All news on the topic: Middle East

President Donald Trump has claimed Iran’s Kharg Island energy hub was "blown to smithereens", despite no evidence of an attack - as both sides exchange strikes in the Middle East.

Early in 2025, shortly after taking office, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth polled the nation’s top commanders on whether to eliminate a program aimed at protecting civilians during U.S. military operations.

The U.S. military announced that an additional 60 service members have been injured in the Iran war, raising the official toll to 776 troops wounded or killed. About 345 of these casualties have occurred since July 7, following the breakdown of a second ceasefire.

A helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco (2222.SE), crashed on Sunday in Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast on the Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz, killing 14 nationals, the state news agency reported, adding that the cause was unknown.

The United States and Iran reached a preliminary peace agreement on Sunday to end three and a half months of war in the Middle East, according to an announcement by Pakistan, whose prime minister said the agreement will be signed next Friday in Switzerland.

Europe’s STOXX 600 hit a record high on Monday, boosted by a relief rally across most sectors after the United States and Iran reached a preliminary agreement that would open the Strait of Hormuz and end the three-month-long war in the Middle East.

Iran has damaged 20 US military sites since the start of the war, satellite images and videos analysed by BBC Verify show, suggesting the attacks are more extensive than publicly acknowledged.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that world leaders need to apply "more pressure," including sanctions, on Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring him to the negotiating table as Zelenskyy aims to end the war that has lasted for more than four years.

On Thursday, the United States reaffirmed that its diplomats were still in Kyiv despite Russia’s increasing threats, rejecting a claim by the European Union’s top diplomat that Washington had evacuated the Ukrainian capital.

The EU expanded its sanctions regime against Iran to target individuals and entities involved in Tehran’s actions disrupting navigation in the Middle East, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, the European Council said on Friday.

The conflict in the Middle East is sustaining elevated energy prices for a more extended period than anticipated, European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks stated, indicating that increases in interest rates are probable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a heated phone conversation with Donald Trump that left the Israeli leader feeling extremely agitated, a source has revealed.

In a joint operation by the United States and Nigeria against Islamic State group fighters, 175 have been killed over the past few days, Nigeria’s military announced on Tuesday. The head of the U.S. Africa Command stated that this demonstrated the capabilities that its forces could bring to Africa, which he referred to as the “epicenter of global terrorism.”

In an unprecedented crackdown across the Middle East and North Africa, Interpol announced Monday that authorities have arrested 201 individuals associated with cross-border cybercrime networks.

King Charles received a warm welcome from cheering crowds on Thursday as he visited a London area that has recently experienced a series of antisemitic attacks, demonstrating his support for Britain’s anxious Jewish communities.

The FBI is offering $200,000 for information that could lead to the arrest of a former Air Force intelligence specialist charged in 2019 with spying for Iran.

President Trump has noted that "infighting and confusion" within Iran’s ruling regime is partly why reaching a deal to end the war initiated by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has been so challenging.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pope Leo XIV met Thursday at the Vatican to discuss the situation in the Middle East and other issues, a meeting that followed weeks of tension between the American-born pontiff and President Trump.

Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at U.S. military sites across the Middle East since the war began, affecting hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, and key radar, communications, and air defense equipment, according to a Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery. The extent of destruction is significantly greater than what has been publicly acknowledged by the U.S. government or previously reported.

Donald Trump has launched another verbal assault on Pope Leo, accusing the pontiff of "putting many Catholics at risk" because "he believes it’s acceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon".

On Friday, President Trump informed congressional leaders that "hostilities" with Iran have "terminated," addressing an important 60-day deadline under a law intended to restrict the unauthorized use of military force.

The decision by the United Arab Emirates to withdraw from OPEC did more than just surprise the cartel that has long dominated the global oil market. It also signaled the beginning of the new geopolitical order that the war with Iran is bringing about throughout the Middle East.