the weekend necessitated they be moved to a different venue and refocused them on the Strait of Hormuz. Nick Stewart, who heads the US technical team, is expected to participate in the talks, Axios reported. Diplomats ‘still in Switzerland’ In Washington, Dawn learnt from diplomatic circles that the negotiations were currently “on hold”, but representatives from both countries remained in Switzerland in anticipation of a political decision to resume discussions. “No one expected these talks to be easy or to conclude quickly,” one source said. “Pakistan and other mediators succeeded in convincing both Iran and the United States to begin talking to each other. But negotiations on the substantive issues were never going to be easy. There are many hurdles and many detractors. The encouraging aspect is that both sides recognise that war is not a solution, which is why they need to remain engaged,” a diplomatic source told Dawn. Threats and attacks The diplomatic setback came after tit-for-tat attacks, and a stark warning by President Donald Trump, who said the US would be forced to “militarily complete the job” if strikes in the Hormuz continued. In a post on Truth Social, he accused Iran of violating the “ceasefire agreement again”. “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” According to US Central Command, American fighter aircraft struck 10 Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz after a drone attack damaged the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker M/T Kiku, which was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil through the strategic waterway. In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had launched missile and drone operations targeting US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, in response to recent strikes against Iran. A US official, confirming the attacks on its facilities, told Reuters there were no American casualties, or major damage reported, but the situation was still unfolding. Hours later, alarms sounded for a second time in Bahrain, with the authorities saying an Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province. The IRGC, meanwhile, said that American bases in the region “will experience hell in the coming days”, warning the US that violating the ceasefire “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes”. During negotiations in Switzerland, the US delegation agreed to establish a “hotline” between the US military and the IRGC to coordinate traffic in the strait. As of Saturday, Axios reported, the “hotline” still wasn’t operational, even as Iran claimed that ships need to coordinate passage. Increase in tensions During a visit to Iraq, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any challenge to the country’s control of the strait would increase tensions. “Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions, as we witnessed in the past two nights,” Abbas Araghchi told a news conference in Baghdad. “The Strait of Hormuz remains under the total oversight and management of Iran through the 30 coming days, and after all obstacles are removed, the total capacity of the waterway will be restored. This is what we are working on,” he added. “This responsibility rests on the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is no other party or state in this respect. This is totally clear under the memorandum of understanding and any intervention or any unilateral action will result in exacerbating the situation and also delay the reopening of the strait.” The Iranian minister also called for the establishment of a security framework with Gulf countries, after Iranian strikes against US bases in the Gulf in retaliation for American attacks, AFP reported. “We should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region,” Araghchi said. It may be noted that Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the coast of Oman, while Tehran, which ultimately aims to charge fees for use of the strait, wants ships to use a northern route through its waters and under its control. With input from Agencies Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2026
Karşılıklı vuruşlar İsviçre görüşmelerini baltalarken Doha'da Hürmüz pazarlığıIran’s Revolutionary Guards say 8 US military sites destroyed in overnight strikes in Bahrain, Kuwait
IRGC says operation targeted Ali Al Salem base and US Fifth Fleet facilities in response to recent American attacks
İran, ABD ve İsrail'in Denetim Anlaşması Kapsamındaki Nükleer Tesislere Saldırılarını KınadıIran analyst claims Iranian strikes destroyed 8 US-linked targets in Bahrain, Kuwait
Military expert says attacks targeted Ali Al Salem base, US Fifth Fleet facilities
Tehran targets Bahrain and Kuwait after US attacks
The ceasefire between Iran and the United States appears increasingly fragile on Sunday, following a new exchange of strikes. In the latest escalation, Tehran launched missiles and drones at Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which host US military bases, just hours after the United States struck multiple targets across Iran. The renewed violence comes amid rising tensions over efforts to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route.
İran, ABD ve İsrail'in Denetim Anlaşması Kapsamındaki Nükleer Tesislere Saldırılarını KınadıItaly urges restraint after Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait
'It is essential to avoid any escalation that could jeopardize the understandings painstakingly reached,' says foreign minister
After tit-for-tat attacks, Iran FM warns any challenge to Hormuz routes will 'increase tensions'
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that any attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz routes agreed with the United States would “increase tensions” in the Middle East, as the countries traded attacks and accusations of violating a fragile ceasefire in the region. Araghchi’s warning came after the US military said it carried out new strikes on early Sunday on multiple targets in Iran, in response to a fresh attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran responded by launching strikes against US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. The exchanges underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered peace process aimed at ending a war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, which disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and rattled global energy markets. “Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions, as we witnessed in the past two nights,” Araghchi told a press conference in Baghdad later. During his visit to the Iraqi capital, Araghchi also called for the establishment of a security framework with Gulf countries, with Tehran and Washington accusing each other of violating the fragile truce that was meant to end the Middle East war. Araghchi called on all parties to “adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not to allow this MoU to deviate from its course”. Iran’s top diplomat said that “we should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region”. This echoed a proposal put forward by Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier this week, who called for a new “regional security structure” among regional countries. He welcomed Iraq’s call to hold a meeting between the Gulf States, Iran and Iraq, which was drawn into the Middle East war from the beginning. Iraq is expected to hold on July 8 funeral processions for Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated during attacks by the US and Israel on the first day of the war. Following the US strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday they were taking measures to control traffic in Strait of Hormuz and that violating vessels would be dealt with more firmly than before. The only authorised passage by Tehran passes through a corridor running along Iran’s coast. Vessels have continued to use a non-Iranian-approved passage in the strategic waterway, tracking platforms showed on Friday. A day earlier, the IRGC said that Oman and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) announced the new corridor without consulting Tehran, and warned vessels against using it. In the Islamabad MoU, Iran had previously agreed “safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa” in the strait. H.A. Hellyer, of London think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said, “Iran is likely to continue calibrated, low-level coercive activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz… to create persistent pressure on international shipping without triggering a wider conflict.” He said November’s US midterm elections for Congress give Washington “incentives for a quicker agreement” while, for Iran, “a drawn-out negotiation accompanied by controlled pressure in the strait can work to its advantage”. Iran targets US bases in Gulf Earlier on Sunday, Iran said it carried out a third day of retaliatory strikes after the US carried out multiple attacks on Iranian territory, as both accused the other of violating their fragile ceasefire. US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes were in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker “Kiku”, which was carrying some two million barrels of crude. The US military said its operation targeted “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities”. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing details. The IRGC said, “America’s blind shots at Sirik will not resolve our dominance over the Strait of Hormuz. But our shots at violators will remind the rest of the vessels of the clear passage route.” The IRGC said in a statement that the US strikes had violated the ceasefire and “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes”, according to state-run Press TV. The IRGC navy command said American bases in the region “will experience hell in the coming days”. The IRGC also said it had carried out retaliatory strikes in Kuwait and Bahrain. In a statement, it said the strikes “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain”. “Any enemy aggression, whatever the pretext, even against insignificant targets… will have a crushing response,” the IRGC warned. Air raid sirens rang out twice in Bahrain on Sunday, according to the Gulf nation’s interior ministry. A US official, confirming the attacks on US facilities, told Reuters there were no reported US casualties or major damage to US sites in the Middle East but that the situation was still unfolding. Hours later, alarms sounded for a second time in Bahrain, with the authorities saying an Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province, with no casualties reported. Bahrain urged the United Nations Security Council to hold an urgent session to hold Iran accountable. The Kuwaiti army said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was reached between the US and Iran on June 18 under Pakistan’s mediation, aimed at putting a lasting end to the war. The text signed by the United States and Iran said both countries, and their respective allies, were “not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other”. Washington had carried out similar strikes on Friday, saying they were a response to an earlier Iranian attack on another vessel, the “Ever Lovely”. Iran would ‘no longer exist’ US President Donald Trump early on Sunday, US President Donald Trump threatened that Iran would “no longer exist” if the United States is “forced” to resume the war. The threat came after US forces said they struck “multiple” Iranian targets Saturday in another tit-for-tat response to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. “United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote. Lebanon threats On Saturday, Israel launched strikes in Lebanon as Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem rejected a deal to end that conflict, which has also threatened to derail the wider US-Iran peace effort. Iran called “these brutal attacks… a blatant violation” of the interim truce deal. Lebanon, from where Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of Iran, has been invaded and heavily bombarded by Israel, undermining the US-Iran ceasefire. Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement on Friday, supported by the US, aimed at securing long-term peace between the two countries. Hezbollah’s chief Qassem rejected the deal a day later, calling it “humiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty”. He instead called for the full implementation of Washington’s deal with Tehran, which includes an end to the fighting in Lebanon. Hezbollah has repeatedly called for a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but the Washington deal does not appear to provide for that. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israeli troops will remain in the so-called security zone they occupy in southern Lebanon, with civilians prevented from returning until Hezbollah is disarmed. The Israeli premier called the deal historic on Saturday and “a blow to Iran and Hezbollah”. But Netanyahu’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced it as “a big mistake” and insisted that only Israeli forces were capable of disarming Hezbollah.
