New Yorkers protest US strikes on Iran
NewsFeed New York City residents converged on Times Square on Saturday hours after US President Donald Trump ordered a wave of deadly strikes on Iran. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the strikes “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression”. Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
US strikes on Iran lead to renewed demands for war powers legislation
Democratic lawmakers have largely condemned the strikes on Iran, emphasizing the lack of congressional approval. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Lawmakers from the Democratic Party have condemned the US attacks on Iran as a “dangerous” and “unnecessary” escalation, and called on the Senate to immediately vote on legislation that would block the president’s ability to take further military action without congressional approval. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees and the primary author of the war powers resolution, called President Donald Trump’s order to attack Iran a “colossal mistake”. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of US forces in hostilities against Iran,” Kaine said in a statement on Saturday. “Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action.” House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed Kaine, saying that House Democrats are committed to forcing a floor vote on a measure to restrict Trump’s war powers regarding Iran. “Donald Trump failed to seek Congressional authorisation prior to striking Iran. Instead, the President’s decision to abandon diplomacy and launch a massive military attack has left American troops vulnerable to Iran’s retaliatory actions,” he said in a statement. “The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately.” The push for a legislative check on Trump’s executive power has gained significant bipartisan momentum in the Senate, of which the Republican Party maintains a slim majority. Advertisement Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded on Saturday that Congress be briefed immediately about the Iran attacks, including an all-senators classified session and public testimony, criticising the administration for not providing details on the threat’s scope and immediacy. “The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” he said in a statement. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, described the strikes in a statement posted on X as “a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East”. He questioned the urgency and intelligence behind the attack, warning of repeating “mistakes of the past”, like the Iraq war. “The American people have seen this playbook before – claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building,” he said. Not just Democrats While the push to curb executive military authority is largely driven by the Democratic caucus, a growing contingent of Republican lawmakers has signalled a rare break from the White House to join the effort. Republican representative Thomas Massie, one of the most outspoken critics, described the strikes as “acts of war unauthorised by Congress”. “I am opposed to this War. This is not America First,” he wrote on X. In the Senate, Republican Senator Rand Paul, who also co-sponsored the war powers resolution, said his opposition to the war is based on constitutional principles. “My oath of office is to the Constitution, so with studied care, I must oppose another Presidential war,” he said on X. Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu’s war? Analysts say Trump’s Iran strikes benefit Israel, not US
President Donald Trump stood in front of regional leaders during a visit to the Middle East in May and declared a new era of US foreign policy in the region, one that is not guided by trying to reshape it or change its governing systems. “In the end, the so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves,” the US president said in rebuke of his hawkish predecessors. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Less than a year later, Trump ordered an all-out assault on Iran with the stated goal of bringing “freedom” to the country, borrowing language from the playbook of interventionist neoconservatives, like former President George W Bush, whom he spent his political career criticising. Analysts say the war with Iran does not fit with Trump’s stated political ideology, policy goals or campaign promises. Instead, several Iran experts told Al Jazeera that Trump is waging a war, together with Israel, that only benefits Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “This is, once again, a war of choice launched by the US with [a] push from Israel,” said Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC. “This is another Israeli war that the US is launching. Israel has pushed the US to attack Iran for two decades, and they finally got it.” Mortazavi highlighted Trump’s criticism of his predecessors, who had waged regime-change wars in the region. “It is ironic, because this is a president who called himself the ‘president of peace‘,” she told Al Jazeera. History of warnings of the Iranian ‘threat’ Netanyahu, who promoted the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, has been warning for more than two decades that Iran is on the cusp of acquiring nuclear weapons. Advertisement Iran denies seeking a nuclear bomb, and even Trump administration officials have acknowledged that Washington has no evidence that Tehran is weaponising its uranium enrichment programme. After the US bombed Iran’s main enrichment facilities in the 12-day war in June last year – an attack that Trump says “obliterated” the country’s nuclear programme – Netanyahu pivoted to a new supposed Iranian threat: Tehran’s ballistic missiles. “Iran can blackmail any American city,” Netanyahu told pro-Israel podcaster Ben Shapiro in October. “People don’t believe it. Iran is developing intercontinental missiles with a range of 8,000km [5,000 miles], add another 3,000 [1,800 miles], and they can get