Al-Monitor

Tehran has warned Kyiv of consequences, as pent-up tensions couple with what Iran believes is Ukrainian alignment with the US and Israel in the recent war.

By Patricia Zengerle and Timothy GardnerWASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will begin voting on sweeping Russian energy sanctions legislation on Tuesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits the Capitol, seeing the vote as a tribute to the bill's author, the late Senator Lindsey Graham, on the day of his funeral.Graham was among Kyiv's most influential and outspoken allies in Congress in its four-year-old war against Russia, and the bill aims to increase economic pressur

DUBAI, July 28 (Reuters) - Iran has proposed to Oman a temporary arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under which one direction of traffic would pass through Iranian waters and part of the opposite route would also be in Iranian waters, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television on Tuesday.Gharibabadi said Tehran rejected an Omani proposal for an equal division of transit routes between the two countries, saying such a plan did not address Tehran's security concerns un

July 28 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday he called his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, following Iran's denunciation of a Ukrainian drone attack on one of its ships, warned him against escalation and told him to end all support for Russia."I emphasised the necessity to refrain from any escalatory steps, as well as to end any support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. This war is illegal and it must end," Sybiha wrote on X of his conversation with Araqchi.

The Turkish president outlined Ankara’s priorities with the new Iraqi government during the Iraqi leader’s first visit to Turkey: security, energy cooperation and the Development Road.

Hours before the meeting, President Donald Trump signaled impatience with the Israeli leader.

By Jonathan Saul, Parisa Hafezi, Timour Azhari and Chen AizhuLONDON/DUBAI, July 28 (Reuters) - China has held direct talks with Yemen's Houthi movement to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked after the Iran-aligned militia pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports, six sources with knowledge of the matter have said.

Roughly a dozen oil tankers were sailing in the vicinity of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as of Tuesday evening, following an uptick in traffic the day before as shippers bet on new US-Iran diplomacy.

By Mahmoud Issa and Rami AyyubGAZA/JERUSALEM, July 4 (Reuters) - The photo depicts a blindfolded Gaza man stripped to his underwear and restrained face down on a cot while in Israeli custody.Israel says the image is genuine and has acknowledged that the treatment it depicts "does not align" with its military's values. But it has yet to say who the man is or where he is being held.

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday pressed Europe to do more to protect and integrate migrants as he visited Italy's Lampedusa island, a major port of call for those risking the perilous crossing from Africa.His trip to the migration frontline was a stark message to both EU and US leaders in a period of both growing intolerance and indifference.The Catholic Church's first US pope, who has clashed with President Donald Trump's administration over its treatment of migrants, chose to mark July 4, the United

By Parisa Hafezi, Ahmed Elimam and Eman AbouhassiraDUBAI, July 4 (Reuters) - Mourners thronged a vast prayer complex in Tehran on Saturday as the week-long funeral ceremonies of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began with the national anthem, religious eulogies and readings from the Koran. Iran is staging mass funeral processions for Khamenei – whose 37-year reign was brought to an end in February by the first airstrike of the war launched by the U.S. and Israel – in a show of publi

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday visits Italy's Lampedusa island, a major port of call for migrants risking the perilous crossing from Africa, in a stark message to US and EU leaders.The Catholic Church's first US pope, who has clashed with the administration of President Donald Trump over its treatment of migrants, will mark July 4, the United States' 250th anniversary of independence, on a migration frontline.

Funeral ceremonies for Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei officially began on Saturday, state television reported, an event drawing thousands and intended to serve as a show of strength to the Islamic republic's foes.Iranian authorities say they anticipate between 15 and 20 million participants in Tehran alone over the next three days for tributes to the man who ran the country for three-and-a-half decades.

Iranians began to gather on Friday for the funeral ceremonies of slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as officials and international dignitaries paid their last respects to the man who ran the country for three-and-a-half decades.Iranian authorities have planned a marathon six days of funeral ceremonies to commemorate Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic republic as its number one from 1989 until his killing aged 86 on the first day of the US-Israeli war on February 28.

Former Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou has joined Al Nassr on a two-year deal, linking up with star forward Cristiano Ronaldo, the Saudi League champions announced on Friday.Postecoglou, 60, has been out of work since being sacked by Nottingham Forest in October after just 39 days and eight games in charge. Al Nassr trumpeted the news on social media: "It's official: Mr. Ange Postecoglou is the new head coach of @AlNassrFC. He signed a contract for two seasons. Welcome, Gaffer!"The club followe

Top Iranian officials on Friday paid their final respects to the country's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the start of a week of funeral ceremonies, with allies and mourners converging on Tehran where his body is lying in state.Authorities expect public mourning and grand processions to attract millions before Khamenei's burial next week, four months after he was killed aged 86 at his compound in the opening US-Israeli salvo of the Middle East war.

The elaborate funeral for the late supreme leader is becoming more than a farewell; it serves as a carefully staged test of regime continuity after his decades-long rule.

By Andrew Gray and Lili BayerBRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) - NATO leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump are set to affirm an "ironclad commitment" to collective defence under the alliance's Article 5 pact at a summit in Ankara next week, according to a text approved by NATO ambassadors on Friday and reviewed by Reuters.NATO members are also set to pledge €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026 and "at least equivalent levels" of support in 2027, according to the

The episodes in Druze-majority Suwayda escalated amid kidnappings, various disputes, and absent movement on integrating Druze into state institutions.