Trump İran'ı Yok Etmekle Tehdit Etti, Karşılıklı Saldırılar Ateşkesi SarstıPakistan, Bahrain ministers discuss Mideast tensions after Iran strikes
The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Bahrain on Sunday discussed the escalating Middle East crisis following Iranian missile and drone attacks on US positions in the Gulf, with the Bahraini envoy praising Islamabad's “constructive” role in securing the recently signed framework deal between Washington and Tehran.
Trump threatens to annihilate Iran after tit-for-tat attacks, recriminations over peace deal violations
Tehran said on Sunday it carried out a third day of retaliatory strikes against US attacks on Iranian territory, as both accused the other of violating their fragile ceasefire, straining negotiations meant to end the Middle East war. The exchanges underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered peace process aimed at ending a war launched by the United States and Israel in February, which disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and rattled global energy markets. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday they were taking measures to control traffic in the vital Strait of Hormuz and that violating vessels would be dealt with more firmly than before. The only authorised passage by Tehran passes through a corridor running along Iran’s coast. The Guards said they had also carried out retaliatory strikes in Kuwait and Bahrain. In a statement, they said the strikes “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain”. “Any enemy aggression, whatever the pretext, even against insignificant targets… will have a crushing response,” the IRGC said. Air raid sirens rang out twice in Bahrain on Sunday, according to the Gulf nation’s interior ministry. The Guards said in a statement that the US strikes had violated the ceasefire and “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes”, according to state-run Press TV. The IRGC navy command said American bases in the region “will experience hell in the coming days”. A US official, confirming the attacks on US facilities, told Reuters there were no reported US casualties or major damage to US sites in the Middle East but that the situation was still unfolding. Hours later, alarms sounded for a second time in Bahrain, with the authorities saying an Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province, with no casualties reported. Bahrain urged the United Nations Security Council to hold an urgent session to hold Iran accountable. The Kuwaiti army said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was reached between the US and Iran on June 18 under Pakistan’s mediation, aimed at putting a lasting end to the war. The text signed by the United States and Iran said both countries, and their respective allies, were “not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other”. Iran would ‘no longer exist’ US President Donald Trump early on Sunday said that Iran would “no longer exist” if the United States is “forced” to resume the war. The threat came after US forces said they struck “multiple” Iranian targets Saturday in another tit-for-tat response to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. “United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote. Shipping lanes under fire US Central Command said Saturday’s strikes were in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker “Kiku”, which was carrying some two million barrels of crude. The US military said its operation targeted “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities”. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing details. The Guards said, “America’s blind shots at Sirik will not resolve our dominance over the Strait of Hormuz. But our shots at violators will remind the rest of the vessels of the clear passage route.” Washington had carried out similar strikes on Friday, saying they were a response to an earlier Iranian attack on another vessel, the “Ever Lovely”. Israel, meanwhile, launched strikes in Lebanon as Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem rejected a deal to end that conflict, which has also threatened to derail the wider US-Iran peace effort. Iran called “these brutal attacks… a blatant violation” of the interim truce deal. Iran has warned vessels not to enter or leave the Gulf through the strait without permission, but ships have continued to move, some using a route not authorised by Tehran. In the Islamabad MoU, Iran had previously agreed “safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa” in the strait. H.A. Hellyer, of London think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said, “Iran is likely to continue calibrated, low-level coercive activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz… to create persistent pressure on international shipping without triggering a wider conflict.” He said November’s US midterm elections for Congress give Washington “incentives for a quicker agreement” while, for Iran, “a drawn-out negotiation accompanied by controlled pressure in the strait can work to its advantage”. Lebanon threats Lebanon, from where Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of Iran, has been invaded and heavily bombarded by Israel, undermining the US-Iran ceasefire. Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement on Friday, supported by the US, aimed at securing long-term peace between the two countries. Hezbollah’s chief Qassem rejected the deal a day later, calling it “humiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty”. He instead called for the full implementation of Washington’s deal with Tehran, which includes an end to the fighting in Lebanon. Hezbollah has repeatedly called for a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but the Washington deal does not appear to provide for that. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israeli troops will remain in the so-called security zone they occupy in southern Lebanon, with civilians prevented from returning until Hezbollah is disarmed. The Israeli premier called the deal historic on Saturday and “a blow to Iran and Hezbollah”. But Netanyahu’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced it as “a big mistake” and insisted that only Israeli forces were capable of disarming Hezbollah.
Trump İran'ı Yok Etmekle Tehdit Etti, Karşılıklı Saldırılar Ateşkesi SarstıDonald Trump threatens to annihilate Iran after crossfire over Hormuz – Middle East crisis live
Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talks US and Iran trade strikes as both sides accuse the other of endangering ceasefire Welcome to our live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Earlier this morning, Iran has said it launched a joint missile and drone operation targeting eight US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain. This comes after the US launched further strikes on multiple targets in Iran, a day after it struck Iran in retaliation for a drone attack on a cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz. Ishaq Dar, Pakistani foreign minister, has reportedly held talks with his Bahraini counterpart, Abdulatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, over the phone to discuss the evolving regional crisis. This comes after Bahrain said it had intercepted a number of missiles and drones from Iran. Several Iraqi political officials were arrested early Sunday on corruption charges, Iraq’s state-run Iraqi news agency reported. It said the arrests were based on statement made by former deputy minister of oil Adnan al-Jumaili, who was arrested last month, and “included members of parliament whose immunity had been lifted.” Israeli soldiers have shot and wounded a Palestinian in the Qalandiya refugee camp – north of occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli forces also detained two people and raided homes, according to Wafa news agency. Continue reading...
Trump'tan İran'a imha tehdidi: Hürmüz çatışması tırmandıKuwait says it intercepted 2 'hostile' ballistic missiles
Attacks did not result in damage or casualties, says Kuwaiti Army after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted US military sites in Kuwait, Bahrain
Middle East live: Iran targets Gulf states in response to US strikes, testing fragile truce
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Sunday launched attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes on 10 Iranian sites. The Islamic Republic threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
IRGC hits eight US targets in Kuwait, Bahrain
TEHRAN, Jun. 28 (MNA) – The IRGC said they fired ballistic missiles and drones at eight key U.S. military targets in Kuwait and Bahrain early Sunday, destroying infrastructure in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian coastal posts.
İran, ABD ve İsrail'in Denetim Anlaşması Kapsamındaki Nükleer Tesislere Saldırılarını KınadıIranian drones target Bahrain after US offensive, straining ceasefire
Bahrain said it had been targeted by Iranian drones and a ship in the Strait of Hormuz was struck on Saturday, adding fresh tension to the detente established in the wake of an interim US-Iran peace deal signed earlier this month. Bahrain’s foreign ministry said a number of Iranian drones targeted the country, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, early on Saturday morning, state-run BNA reported. Tehran has repeatedly targeted it and other Gulf states that host American military bases and thousands...
ABD-İran Mutabakatına Doğru: İsrail ‘Geçici Çözüm’den RahatsızBahrain condemns Iranian drone attack as 'blatant violation'
Bahrain's Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that Iranian drones targeted the Gulf kingdom early in the day in what it called "a blatant violation" of sovereignty and international law, urging the UN Security Council to hold Tehran accountable as Washington confirmed fresh strikes on Iranian military sites.
Bahreyn, İran'ın İHA saldırısını 'açık ihlal' saydı; ABD İran hedeflerini vurduLive Updates: Mideast Hostilities Flare, Testing Fragile U.S.-Iran Truce
Bahrain said it had come under attack by Iranian drones, an apparent retaliation after the United States launched strikes on Iranian military sites overnight.