to the East Coast of the US.” Trump repeated that claim, which Tehran has vehemently denied and has not been backed by any public evidence or testing, in his State of the Union address earlier this week. “They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” he said of the Iranians. Trump has been building the case for a wider war with Iran since the June conflict, repeatedly threatening to bomb the country again. But the US president’s own National Security Strategy last year called for de-prioritising the Middle East in Washington’s foreign policy and focusing on the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the US public, wary of global conflict after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has also been largely opposed to new strikes against Iran, public opinion polls show. Only 21 percent of respondents in a recent University of Maryland survey said they favoured a war with Iran. The first day of the war saw Iran fire missiles against bases and cities that host US troops and assets across the Middle East in retaliation for the joint US-Israeli strikes, plunging the region into chaos. Trump acknowledged that US troops may suffer casualties in the conflict. “That often happens in war,” he said on Saturday. “But we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission.” ‘Ignoring the vast majority of Americans’ The Trump administration had appeared to step back from the brink of conflict earlier this month by engaging in diplomacy with Tehran. US and Iranian negotiators held three rounds of talks over the past week, with Tehran stressing that it is willing to agree to rigorous inspections of its nuclear programme. Omani mediators and Iranian officials had described the last round of negotiations, which took place on Thursday, as positive, saying that it yielded significant progress. Advertisement The June 2025 war, initiated by Israel without provocation, also came in the middle of US-Iran talks. “Netanyahu’s agenda has always been to prevent a diplomatic solution, and he feared Trump was actually serious about getting a deal, so the start of this war in the middle of negotiations is a success for him, just like it was last June,” Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), told Al Jazeera. “Trump’s embrace of regime change rhetoric is a further victory for Netanyahu, and loss for the American people, as it suggests the US may be committed to a long and unpredictable military boondoggle.” While announcing the strikes on Saturday, Trump said his aim is to prevent Iran from “threatening America and our core national security interests”. But US critics, including some proponents of Trump’s “America first” movement, have argued that Iran – more than 10,000km (6,000 miles) away – does not pose a threat to the US. Earlier this month, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that “if it were not for Iran, there wouldn’t be Hezbollah; we wouldn’t have the problem on the border with Lebanon”. Carlson said, “What problem on the border with Lebanon? I’m an American. I’m not having any problems on the border with Lebanon right now. I live in Maine.” On Saturday, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib stressed that the US public does not want war with Iran. “Trump is acting on the violent fantasies of the American political elite and the Israeli apartheid government, ignoring the vast majority of Americans who say loud
Peace ‘within reach’ as Iran agrees no nuclear material stockpile: Oman FM
Oman’s Foreign Minister says most recent indirect talks between US, Iran ‘really advanced, substantially’ and diplomacy must be allowed do its work. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Iran agreed during indirect talks with the United States never to stockpile enriched uranium, said Oman’s top diplomat, who described the development as a major breakthrough. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi also said on Friday that he believed all issues in a deal between Iran and the US could be resolved “amicably and comprehensively” within a few months. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “A peace deal is within our reach … if we just allow diplomacy the space it needs to get there,” Al Busaidi said in an interview with CBS News in Washington, DC, after Oman brokered the third round of indirect talks between the US and Iran in Geneva on Thursday. “If the ultimate objective is to ensure forever that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, I think we have cracked that problem through these negotiations by agreeing [on] a very important breakthrough that has never been achieved any time before,” Al Busaidi said. “The single most important achievement, I believe, is the agreement that Iran will never ever have nuclear material that will create a bomb,” he said. “Now we are talking about zero stockpiling, and that is very, very important because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way that you can actually create a bomb,” he added. There would also be “full and comprehensive verification by the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]”, he said, referring to the UN’s nuclear watchdog. Oman’s top diplomat also said Iran would degrade its current stockpiles of nuclear material to “the lowest level possible” so that it is “converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible”. Advertisement “This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling,” Al Busaidi said. Regarding recent US demands regarding Iran’s missile programme, Al Busaidi said: “I believe Iran is open to discuss everything”. Asked if he thought enough ground was covered in the most recent talks in Geneva to hold off a US attack on Iran, the minister said, “I hope so.” “We have really advanced substantially, and I think, obviously, there remains various details to be ironed out, and this is why we need a little bit more time to really try and accomplish the ultimate goal of having a comprehensive package of the deal,” he said. “But the big picture is that a deal is in our hands,” he added. The foreign minister’s comment followed after he met earlier on Friday with US Vice President JD Vance and as US President Donald Trump continued to sabre-rattle while at the same time declaring he favoured a diplomatic solution with Tehran. Trump said on Friday that he was not happy with the recent talks that concluded in Geneva. “We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating,” Trump told reporters in Washington, adding that Iran “should make a deal”. “They’d be smart if they made a deal,” he said. Trump later said that he would prefer it if the US did not have to use military force, “but sometimes you have to do it”. The US and Iranian sides are expected to meet again on Monday in Vienna, Austria, for more indirect negotiations. