Turkiye calls Israel’s killings of Iran leaders ‘illegal’ Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has lashed out at Israel after it claimed to have killed Iran’s powerful national security chief Ali Larijani, denouncing its targeting of Tehran’s leaders as “illegal”. “Israel’s political assassinations, especially those targeting Iranian statesmen and politicians, are truly illegal activities outside the normal laws of war,” Fidan told a news conference. Larijani’s death has not been confirmed by Iran.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Tuesday for talks on peace and Russia sanctions. Starmer told Zelenskyy it's important the 'focus must remain on Ukraine' despite the war in Iran UK politics live Continue reading...
Washington DC [US], March 17 (ANI): The Director of the United States' National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Joseph Kent, on Tuesday, resigned from his post in protest against the ongoing war with Iran, asserting that Tehran did not present an imminent threat to the United States and strongly criticising the rationale for military action.
Gurugram (Haryana) [India], March 17 (ANI): The two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu spoke on the ongoing West Asia conflict, expressing hope that everything gets fine soon and laid down her aim of returning to the competition during the Asian Championships in April after missing the All England and Swiss Open competitions due to the conflict that has affected major sections of global airspace.
New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday termed as 'baseless' the reports which suggested that Iran had demanded the return of three vessels seized by India in return for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Al-Aqsa Mosque closure heralds a dark new chapter for Palestinians Submitted by Lubna Masarwa on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:36 Israel is using the Iran war as a pretext to empty the complex of worshippers, as it pushes to exert full control over the holy site Palestinian Muslims pray outside the Old City of Jerusalem during Ramadan on 15 March 2026, as the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque remains closed by Israel (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP) Off It’s the last Friday of Ramadan, and the Old City of Jerusalem is a ghost town. Al-Wad, the main street that leads to Al-Aqsa Mosque , is empty, and the shops selling sweets, herbs and clothes are all closed. Even the pharmacies and the famous Abu Khadija’s coffee shop have been forced to shut their doors.
Israel 'assessed Iranians would be slaughtered' if they rise up against Islamic Republic Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:47 Israeli officials reportedly say Iran's ruling establishment 'not cracking' and would defeat popular uprising despite calls from US, Israel and Pahlavi An Iranian woman holds an image of the new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as she takes part in the Al-Quds Day rally (AFP) Off Israel has privately assessed that Iranians would be "slaughtered" if they took to the streets against the Islamic Republic, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly calling for them to do so. According to a State Department cable reviewed by the Washington Post, a number of Israeli officials privately admitted to their US counterparts that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had the "upper hand" and would quickly overwhelm them. In spite of boasts from both the US and Israel, the officials conceded that the Islamic Republic was "not cracking” and was willing to “fight to the end" and any attempt by anti-government activists to take control would likely be a disaster.
Israeli press review: Confusion over army's plan in Lebanon Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:45 Meanwhile, Israel's closed gas rigs are proving costly, while interceptor production capacity is limited Smoke rises from an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, 17 March 2026 (AFP) Off Confusion over Israeli army plan in Lebanon On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had launched “a ground manoeuvre in Lebanon to remove threats and protect” the residents of northern Israel . Katz said that “hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of southern Lebanon who have fled or are fleeing their homes will not be allowed to return south of the Litani area until the security of the northern residents is ensured. ” But the Israeli media is reporting what appears to be a conflict between public statements regarding the nature of the operation and the operation’s actual intentions.
Aunque algunos países europeos dijeron que estaban discutiendo formas de ayudar a reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz, varios rechazaron las peticiones del presidente Trump de enviar buques de guerra.