Iran says it hits US-linked targets as Bahrain reports drone attack
By Eman Abouhassira and Jana Choukeir DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - Iran said it struck targets linked to U.S. forces on Saturday in response to U.S. airstrikes on its southern coast, as each side continued to accuse the other of violating last week's agreement meant to end the four-month-old war. Iran's foreign ministry did not identify the locations of its "defensive" attacks, which it said were a response to "the barbaric air strikes" by the U.S. on its coastal surveillance facilities, which it said also violated the U.N. Charter.
Iran Rained Drones On Major US Base. It Made America Rethink Its War Strategy
The base, known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and acts as the command centre for American naval operations in the region.
100 Günlük İran Savaşı ABD'nin Küresel Prestijini Nasıl AşındırdıTehran rejects US-GCC statement citing 'Iran's threats' as 'interventionist, provocative'
Iran on Friday condemned a joint statement issued by the US secretary of state and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers, describing it as “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative.” In a statement, the Iranian foreign ministry criticised positions outlined in the joint communique issued after the GCC-US ministerial meeting in Bahrain on Thursday and warned against what it called continued hostile and interventionist behaviour in the region. Tehran dismissed Washington’s stated “enduring commitment” to the security of GCC member states as “mere rhetoric” and a distortion of reality, arguing that the US military presence in the region has become a source of insecurity and division. The ministry said the recent use of military bases and facilities in regional countries during US and Israeli strikes on Iran demonstrated that Washington did not value the security of its regional partners. It urged regional states whose territory and facilities were allegedly used during the conflict to reconsider their positions, saying they had obligations under international law and the principle of good neighbourliness to prevent third parties from using their territory to carry out hostile acts against Iran. Iran also rejected repeated accusations regarding its peaceful nuclear programme, calling them fabricated by the US and Israel, and urged GCC member states to cooperate with Tehran on establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone in West Asia. The statement also condemned references in the GCC-US communique to Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, saying Tehran would not show “the slightest leniency” in defending its sovereignty and military deterrence. Iran also criticised the GCC for aligning with Washington and Israel in describing Palestinian and Lebanese resistance groups as “Iranian proxies,” saying that the only “proxy” in the region is Israel. On the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran said security disruptions in the waterway were a direct result of recent US and Israeli military actions and accused some regional states of complicity. The ministry reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz lies within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman and said shipping management there would be governed by Article 5 of the recently signed war-ending memorandum of understanding. Iran called on GCC member states to reassess their regional security approach, insisting that collective security could only be achieved through cooperation among regional countries without foreign intervention. On Thursday, the US and Gulf Cooperation Council countries called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that free navigation through the strategic waterway remains “essential” to regional and global security. In a joint statement issued after a US-GCC ministerial meeting in Manama, the two sides emphasised “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation,” including the right of transit passage under international law, and rejected “any tolls, fees, or attempts to assert control” over the Strait of Hormuz. The ministers also stressed the need to maintain unity as US-Iran negotiations move toward a more permanent end to hostilities while citing the shared objective of preventing Iran from developing or acquiring a nuclear weapon. They welcomed the recently signed memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran and recognised the mediation roles of Pakistan and Qatar. The statement also said any trade and investment with Iran would be “conditional and reversible,” depending on Tehran’s compliance with the memorandum and any final agreement, as well as ending what it called Iran’s “destabilising behaviour.”
İran'dan ABD-KİK Bildirisine Sert Tepki: 'Müdahaleci ve Provokatif'Rubio warns of ‘chaos’ if Hormuz tolls imposed
• US rejects any tolls on shipping through the strait • Secy of state extends security reassurances to Gulf allies • Iran warns ships against crossing Hormuz without authorisation • UN halts strait evacuation plan after ship reports attack • Tehran slams Nato chief’s comments on US support in war • Ghalibaf taunts US, says it ‘only exports GMO soya bean, broken promises and trash talk’ WASHINGTON / TEHRAN: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Thursday that Washington wanted a lasting deal with Iran but not “at any price”, as disputes over the Strait of Hormuz, possible transit fees and authorised shipping routes threatened to complicate negotiations between the two sides. Rubio was in Bahrain as part of a regional tour of Gulf partners hit hard by Iran during the Middle East war, which began on Feb 28 with a massive US-Israeli campaign of strikes against Iran. The United States and Iran have signed a preliminary deal to end the conflict and have embarked on negotiations expected to touch on thorny issues, including Tehran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief and global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf states and Israel have long voiced concerns about Iran’s support for proxies in the region and its missile programme, but it remains unclear whether these issues will be addressed in the negotiations. “While we want a deal, we don’t want a deal at any price,” Rubio told a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain. “We want to ensure… that there is no part of this deal that’s undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability, or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region,” he said. Hormuz toll row Rubio also sought to reassure the energy-rich Gulf states that the Strait of Hormuz, which they have relied on for decades to export oil and liquefied natural gas, would remain toll-free. Iran imposed a blockade of Hormuz during the war as part of its retaliation against the US-Israeli campaign, sparking a global economic shock. It has since said it plans to introduce what it terms maritime service fees, while the United States and its allies have rejected the introduction of fees or tolls, arguing that Hormuz should be considered an international waterway and therefore not subject to charges. “International waterways do not belong to any nation state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos,” Rubio told the GCC meeting. “If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this will spread throughout the world like a contagion,” he added. Rubio said there was “zero support” among Gulf countries for Hormuz tolls. “I mean, ultimately there’s not going to be any fees or tolls. They [Oman] were there in the meeting today and they said that they are not in favour of the tolling system,” he said. At Thursday’s Gulf meeting with Rubio, Oman’s top diplomat Badr Albusaidi said future arrangements regarding the strait “do not entail the imposition of any transit fees”, despite his government and Iran saying earlier that they were studying costs to be charged for services provided in the strait. On Wednesday, Oman released a map of a new temporary shipping route running close to its coast. It said the path through the strait was coordinated with the International Maritime Organisation, a UN agency responsible for marine safety. Iran later appeared to denounce the new corridor in a statement by the Revolutionary Guards, but did not refer to Oman specifically. Iran warns ships Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned against any crossings of the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation, saying vessels not complying “will be dealt with”. “The only authorised route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said the Guards. Any crossing without authorisation was “unacceptable and extremely dangerous”, they warned in a statement. They also denounced what they said was a new route through the waterway announced by “certain authorities”. The statement did not elaborate, but it appeared to be a response to Oman’s announcement of a temporary corridor. The only route currently authorised by Iran runs through a corridor that follows the Iranian coast. The foreign ministers of Iran and Oman also stressed the need for continued bilateral coordination on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz during a phone call on Thursday, Iranian state media reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi discussed recent regional developments, including maritime arrangements in the strait and temporary measures set for a 60-day period, according to a statement on Araghchi’s Telegram account. The two sides also welcomed recent talks held in Muscat and agreed to continue diplomatic consultations and technical coordination on issues of mutual interest. Shipping risks Meanwhile, the evacuation of around 11,000 mariners stranded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was suspended on Thursday after an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said. The UN’s maritime agency said earlier this week it would begin evacuating 600 ships and their crews that were trapped by the US-Iran war, after Washington and Tehran agreed a preliminary deal to end the conflict. But a cargo ship was damaged by an unknown projectile off the Omani coast in the strategic strait on Thursday, prompting the IMO to halt the operation. Traffic through the strait has increased sharply but remains at roughly half its peacetime level, officials said on Thursday as stranded sailors made their way out of the waterway. Seventy confirmed crossings were recorded on Wednesday, according to analytics firm Kpler, marking the highest number of vessels in a day since Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on March 1 in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. Iran hits back at Nato Iran has emerged emboldened from the war, vowing not to relinquish control of Hormuz and calling its initial deal with Washington to stop the fighting “a declaration of America’s defeat”. President Trump met Nato chief Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday and said the United States was “doing great” in the negotiations. Trump also asked Congress for nearly $88bn in supplemental funding, mostly to cover the cost of the war, just a day after Congress called on him to end the conflict unless lawmakers explicitly authorised further military action. Iran slammed Nato on Thursday after Rutte noted its support for the US, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei accusing the transatlantic bloc of “complicity” in an “unlawful war”. Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also rejected US claims that Iran would spend its unfrozen assets to buy US agricultural products. “The US only exports GMO soya beans, broken promises and trash talks,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed Trump on Wednesday and insisted that a large percentage of Iran’s unfrozen assets would be used to buy US foods and medicine, even as Iran says it would determine its spending. Gulf concerns The Gulf’s top diplomats said on Thursday that dealing with Iran’s proxies and missiles was key to lasting peace and that any trade and investment with Tehran would be reversible and contingent on it respecting its deal with the US. “The ministers further emphasised that lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran’s threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones, and support of proxies in the region,” they said in a joint statement. Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2026
