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US has ‘no plan’ for Iran war and Strait of Hormuz, senators say Democratic senators said on Tuesday night that the US has “no plan” for the war on Iran, after President Donald Trump’s administration conducted a two-hour behind-closed-doors briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee. This absence of any coordinated strategic thinking extends to the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint, regime change in Iran and the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. Following the Trump administration’s briefing on Tuesday, a procession of opposition senators came out to condemn what they described as the illegality, incoherence and lies surrounding the war, with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland saying Trump was simply doing what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had wanted to do for 40 years. “What you hear behind closed doors is essentially what we’re hearing in the public domain, which is complete incoherence,” Van Hollen said after the briefing. “But we do know, from Secretary Rubio, that Netanyahu decided to strike Iran, and so here we are doing what Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to do for 40 years, which was to attack Iran,” Van Hollen said, referring to remarks made by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, on 2 March.   Read more: US has ‘no plan’ for Iran war and Strait of Hormuz, senators say after briefing Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks to reporters on the day of classified briefings for the Senate Armed Services Committee on Operation Epic Fury and the situation in Iran, 10 March 2026 (Reuters)

TEHRAN, Mar. 11 (MNA) – The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement detailing the 39th wave of Operation True Promise 4.

Six Palestinians have been killed during attacks by settlers in the West Bank since the start of Israel's war, the UN says.

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Iran Health Official Warns WHO of Rising Civilian Casualties  IranWire

The move marks the latest escalation in diplomatic relations between the two countries

By Michaela Cabrera PARIS, March 11 (Reuters) - UNESCO said it is deeply concerned about the fate of world heritage sites in Iran and across the region, after Tehran's Golestan palace, often compared to Versailles, and a historic mosque and palace in Isfahan were damaged in the war. The United Nations' cultural agency on Wednesday urged all parties to protect the region's outstanding cultural sites, saying four of Iran's 29 world heritage sites had been damaged since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.

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US dropped charges against Turkey’s Halkbank in Hamas hostage deal, court documents show Ragip Soylu on Wed, 03/11/2026 - 12:55 Washington settled multibillion dollar Iran sanctions case because Ankara helped Trump to secure a Hamas hostage deal, documents say Halkbank is one of Turkey's biggest banks (AFP/File) Off Washington has dropped a multibillion dollar case against Turkish state lender Halkbank for violating sanctions against Iran after Ankara helped secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in 2025. The revelations were made in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York court filings reviewed by Middle East Eye on Wednesday. In 2019, US prosecutors charged Halkbank with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for allegedly helping Iran evade sanctions through money service providers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the UAE. Prosecutors said the bank secretly transferred $20bn in restricted funds, converted oil revenue into gold and cash for the benefit of Iranian interests, and documented fake food shipments to justify transfers of oil proceeds. Court filings reveal that US Attorney Jay Clayton in Manhattan agreed to sign a deferred prosecution agreement with Halkbank, under which the charges would be dropped in exchange for reforms at the bank. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In an official statement, the bank said it would not pay any judicial or administrative fines. The move is another indication of the strong rapport between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Trump, who, according to sources, promised in September to resolve the issue amicably. Court documentation and US official documents suggest the settlement was directly tied to diplomatic talks between Turkey and the United States over the Gaza war. Turkish arms subsidiary rebrands after sales to Israel sparks Iran war backlash Read More » A court document dated 6 March 2026, and signed by US Attorney Clayton, said that Trump, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had engaged in complex multilateral efforts, including  with Turkey, to arrange a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. “The national security and foreign policy interests furthered by the Agreement are unique and extraordinary: the Agreement is an important component of multilateral international efforts to secure the release of dozens of living hostages and hostage remains, as well as to achieve the cessation of military hostilities resulting from the October 7, 2023, terror attacks that had been ongoing for two years,” the document said. It added that a US commitment to resolving the Halkbank matter on mutually agreeable terms was an important part of those diplomatic discussions aimed at obtaining the release of all hostages. “As has been publicly reported, those diplomatic discussions between the United States and the Republic of Turkiye led to assistance from Turkiye that was instrumental in the ceasefire agreement and Hamas’s commitment to release all remaining hostages,” the deferred prosecution agreement said. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York is expected to approve the deal at a hearing this week. US-Iran Tensions Ankara News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Iran have qualified for this summer’s World Cup, but the country’s sports minister insists they cannot participate amid the ongoing conflict with the US