US pushes for Syria to send troops into Lebanon, Damascus hesitant: Report The US has pushed for Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon, but Damasus is reluctant to be drawn into the conflict, Reuters is reporting citing five sources briefed on the matter. According to the sources -two of whom are Syrian officials- the idea was first discussed by US and Syrian officials last year. They said the proposal was raised again by US officials around the time of the launch of US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Palestinian Islamic leader issues fatwa calling for Eid prayers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque Submitted by Lubna Masarwa on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 13:02 Ekrima Sa'id Sabri issues religious edict after Israel forces closure of Al-Aqsa during Ramadan An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays in front of the closed Western Wall overlooking the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the Old city of Jerusalem on 13 March 2026 (Olympia De Maismont/AFP) Off A leading Palestinian Islamic cleric has issued a fatwa calling for Eid prayers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, after access to the site was blocked by the Israelis . Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, a preacher at the mosque and a member of the Islamic Waqf Department, said all Muslims should attend the Friday event and pray at the nearest possible location to the site, considered one of the holiest in Islam. “It has become clear to everyone that the closure of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the war on Iran carries Israeli political goals and agendas, related to an attempt to exploit this major regional event in order to push Judaisation plans on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said Khaled Zabarqa, Sabri’s lawyer, speaking to Middle East Eye.
Authorities in Tehran have issued sweeping warnings ahead of Iran’s annual fire festival, Chaharshanbeh Suri, framing the centuries-old celebration as a potential flashpoint for unrest during wartime.
One killed, one wounded in Israeli attack on southern Lebanon One person has been killed and another wounded in an Israeli attack between the southern Lebanese towns of Abba and Jebchit, the country's National News Agency is reporting. According to the report, the air stike hit a car near a school. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that 912 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the country since 2 March.
Aunque era un político conservador, a Alí Larijani, jefe de seguridad iraní, se le conocía por ser relativamente pragmático dentro de un sistema cada vez más dominado por la línea dura.
At least 912 people killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon At least 912 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 2 March, the country's Ministry of Public Health is reporting. It added that another 2,221 have been wounded since Israel renewed its assault.
The UN investigates strike on Iranian girls' school Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 13:39 Initial investigations by US and independent groups point to US responsibility Coffins on the day of the funeral of victims of a reported strike on a school in Minab, Iran, 3 March 2026 (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/WANA/Reuters) Off A UN fact-finding group has begun investigating an air strike that hit Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in the southern city of Minab on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The attack, which killed at least 175 people, most of them children, is also being probed by US military investigators, with preliminary findings saying the US military was responsible for the attack, Reuters reported. The New York Times reported that officers at US Central Command had created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, citing people briefed on the investigation.
The US-Israeli war on Iran is founded on two huge miscalculations Submitted by Meron Rapoport on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 14:23 If Trump and Netanyahu fail, it will be because they believed the Islamic Republic could be easily toppled and Hezbollah was a spent force Police stand guard on a street, with a large billboard featuring Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the background, in Tehran, 12 March 2026 (Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani) Off More than two weeks since Israel and the US attacked Iran , inflicting "death and destruction from the sky all day long" as US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said , it seems that at the foundation of the decision to go to war were two major miscalculations. One is almost entirely an American miscalculation regarding the possibility of toppling the Iranian ruling establishment, and the other is an Israeli misreading of Hezbollah and its potential response. "If we had not acted immediately, within a few months Iran’s industries of death would have become immune to any strike," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday in his first televised speech since the war began.
Elbit Systems reports surge in demand amid US-Israeli attacks on Iran Israel's largest weapons company is reporting a surge in demand amid US-Israeli attacks on Iran, following record revenues as a result of its 2 year genocide in Gaza. Elbit chief executive Bezhalel Machlis said on Tuesday that Israel's "success" Iran is generating "a lot of interest and a lot of traction". Machlis told Reuters that "there is a lot of interest in many countries who are suffering from the same enemy," citing Abraham Accords countries, but without specifying which.
Top UK official judged Iran 'posed no nuclear threat' just before war began Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 14:14 Starmer's national security adviser attended US-Iran talks days before US and Israel attacked Tehran Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media on the situation in the Middle East, at Downing Street in central London on 16 March (AFP) Off Britain believed Iran did not pose a nuclear threat and saw no evidence of an imminent Iranian attack on Europe when the US -Israeli attack on Iran began, it has emerged. Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's national security adviser, attended the final talks between the US and Iran, which ended two days before the attack started, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Powell reportedly judged that Tehran's offer on its nuclear programme was "surprising" and that progress had been made.