Ateşkes Kağıt Üzerinde: Lübnan ve Gazze'de Can Kaybı SürüyorIsrael, Lebanon deny US claim of troop pullback from south
• Tel Aviv refuses withdrawal despite US citing ‘good faith’ retreat; ties any redeployment to Hezbollah disarmament • Three killed in Israeli drone strike in south; Beirut says Israeli presence still blocks Lebanese army access • Marco Rubio says both nations close to ‘commitment of intent’ in Washington talks BEIRUT: Senior Israeli and Lebanese officials denied on Thursday that there had been any Israeli withdrawal from occupied southern Lebanon, contradicting a US official who said Israel pulled troops back in a good faith gesture toward Lebanon’s government. A US State Department official claimed Israel had taken a concrete step by pulling back from a portion of its 10-kilometre buffer zone, describing it as a “significant demonstration of good faith” meant to allow the Lebanese Armed Forces to move in and clear out terrorist weapons. However, a senior Israeli defence official denied any pullback, asserting Israel will not withdraw from the buffer zone it established to protect northern Israeli communities. Israel’s military confirmed there was no change in its soldiers’ locations. A senior Lebanese military official also dismissed the US claim, stating that developments on the ground “show the opposite of a pullback”, as Israel continues to enforce the zone against anyone approaching, including the Lebanese army. The “pilot zone” proposal is part of the latest round of US-mediated talks in Washington, focusing on handing occupied territory to Lebanon’s military. Disputes have emerged over the withdrawal mechanism. Lebanon wants the pilot plan implemented within Israel’s buffer zone, while Israel wants to start by withdrawing from areas north of that zone without setting a timeline. Disarmament demands Israeli officials maintained on Thursday that forces will only withdraw from southern Lebanon after Hezbollah is completely disarmed. “We will not withdraw our forces from southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, is not disarmed and is not demilitarised,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters. He emphasised that any redeployment of military forces would occur only after the area’s demilitarisation. “We’ve already been in this situation in 2024,” Mencer added. “Hezbollah were supposed to be disarmed. They weren’t.” Echoing this stance, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israel opposed withdrawing from the security zone despite pressure. Katz stated the military would remain in “security zones” in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for as long as necessary. Deadly Israeli strikes continue Despite the ongoing negotiations and a broader lull in fighting, an Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed three people on Thursday. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that a drone targeted a vehicle on the road between Zawtar and Mayfadoun, killing three people and wounding one. An Israeli military official confirmed the strike. The attack marks the second consecutive day such an event occurred and is the third deadly incident since Tuesday, bringing the number of people killed in Israeli attacks this week to seven. Diplomatic progress praised Even amid the violence and conflicting withdrawal claims, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the progress made during the direct talks in Washington, which are slated to wrap up on Thursday. “I think we are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of intent between the two countries,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Bahrain. “It’ll be a process, it’ll take some time, it’ll take a lot of work, but I can tell you that for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly.” Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began the direct talks with Israel in April. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun emphasised on Wednesday that these negotiations remain separate from US peace talks with Iran. Published in Dawn, June 26 , 2026
ABD-İran Mutabakatına Rağmen İsrail Güney Lübnan’da 4 Kişiyi ÖldürdüBahrain King Al Khalifa, US Secretary of State Rubio discuss security, energy, critical minerals
Officials reaffirm shared 'vision of regional stability,' including safe transit through Strait of Hormuz, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons
Trump disappointed with Italy, but relations proceeding smoothly - Rubio
(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 25 - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States' relations with Italy remain strong despite President Donald Trump's dissatisfaction at Rome failing to be more active in the Iran war. Rubio also said he was sorry that Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a June 21-22 trip to Miami, after Trump said Premier Giorgia Meloni "begged" him to have a photo with her at the G7 summit, a story she said was fabricated. "Our relations with Italy proceed smoothly at all levels," Rubio told reporters in Bahrain. "Obviously, Trump is very disappointed with Italy and other countries because he believes that, at a time when we were facing a threat that affected not only us, but all of Europe too, many European countries did not rise to the occasion and did not do enough. "Unfortunately, Italy is among them". When asked about Tajani, Rubio said that "I have a good relationship with him. "We have a series of agreements on critical minerals and other matters that will be signed in due course," he continued. "He called me and told me he wouldn't be coming to Miami. "It was a shame that an event like this was halted". (ANSA). Read article...
Any US-Iran deal will ensure security of Gulf allies, Rubio assures GCC nations during Mideast tour
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Gulf allies on Thursday that any deal with Iran would take their interests into account, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip aimed at selling the Trump administration’s preliminary accord to sceptical regional partners. Speaking at a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Rubio said Washington was seeking an enduring peace with long-time foe Iran that would not undermine the security and prosperity of its allies in the oil-rich region, which fear the accord is too soft on Iran. Iran fought two of the world’s most powerful armies — the US and Israel — during the conflict and took effective control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, heavily disrupting oil flows and rattling global energy markets and the wider economy. The war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, and Tehran targeted US assets and bases in Gulf countries in retaliation. It, however, has not accepted responsibility for all of those attacks. At the GCC meeting, Rubio said: “The reality of it is that no country on Earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways. And that will never be an acceptable condition of any deal. The president’s been fundamentally clear about that.” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who chaired the gathering, welcomed Oman’s announcement of a corridor for the safe passage of vessels through the strait. Rubio’s three-day tour of the Gulf is the first high-level diplomatic mission since the US-Iran framework agreement last week to end the war on Iran. He has acknowledged the delicacy of his mission as he seeks to win over Gulf Arab leaders wary that excessive concessions could strengthen Tehran and reshape the region’s security balance and oil flows. At his previous stops in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, Rubio sought to assure officials that the proposed deal was not overly favourable to Iran. “We’re not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies, our longstanding allies in the region,” he told reporters in Kuwait. Conflicting accounts on deal terms US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity” while Tehran said it had made no such concession in negotiations. The two countries, which ended a first round of negotiations in Switzerland on Monday, have also offered conflicting accounts about financial incentives for Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s parallel strikes in Lebanon. All six GCC nations — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait — are strategic US allies that offered some degree of logistical support to Washington during the war. Together, they make up the backbone of America’s security architecture in the Middle East, and any country rethinking their security relationship with the US could have a significant impact on US military strategy in the region. The draft US-Iran agreement includes no limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles, a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund and provisions that could expand Tehran’s regional influence and control over critical oil shipping lanes. Rubio has said he would not be asking regional allies to contribute to any reconstruction fund during the trip, even as the MoU with Iran suggests that countries in the region would at least be partially responsible for footing the bill.
Ateşkes Kağıt Üzerinde: Lübnan ve Gazze'de Can Kaybı SürüyorRubio: Iran deal must not contradict interests of US partners
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that any Iran nuclear agreement must safeguard the interests of Washington's regional partners, emphasizing that Gulf security remains central to American diplomatic efforts during high-level talks with GCC foreign ministers in Bahrain's capital.