Israel to build base in Somaliland to target Houthis, says report MEE staff on Wed, 03/11/2026 - 13:03 Somaliland will allow Israel to gather intelligence and conduct operations against Yemeni group, sources tell Bloomberg The flags of Israel and Somaliland at the entrance to a fruit farm between the capital city of Hargeisa and port city of Berbera, 19 February 2026 (AFP/Tony Karumba) Off Israel is exploring building a base in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland from which it can target Yemen’s Houthis, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.  In December, Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state. Somaliland will allow Israel to gather intelligence on and conduct operations against the Houthis, two Somaliland officials speaking on condition of anonymity told Bloomberg.  Israel has laid the groundwork for a possible base in the region: in June, a group of Israeli security officials visited the Somaliland coastline, people familiar with the matter said.  There they surveyed the beaches, in search of a potential site for a base or installation to fight the Houthi movement, which is officially known as Ansar Allah. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The site would be around 260km from Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden.  Israel also rented rooms fitted with blast-proof windows on the top floor of a hotel in Hargeisa, people familiar with the matter said, as it scouted a location for an embassy. “In terms of security, we will have a strategic relationship and that encompasses a lot of things,” Khadar Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s minister of the presidency, told Bloomberg.  “We haven’t discussed with them if it becomes a military base, but definitely there will be an analysis at some point.” Shortly after Israeli recognition of the breakaway region was confirmed on 26 December, Somaliland officials travelled to Israel to deepen security ties, sources told Bloomberg.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); One of Israel's 'greatest threats' The Houthi movement, a close ally of Iran, has yet to weigh in since the US and Israel attacked Iran over a week ago. Iran has retaliated to the war by attacking Israel as well as targets in countries all over the region.  Why Yemen’s Houthis are hesitating to join Iran war, for now Read More » During Israel’s war on Gaza, the Houthis launched missile and drone strikes on international shipping in the Red Sea as well as on Israel, in an act of solidarity with Palestinians.  An Israeli general told Bloomberg that a special intelligence unit was set up on the Houthis, who the general said had hundreds of rockets that could reach Israel.  While Israel had been discussing Somaliland recognition for years, the deal was sealed in December because of Israeli intelligence officers viewing the Houthis as one of Israel’s greatest threats, regional diplomats and a senior Israeli military official told Bloomberg. As a result of the Red Sea attacks, maritime traffic via the Gulf of Aden dropped 70 percent in two years. As for the attacks on Israel, strikes in September 2025 briefly halted traffic at Ramon Airport in southern Israel, while another broke Israeli air defences and struck a hotel in the resort city of Eilat.  Somaliland ties with UAE Somaliland has been part of the unified Somali Republic since 1960, but declared its independence in 1991 and established a de facto state.  Although it has had unofficial diplomatic relations with several countries, its sovereignty had not been recognised by any permanent UN member state until Israel did so in December. In August, Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, wrote to President Donald Trump urging him to formally recognise Somaliland.  Former Somaliland president demands agreement with Israel be made public Read More » Cruz said Hargeisa was seeking to strengthen ties with Israel and had voiced support for the Abraham Accords. One of the locations under consideration for an Israeli base or installation is an area of high terrain about 100km west of the port city of Berbera, sources told Bloomberg. The city is where the UAE, a close ally of Somaliland, has a military airstrip and a harbour run by its logistics company DP World.  MEE reported in October that Somaliland's Berbera port was part of a network of bases along the Gulf of Aden built by the UAE.  The Somaliland government accepted an Emirati bid in 2017 to establish a military base in Berbera. Satellite imagery shows the naval base in Berbera has been transformed from a stalled project into a near-completed facility, with advanced infrastructure including a modern military port, a deep-water dock and an airstrip with hangars and support facilities. The runway at Berbera is 4km long, allowing it to receive heavy transport aircraft and fighter jets. In January, Somalia cut all commercial and security ties with the UAE, citing DP World’s ports in Berbera and Bosaso, the latter of which is in Puntland, another semi-autonomous region of Somalia.  The administrations in Somaliland and Puntland both rejected Somalia’s announcement.  Diplomacy News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

TEHRAN, Mar. 11 (MNA) – Turning to the recent US and Israeli attacks against an Iranian bank, the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned the enemy to wait for Iran’s painful and remorseful retaliatory attacks.

Is Brazzaville's stability a result of gradual democratic consolidation or carefully organised political continuity?

TEHRAN, Mar. 11 (MNA) – IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri has said that any vessel linked to US and Israeli aggressors is not allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

TEHRAN, Mar. 11 (MNA) – The Iraqi Islamic Resistance said on Wednesday that 13 US personnel were killed and dozens wounded during operations carried out over the past 12 days against American bases in Iraq and the region.

Oil prices have eased after they shot up earlier this week in response to the conflict

A Ukrainian missile attack on Russia’s Bryansk killed 6 civilians and injured 37 others, according to local officials.

Iran cannot participate in World Cup, sports minister says Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup after the United States killed their leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene, sports minister Ahmad Donyamali. "Considering that this corrupt regime (the US) has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup," the minister told state television.

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TEHRAN, Mar. 11 (MNA) – The local media in Lebanon have reported that 10 were killed and dozens were injured in Israeli attacks on various areas in Lebanon.