ABD-İran Geçici Anlaşması Cuma İmzalanıyor, Trump'tan Netanyahu'ya Sert UyarıUAE, Kuwait assured of US commitment to Gulf states’ security
ABU DHABI/ KUWAIT CITY: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the US-Iran deal with UAE and Kuwaiti leaders on Wednesday, renewing Washington’s commitment to the Gulf states’ security as he embarked on a tour of the region. His trip is the first by a senior US official to the Middle East since the Iran agreement was signed last week. Rubio is seeking to reassure close US allies about the memorandum of understanding signed with Tehran last week, which fails to address some of the Gulf states’ long-standing concerns about its missile programme. Iran contends that it targeted US bases and assets in Gulf countries and has not accepted responsibility for all attacks. The secretary of state arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening and held closed-door talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the following day, then set off for Kuwait. After that, he will travel on to Bahrain, where he will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on Thursday. Marco Rubio says no country will be allowed to impose tolls on Strait of Hormuz “They [Marco Rubio and the UAE president] discussed President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, efforts to secure full and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” the US diplomat’s spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. Rubio also “thanked the UAE for their leadership and unparalleled support, praised their courage and resilience in the face of Iran’s attacks, and reaffirmed the US commitment to the security of the Emirates”, he added. He insisted that no country would be allowed to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz after Oman and Iran, which border the waterway, said they were considering charging “costs” for ships navigating the key conduit for Gulf oil and gas. “It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law,” he said upon arrival in the UAE capital. Rubio held a working lunch with the UAE president and other senior figures, including Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Asked on arrival if he planned to address allies’ disquiet with the accord, the US top diplomat told reporters: “That most certainly will come up in these discussions.” He said they would also discuss issues not covered by the memorandum of understanding. America’s top diplomat has been largely absent from Iran-related discussions in recent weeks, with Vice President JD Vance instead leading a round of talks with Iranian counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland. Marco Rubio’s remarks during his swing through the region will be closely scrutinised to see how the man once known as a hawkish critic of Iran frames a deal that many congressional Republicans argue amounts to capitulation. Delicate mission Rubio’s mission is delicate: While he needs to defend a preliminary accord that Trump firmly supports, he also has to credibly address the concerns of his Gulf counterparts, who are more circumspect about the deal. The US and Iran signed a 14-point MoU last week, setting out broad agreements in principle to end the war. A central issue in talks is what will happen to Iran’s 60 per cent enriched uranium, a short step from the roughly 90pc of weapons grade. Washington’s regional allies are especially concerned that Iran could use the proposed $300bn reconstruction fund to rebuild its military. The accord also does not address Tehran’s ballistic missile capacity, a concern for Gulf states, all of which were struck by Iranian missiles and drones in the war. Tehran has noted that the Gulf states made various logistical accommodations for US-Israel war effort, while hosting US military bases that were central to the conflict. Talks in Kuwait The secretary of state held talks with Kuwaiti Emir Mishal Al Ahmad, reiterating Washington’s pledge to the region’s security. Before meeting the emir, Marco Rubio attended a flag-raising ceremony at the US embassy marking the resumption of operations following an Iranian strike. “Kuwait is an indispensable partner for regional security and stability,” Rubio said in a tweet afterwards, adding Washington “looks forward to strengthening our partnership”. After Kuwait, Rubio will travel to Bahrain, where he will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on Thursday. The energy-rich Gulf, home to several American military bases, bore the brunt of Iran’s attacks in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. The UAE was targeted by more than 2,800 missiles and drones, more than any other country in the region, while Kuwait and Bahrain were also badly hit relative to their small size Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026
Ateşkes Kağıt Üzerinde: Lübnan ve Gazze'de Can Kaybı SürüyorPakistan links Iran trade prospects to sanctions relief
• FO expects technical talks to resume on Tuesday • Hopes Hormuz tensions will ease with diplomatic progress • Urges Afghanistan to prevent terrorism emanating from its soil • Says govt pursuing release of crew members from hijacked tanker ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday expressed optimism over ongoing high-level technical talks between Iran and the United States, saying progress in trade and economic cooperation with Iran would be linked to the easing of international sanctions on Tehran. Addressing the weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said the pathway towards sanctions relief for Iran had already been initiated through talks held in Buergenstock, Switzerland. He described the process as a positive development and expressed the hope that the negotiations would produce constructive results as they moved forward. Responding to a question, the spokesman said there had been a temporary pause in technical-level discussions between Iran and the United States and that the talks would resume next Tuesday, in the presence of a Pakistani delegation. He said the continuation of dialogue between the two sides was itself an encouraging sign. “It is a very positive development that both parties are engaged in talks and remain at the negotiating table,” he remarked. Commenting on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the spokesman said tensions were likely to ease as diplomatic efforts progressed. However, he noted that a complete return to normal operations in the strategically important waterway could take some time due to operational requirements. On a question regarding control of the Strait of Hormuz, the spokesperson said Pakistan supported the initiatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council and believed in regional ownership of regional issues. He stressed the importance of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states in the region. Discussing the recent visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Pakistan, Mr Andrabi said the two sides held extensive discussions on a range of issues, including expansion of trade, investment and economic cooperation. He noted that progress in bilateral economic projects and trade expansion would move forward alongside the lifting of sanctions imposed on Iran. “The overall progress of economic projects and opening up of trade with Iran will take place simultaneously with the lifting of sanctions by the United States,” he said. Responding to a query regarding a proposed financing package of $300 billion for Iran, Mr Andrabi said the matter was expected to be discussed during the ongoing technical-level talks in Switzerland. On Afghanistan, the spokesperson said Pakistan had implemented most of its commitments related to bilateral engagement and that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had personally monitored the process, but certain developments later created difficulties for diplomatic efforts. He reiterated Pakistan’s position that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorist activities against Pakistan. “If diplomacy is to move forward, the starting point should be a clear assurance from Afghanistan that its soil will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” he said. Andrabi acknowledged China’s constructive role in facilitating understanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He said Pakistan would continue to work closely with China to promote regional peace and cooperation. “Our engagement on Afghanistan continues, and the simple solution is for the Afghan side to uphold its commitments under international law,” he added. Replying to a query regarding Pakistan’s representation at the funeral of the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, the spokesperson said no final decision had yet been made regarding who would attend the funeral on behalf of Pakistan. Giving details on the implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed by the US and Iran, the spokesperson said Pakistan and Qatar had hosted the first high-level committee meeting in Switzerland on June 21, attended by senior representatives from Pakistan, the US, Iran and Qatar. He said the parties agreed on a roadmap to reach a final agreement within 60 days, establish political oversight and technical working groups, create direct communication channels to prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, and set up a de-confliction mechanism involving Lebanon. He said a technical-level meeting followed on June 22, with Pakistan and Qatar continuing their mediation efforts. The Foreign Office welcomed international recognition of Pakistan’s role in promoting dialogue, peace and de-escalation, while also appreciating the responsible conduct of Pakistani media in maintaining confidentiality during the mediation process. The spokesperson said Deputy PM Ishaq Dar attended the fourth R-4 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Cairo on June 21 alongside counterparts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The group reviewed progress on the Islamabad MoU and discussed regional peace and security issues. Dar also continued extensive diplomatic engagements with foreign ministers from several countries, including Switzerland, Turkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Italy, Canada, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Iran and Uzbekistan. Regarding the hijacking of the oil tanker MT Honour 25 off Somalia, carrying 10 Pakistani crew members among the hostages, the spokesperson said Pakistan was pursuing diplomatic and humanitarian efforts for their safe release through engagement with Somali authorities and international partners. On Palestine, he said Pakistan had joined eight Islamic-Arab countries in condemning escalating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and attacks on mosques near Ramallah. The spokesperson also announced that Pakistan had facilitated the repatriation of 30 Iranian nationals, including rescued fishermen and crew members detained after maritime incidents, in coordination with Iranian, US and UK authorities. Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026
Pakistan, İran Sınırındaki Taftan Gümrük İstasyonunu ResmileştirdiRubio commits to UAE security, discusses Iran-US deal with Emirati leader
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the US-Iran deal with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed on Wednesday, renewing Washington’s commitment to the country’s security as he embarks on a tour of the Gulf. Rubio is seeking to reassure close US allies — who were hit by Iranian missiles during the Middle East war — about the memorandum of understanding with Tehran, which fails to address some of the Gulf’s long-standing concerns about its missile programme. Iran contends that it targeted US bases and assets in Gulf countries and has not accepted responsibility for all attacks. “They discussed President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, efforts to secure full and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” his spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. Rubio also “thanked the UAE for their leadership and unparalleled support, praised their courage and resilience in the face of Iran’s attacks, and reaffirmed the US commitment to the security of the Emirates”, Pigott added. The secretary of state arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening and held closed-door talks with Sheikh Mohamed the following day, then set off for Kuwait. After that, he will travel on to Bahrain, where he will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on Thursday. He insisted that no country is allowed to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz after Oman and Iran, which border the waterway, said they were considering charging “costs” for ships navigating the key conduit for Gulf oil and gas. “It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law,” he said as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates capital. Rubio held a working lunch with the UAE president and other senior figures, including National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Asked on arrival if he planned to address allies’ disquiet with the accord, Rubio told reporters: “That most certainly will come up in these discussions.” He said they would also discuss issues not covered by the memorandum of understanding (MoU). America’s top diplomat has been largely absent from Iran-related discussions in recent weeks, with Vice President JD Vance instead leading a round of talks with Iranian counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland. The UAE faces particularly severe economic strains, as the war caused some expatriates at the core of its non-oil economy to flee the global financial centre, which prides itself on stability in a volatile Middle East. Rubio’s remarks during his swing through the region will be closely scrutinised to see how the man once known as a hawkish critic of Iran frames a deal that many congressional Republicans argue amounts to capitulation. Rubio and Vance, both former US senators, are widely viewed within Republican Party circles as potential candidates to succeed Trump, with party insiders and early polling often casting the race as a two-way contest between them. Rubio’s mission is delicate: While he needs to defend a preliminary accord that Trump firmly supports, he also has to credibly address the concerns of his Gulf counterparts, who are more circumspect about the deal. The US and Iran signed a 14-point MoU last week, setting out broad agreements in principle to end the war. The interim accord paved the way for 60 days of talks aimed at hammering out thornier details, including issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme. A central issue in talks is what will happen to Iran’s highly enriched uranium, including material enriched to up to 60 per cent purity, a short step from the roughly 90pc of weapons grade. Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. While Gulf leaders pushed for peace during the four-month-long conflict, many were surprised and disappointed by the terms of the accord. US regional allies are especially concerned that Iran could use the proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund to rebuild its military. The accord also does not address Tehran’s ballistic missile capacity, a concern for Gulf states, all of which were struck by Iranian missiles and drones in the war. Tehran has noted that the Gulf states made various logistical accommodations for Washington’s war effort, while hosting US military bases that were central to the conflict.
Ateşkes Kağıt Üzerinde: Lübnan ve Gazze'de Can Kaybı SürüyorMiddle East crisis live: Iranian ambassador warns it will respond to any Israeli attack in Lebanon
The Iranian ambassador to the UN in Geneva described Israeli attacks on Lebanon as a red line in negotiations Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, is scheduled to begin a tour of the Gulf on Tuesday to meet with leaders and discuss the memorandum of understanding with Iran and the strait of Hormuz, among other things. For the next two days, he will be traveling to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, the state department said. Continue reading...
Rubio heads to UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain to discuss Iran deal with Gulf allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain to sell a preliminary Iran accord to Gulf allies, amid concerns over a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund for Tehran.
ABD-İran Mutabakatı: 300 Milyar Dolarlık Fon Körfez'de Tartışma YarattıThe regional geo-strategic landscape in West Asia post the Iran war
Following months of all-out conflict that began on February 28, 2026, the United States and Iran have transitioned to a de-escalation phase. On June 17, Presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war, establishing a 60-day ceasefire extension to negotiate the final terms of a deal. Pakistan served as a key mediator throughout the process. Following the signing and despite a rocky start, the first round of high-level talks concluded in Bürgenstock, Switzerland on Monday, June 22, with the two sides agreeing on a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days, along with communication lines to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and a deconfliction cell to end fighting in Lebanon. Mediators Pakistan and Qatar described the outcome as reflecting encouraging progress, with technical talks set to continue through the rest of the week at Bürgenstock. Most observers and experts describe the overall process as a considerable (if still fragile) breakthrough in one of the most complicated conflict-resolution efforts of the 21st century. However, the emergence of new logic gates of power redistribution, developing within both the shorter (regional) curve and the greater (global) curve, and entangled geopolitically, geo-strategically, and geo-economically across multiple dimensions, risks going unnoticed and undissected. This omission stems from the rupture between the conceptual and strategic power of the parties directly and indirectly involved in the conflict. High stakes War in the Middle East, as a recurring experiment in the geopolitical laboratory, is aimed at providing a new code for the exercise of power at the regional and global levels. No power centre has the capability to act unilaterally to gain a dominant position, nor can any axis of forces undermine the superposition of a single power (that is, the coexistence of several potential power configurations at once). This balance lends the system a degree of power fluidity and a reasonable rate of uncertainty descent before it settles into a new quantum geopolitical state, a newly fixed distribution of power. Under this code of geopolitical behaviour, any party can find itself in a state of wave-particle duality: at once a defined actor and an unresolved set of possibilities. This means that, as a complex system born at the peak of inter-civilisational collision, this regional conflict cannot be resolved in a linear way, as a parade of endless wars and confrontation on a global scale. The war carries a high risk of returning, and ringing the bells ever harder, until an equilibrium of conceptual and strategic power is reached and wave-particle duality is accepted as the new lens of geostrategic and geopolitical analysis. The post-Iran-war reality depicts an empowered Iran, a deeply dissatisfied Israel, and a United States caught in the twilight of the never-to-be-won war against Iran. That last point highlights a hidden layer of US concern: if the demonstrative attack on Iran has become a victory narrative for the Western world and domestic audiences, yet a failure in the eyes of allies and partners in the Middle East and South Asia, then what guarantees that the so-called bullet-proof peace deal will serve its purpose and preserve global leadership across the strategic interests it targets in West Asia? The geo-strategic landscape of West Asia in the aftermath of the Iran war takes in the whole set of multidirectional states of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan), as well as Turkey, that make up a highly strategic intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. These states are hard to play as a united orchestra, yet eager to move towards non-traditional strategic alignment under British and US participation and conducting. The same holds for the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates [UAE]), which have learned the limits of US power to protect them during the war with Iran. All of these states, strongly disillusioned by the war in the Middle East, are to be re-classified and re-calibrated as the new geopolitical order emerges. The opposing axes At the very core of this constellation lie two opposing axes of geopolitical tension. The first is Israel, left alone with its anger and the prospect of retaliation across the whole Middle East, in a new round of strikes on its enemies that the Israeli warmongers anticipate after the legislative elections of October 2026. The second is Iran, which has managed to sustain and win the most important resource of this multi-layered conflict (time) and, with it, the ace of increasing geopolitical magnitude. As a result of the war, each warring state is freed from the third party’s (US) dominance and is ready to unleash its arsenal of hybrid forces, allowing it to start building the new geo-strategic components of a future war. Two rival frameworks take shape. The first is Israel’s axis of six states, or hexagon of alliances — a strategic framework designed to position Israel at the centre of a defence, economic, and geopolitical coalition countering both the Iranian-led Shia axis and an emerging Sunni axis. The second is Iran’s renewed axis of resistance (Lebanese Hezbollah, the Houthis, Palestinian factions, proxy forces in Syria), together with a stronger alignment with Pakistan, China, and Russia that represents a formidable Eurasian strategic bloc. The Israel-India nexus It is important to mention here that India is a crucial anchor partner for Israel, balancing economic, security, and technological ties within the hexagon of alliances. This may give India the false perception that it can regain enhanced strength to plot a new conflict with Pakistan, a country whose strikingly successful geopolitical and diplomatic leverage as a key mediator in the US-Iran peace process has, by contrast, left India with a sense of devastating failure and abandonment. Nevertheless, there is strong indication that two frustrated countries, Israel and India, will strive to set up new provocations and to encircle new partners within an emerging hexagon of alliances (including Cyprus, which can flip into a useful trigger for a dramatic transformation of the geo-strategic scene and drag the South Caucasus into war). The aim is to contain their key rivals, Pakistan and Iran, who are set to gain more power and influence both in the Middle East and across West Asia and the Global South in general. Pakistan, as a torch-bearer of peace, can play a significant role in nurturing a new strategic mindset, one capable of providing a sustainable deterrent diplomacy in the Middle East. By building a diversity of strategic alignments that secure the bonds and connectivity between South Asia, West Asia, and Central Asia, it can turn into a reliable geopolitical hub, one able to close the gaping gap between the conceptual and strategic power of the warring parties in the emerging multipolar order. By carrying out a tremendous diplomatic breakthrough and giving way to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, Pakistan has become the first and only country in the world, in the post-Iran-war era, able to distribute that power fluidity and reasonable rate of uncertainty descent before fostering a new quantum geopolitical state of things at the regional and global level. Through its decisive alignment with this new code of geopolitical behaviour, Pakistan can foster the strategic concept of wave-particle duality and demonstrate a leading position in designing a more peaceful posture for the emerging multipolar world. Header image: US Vice President JD Vance (L) speaks next to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani at the start of a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026, as part of high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict. — AFP
ABD-İran Savaşı Ateşkesle Sona Erdi: Pakistan Ara Bulucu OlduMiddle East conflict fails to deter Gulf job exodus
KARACHI: Despite the war in the Gulf region, Pakistani workers continued to leave for jobs in countries directly affected by the conflict, particularly during March. Official data showed that during January-May, over 300,000 Pakistanis found employment in Middle Eastern states led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The largest number of Pakistani workers left for Saudi Arabia, while around 50,000 emigrated to the UAE, one of the countries most affected by the war. According to data released by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, 143,586 Pakistanis left for Saudi Arabia during the five-month period, the highest number for any single destination country. Saudi Arabia was also drawn into the conflict and reportedly faced multiple attacks by Iran targeting American facilities in the kingdom. Although the war, which began on Feb 28, ended after about a month following a ceasefire, intermittent strikes by the US and Israel, as well as retaliatory attacks by Iran, continued to fuel uncertainty across the region. Concerns were further heightened by disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and heightened maritime tensions. Over 300,000 Pakistanis found employment in ME states in Jan-May, led by Saudi Arabia and UAE Despite these developments, Pakistanis continued to seek employment opportunities in Gulf countries. The UAE remained a key destination. Dubai, which was considered among the potential targets during the conflict, received thousands of Pakistani workers during the first five months of 2026. Total emigration to the UAE during the period stood at around 50,000. During the conflict in March, hundreds of Pakistanis were also seen queuing outside the Dubai consulate in Karachi to obtain visas. Bahrain and Qatar, which were also considered vulnerable during the conflict, continued to attract Pakistani workers. The data showed that about 25,500 Pakistanis left for Qatar, while 10,129 migrated to Bahrain during January-May. The continued outflow of workers may have helped sustain remittance inflows, which had earlier been expected to weaken. Remittances reached a record $4.2 billion in May, while total inflows by the end of FY26 are expected to exceed the $40bn target. Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2026
Körfez'deki Savaşa Rağmen Pakistanlı İşçi Göçü SürüyorGovt offers 20pc returns to woo buyers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will offer a lucrative 18-20 per cent return, along with complete freedom for investors to buy and sell electricity in a competitive market, as it targets the privatisation of three of the most viable distribution companies (Discos) in October, November and December. “We will provide in the transaction structure terms and conditions that protect consumer interests but also ensure investor comfort. We will do it upfront as part of transaction structure, before bidding (of the first Disco), otherwise privatisation will not be possible,” Prime Minister’s Adviser on Privatisation Muhammad Ali told Dawn after a meeting of the Privatisation Commission board, which approved a restructuring plan for Faisalabad Electric Supply Company – the first of five Discos to be sold in 2026-27. Mr Ali said the Privatisation Commission had completed domestic soft marketing of three Discos of Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Islamabad in seven major cities, with chambers of commerce and industry and business houses and would now be expanding abroad mainly to Saudi Arabia, China and Turkiye and approaching other Middle Eastern capitals — Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and so on — virtually and through transaction advisers to tap in investors and technical operators. “The privatisation programme needs to be marketed globally,” he said, adding the transactions would be based on financial results as of March 31. Plans to sell profitable Fesco, Gesco and Iesco this year The commission has set July 7 for submission of expressions of interest (EoIs) for Faisalabad, August 24 for Gujranwala and Sept 7 for Islamabad Electric Supply Company. “We will run these three parallel transactions and hold bidding one after the other in October, November and December 2026,” he said, adding the transaction structures would have to be “corrected” before October and “we will do it”. The uniform consumer tariff will continue for the time being, but privatisation, resulting efficiency gains, and the absorption of surplus capacity would reduce the average uniform tariff, he hoped. He said there was robust investor interest in the power sector. However, they wanted an 18pc dollar-based return, an end to uniform consumer tariffs, permission for self-power generation by new owners, freedom for the private sector to ‘buy and sell electricity’, and the government’s exit from the sector. They also wanted 8-10 year tariff visibility, including investment plans. He said the government will not allow dollar-based returns at all. “We will provide rupee-based returns of 14-15pc plus key performance indicators (KPIs) that allow profitability of up to 18-20pc while sharing efficiency gains.” “The existing (tariff and business) model is not exciting. This has to change,” he said, adding that the regulator’s capacity needs to be strengthened for ‘improved supervision and monitoring’ instead of discretionary powers. Alongside these three transactions, the PM’s adviser said that the Sukkur and Hyderabad electric companies would also be restructured and improved to complete their privatisation by August-September next year. The Board of the Privatisation Commission, led by Mr Ali, formally approved the restructuring plan for Fesco. The restructuring plan, prepared by the Financial Adviser, will now be submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) for approval. The board also approved the consortium led by KPMG, in association with Bridge Factor and other consortium partners, as the highest-ranked bidder for appointment as financial adviser for House Building Finance Company Ltd. To facilitate the next phase of the transaction, the board constituted a Negotiation Committee to finalise the Financial Advisory Services Agreement with the successful consortium. In another important agenda item, the board reviewed the proposed Transaction Advisory Services Agreement with the Asian Development Bank for the outsourcing of operations at Islamabad International Airport, subject to certain changes in conditions. The board appreciated the progress made on the transaction and provided guidance on certain provisions of the proposed agreement, seeking further clarity before its consideration at a subsequent meeting, an official statement said. The proposed transaction envisages engaging a qualified private-sector operator under a long-term concession framework through a transparent and competitive process. The initiative aims to enhance operational efficiency, improve the passenger experience, and align airport services with international best practices. Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026
World leaders rally behind landmark US-Iran deal
• Putin says deal could stabilise Middle East, ease energy pressures; Beijing calls it ‘positive step’ for de-escalation • Qatar praises ceasefire terms and Hormuz assurances • G7 leaders back deal, call it key to blocking nuclear escalation risk • Hezbollah calls truce extension a ‘major victory’; Israel signals caution as Netanyahu says ‘challenges lie ahead’ WORLD powers and international leaders on Thursday welcomed a landmark ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ signed by the United States and Iran to end their conflict, with many hailing Pakistan’s mediation efforts and expressing hope that the deal would pave the way for lasting peace. Among the first to react were China and Russia, both of which welcomed the agreement and urged all parties to build on the momentum created by the ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at an ASEAN summit in Kazan, praised the agreement, noting that Middle East stabilisation will significantly benefit global energy markets. The Russian Foreign Ministry formally welcomed the pact signed on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called the first-phase MoU a move of “positive significance for easing tensions”. Highlighting intense diplomatic efforts, including a five-point initiative jointly issued by China and Pakistan, Lin emphasised that force cannot solve problems. “Equal-footed negotiation is the right path,” he said, urging both nations to approach second-phase negotiations with a rational, pragmatic attitude to achieve positive outcomes. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement welcoming the document’s electronic signing in both English and Farsi. Doha praised the deal for addressing outstanding issues, including the cessation of military operations and ensuring freedom of navigation in the Hormuz, saying it considers the MoU a “renewed affirmation of the two sides’ commitment to resolving their differences” via peaceful means. While Qatar emphasised the agreement represents a “solid foundation” for talks and praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts, other Gulf countries have yet to issue official reactions to the diplomatic breakthrough. Western leaders expressed profound relief over the economic and security implications. G7 countries welcomed the deal, calling it a “historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapon”. French President Emmanuel Macron said the pact would stop a “situation of great instability that had terrible consequences for our economies.” “This agreement paves the way for lasting peace and allows the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron wrote. “It is an important step in the right direction for our compatriots that will soon enable a decrease in energy prices.” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi echoed these economic priorities, emphasising it was vital that “free and safe navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz be promptly restored through the “steady implementation of the memorandum by all parties”. In Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem hailed the diplomatic breakthrough as a “big victory”. In a televised address, Mr Qassem thanked Iran for linking the Lebanon front and forcing Israel to stop its aggression. However, he drew a hard line on domestic concessions. “The ceiling for the negotiations with the Israeli enemy is mutual security … and any proposal under the banner of disarmament will not pass, as this is an Israeli recipe for taking everything and wrecking the country,” he said. Conversely, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the importance of maintaining close ties with the United States on Thursday, saying Washington had stood by Israel during the war. “The struggle is not yet over, and further challenges lie ahead,” Netanyahu said. “They require calm judgement, steadfast defence of Israel’s security interests, and at the same time the preservation of our vital relationship with our American friends, who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in this fight — a partnership we deeply appreciate.” Meanwhile, diplomatic support continued to ripple outward. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar received telephone calls from Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Egyptian FM Badr Abdelatty, Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan and Bahrain’s Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. They congratulated Dar on the signing of the memorandum and Pakistan endorsed as a mediator. They also appreciated Pakistan’s sincere and sustained diplomatic efforts that contributed to this development. Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2026
ABD ve İran Arasında 14 Maddelik Mutabakat: 60 Günde Nihai Anlaşma HedefiDeadly Iran attacks on Saudi, Bahrain civilian sites may be war crimes, Amnesty International says
At least 28 people were killed and hundreds were injured after Iran launched unprovoked attacks on GCC countries, though information on said attacks was largely restricted by those states.
Amnesty: İran'ın Suudi Arabistan ve Bahreyn'deki Sivil Saldırıları Savaş Suçu OlabilirGulf Countries Confront New Questions About Relying on U.S. Protection
Iran targeted Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other American allies in the Middle East during the war, harming their economies and military sectors.
İran Krizi Derinleşirken Putin ve UAE Barışı, Trump İse Anlaşmayı TartışıyorThe world’s internet infrastructure is under threat – who is going to protect it?
The world’s internet infrastructure is under threat – who is going to protect it? The World Today iallan.drupal 8 June 2026 The Iran conflict has highlighted the vulnerability of data centres and seabed cables – these essential amenities need an international legal framework to safeguard them, writes Calum Inverarity. When Iranian drones struck three Amazon Web Services data centres in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on 1 March 2026, the disruption was immediate. Payment firms Alaan and Hubpay reported disruption to their services. Banks, including Emirates NBD and the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank experienced intermittent failures in mobile and phone banking services. Careem, the region’s leading taxi and delivery platform, reported disruption before its chief executive confirmed services were fully restored 48 hours later. Most commentary has focused on what this means for technology investment in the Gulf, the legal implications of targeting military-commercial infrastructure and the physical security of data centres. These are worthy of attention, but they are not the most important question the strikes raise. Data infrastructure, including data centres, subsea cables and satellites, underpins fundamental aspects of modern society. Reliable digital systems depend on data quality, governance and how effectively and safely data can be shared. When it fails, the cost falls not only on cloud providers and banks but on the people who rely on public services vital for the functioning of daily life. The question missing from the coverage, however, is who, in the event of an attack, is responsible for protecting the physical foundations of this infrastructure and by what international framework? Undersea cables Data centres themselves are only part of the picture. The internet also depends on a network of fibre-optic cables laid on the ocean floor. It is estimated that $10 trillion worth of financial transactions are carried through undersea cables every day. Health records, electoral infrastructure, emergency services and energy grid management all depend on data flows that utilize these cables. $10 trillion worth of financial transactions are estimated to be carried through undersea cables every day. Many of these cables are concentrated in the Red Sea, which carry approximately 17 per cent of global internet traffic, and 90 per cent of traffic between Europe and Asia. A separate set of four cables traverses the Strait of Hormuz, serving Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. The Strait of Hormuz has been virtually closed to commercial shipping traffic since Iran declared it shut on 3 March. But while the Gulf strikes have provided a vivid illustration, the pattern is not new. Since late 2023, Houthi attacks have made the Red Sea effectively impassable for most commercial vessels, forcing shipping to reroute around Africa. In March 2024, four cables in the Red Sea were severed, disrupting roughly a quarter of internet traffic between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, with connectivity losses of up to 90 per cent recorded in Ethiopia and Somalia. Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, a network intelligence firm, has described the prospect of both passages being closed simultaneously as ‘a globally disruptive event’ and unprecedented. The consequence for undersea cables is that repair vessels cannot safely reach them if they are damaged in either of these straits. Currently, only one out of five vessels belonging to the UAE-based company ‘e-Marine’ is available to service cables inside the Gulf. In the Red Sea, no repair vessel can safely operate. Commercial interests Another major vulnerability revealed by the recent strikes is the role of the private sector. Over the past decade, a small number of private companies have become responsible for the world’s entire internet infrastructure. This network of subsea cables was designed for connectivity, not for protection in the event of conflict. The world’s network of subsea cables was designed for connectivity, not for protection in the event of conflict. Open Data Institute research published in 2023 documented how the four largest technology companies – Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon – went from owning a single long-distance undersea cable connecting the United States and Japan in 2010 to more than 30 such cables in 2024, which provided greater connectivity across the world, while three companies – Amazon Web Services, Microsoft’s Azure and Google Cloud – controlled more than half the world’s biggest data centres. In response to the Gulf strikes, analysts have suggested companies could accelerate investment in alternative locations such as India, which would not address this concentration but simply relocate it. The issue is that data centres and undersea cables are privately owned infrastructure that cross national borders and international water. When centres serving numerous countries are damaged in a conflict, it is unclear whether international obligations still apply and who should coordinate a response when repair vessels cannot operate. The international legal framework governing undersea cables was not built to respond to these questions. The foundational international agreement on their protection dates to 1884. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea extended some protections in 1994 within exclusive economic zones, but beyond those boundaries, the responsibilities of states and private companies remain poorly defined. Private companies have no recourse against state attackers under existing law which has not been substantially updated since the 19th century. The private sector has typically responded to subsea threats by investing in technical solutions, including constructing new data centers to distribute storage and build redundancy. But this response doesn’t address the problem of concentrating the world’s data into the hands of several tech providers. Legal analysts have noted that private companies have virtually no recourse against state attackers under existing law and the governance framework has not been substantially updated since the 19th century. Given these gaps, Christian Bueger, a professor of international relations at the University of Copenhagen and a leading scholar of maritime security and ocean governance, has argued that submarine cables should be treated as critical maritime infrastructure requiring clearer international governance arrangements and stronger protection. Calls for protection The problem is that there are no clear-cut answers to what this protection should look like. A modernized framework would have to enforce state behaviour in a number of difficult circumstances, including in international waters where the cables are privately owned, in disputed conflict zones and when repair vessels have no safe passage. But calls for new regulations are growing. Even the tech sector, which has shown little appetite for international governance frameworks in the past, appears to have changed position in light of events in the Gulf. Since early April, US tech firms, have lobbied the government for ‘clear deterrence against attacks on commercial assets, and firm commitments for the US and other governments to defend those assets.’ This indicates the desire of the private sector for greater security guarantees for critical data infrastructure but falls short of concerted efforts to establish shared governance frameworks and how these should be owned and regulated. Related work Building tomorrow’s digital public infrastructure Recent initiatives, including the European Union’s Action Plan on Cable Security, offers some ideas of next steps. Adopted in February 2025, the plan establishes a framework built on four stages: prevention, detection, response, and repair, with €347 million new investment committed for 2026-2027, including funding specifically for cable repair capacity. Soon after the EU Commission published a report assessing the resilience of the EU’s subsea cable infrastructure, suggesting reasonable buy-in to the effort. Additionally, a 2024 joint statement on cable governance endorsed by Britain, the EU, Canada Japan, and the previous US administration, signals an existing coalition of like-minded partners on which a broader legal framework could be developed. This spells out the next steps to be taken, such as mandated transparency requirements on cable operators about infrastructure and vulnerabilities, coordinated deployment of repair vessels and corresponding international safe-passage corridors. Britain’s role Britain is keenly aware of the potential vulnerability of its offshore cable infrastructure. In April, the government took the unusual step of publicly condemning Russia for conducting ‘covert’ operations near its subsea cables and pipelines in the North Sea. Looking ahead, the UK could play an important role in international cable governance.
Küresel İnternet Altyapısı Tehdit Altında: Kim Koruyacak?