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump administration charges 30 more people for Minnesota church protest
Listen to this article Listen to this article | 5 mins info The administration of United States President Donald Trump has broadened its prosecution of the protesters involved in a church demonstration to 39 people, up from nine. The demonstration was part of a backlash to Trump’s deadly immigration surge in the Midwestern state of Minnesota, but officials have sought to frame the protest as an attack on religious freedom. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the expanded indictment on Friday in a message posted to social media. “Today, [the Justice Department] unsealed an indictment charging 30 more people who took part in the attack on Cities Church in Minnesota,” Bondi wrote. “At my direction, federal agents have already arrested 25 of them, with more to come throughout the day.” She added a warning to other protesters who might seek to disrupt a religious service. “YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP,” Bondi said. “If you do so, you cannot hide from us — we will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you. This Department of Justice STANDS for Christians and all Americans of faith.” Appealing to Christian voters Since taking office for a second term, Trump has sought to appeal to Christian conservatives by launching initiatives, for example, to root out anti-Christian bias and prevent alleged acts of Christian persecution, both domestically and in countries like Nigeria. But critics have accused his administration of attempting to stifle opposition through its prosecution of the Minnesota protest attendees. Some of those indicted deny even being a part of the January 18 protest. Defendants like former CNN anchor Don Lemon and reporter Georgia Fort say they attended in their capacity as journalists. Advertisement Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have publicly questioned whether their prosecution is an attempt to curtail freedom of the press. The superseding indictment, filed on Thursday, levies two counts against the 39 defendants, accusing them of conspiracy against the right of religious freedom and efforts to injure, intimidate or interfere with the exercise of religious freedom. “While inside the Church, defendants collectively oppressed, threatened and intimidated the Church’s congregants and pastors by physically occupying the main aisle and rows of chairs near the front of the church,” the indictment reads It also describes the protesters as “engaging in menacing and threatening behavior” by “chanting and yelling loudly” and obstructing exits. A magistrate judge on January 22 initially rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to charge nine attendees who were at the protest. But the department sought a grand jury indictment instead, which was filed on January 29 and made public the next day. A reaction to Trump’s immigration surge The protest, dubbed “Operation Pullup”, was conceived as a response to the violent immigration crackdown that had unfolded in Minnesota. Many of the enforcement efforts centred on the metropolitan area that includes the Twin Cities: St Paul and Minneapolis. Trump had repeatedly blamed the area’s large Somali American population for a welfare fraud scandal involving government funds for programmes like Medicaid and school lunches. In December, the Trump administration surged federal immigration agents to the region, nicknaming the effort Operation Metro Surge. At its height, as many as 3,000 agents were in the Minneapolis-St Paul area. But the effort was plagued by reports of excessive violence towards detainees and protesters alike. Videos circulated of officers breaking the car windows of legal observers, pepper-spraying protesters and beating people. Officers also engaged in the practice of entering homes forcibly without a judicial warrant, which advocates described as a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Cases of unlawful arrests were also reported. But a turning point came on January 7, when an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was caught on camera shooting into the vehicle of 37-year-old mother Renee Good. She died, and her killing triggered nationwide protests. Operation Pullup took place at Cities Church in St Paul less than two weeks later. It was intended as a demonstration against the church’s pastor, David Easterwood, who serves as a local official for ICE. Advertisement Several protesters have indicated that they are prepared to fight the government’s charges over the incident, citing their First Amendment rights to free speech. Some also said that they intended to remain vigilant towards government immigration operations, even after Trump administration officials announced Operation Metro Surge was winding down in mid-February. “This is not the time to be Minnesota Nice,” one protester, civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong, wrote on social media last week. “It’s time for truth, justice, and freedom to prevail.” Adblock test (Why?)
Ramadan in Yemen’s Aden: Optimism dimmed by tensions and shortages
Aden, Yemen – Abu Amjad was shopping with his two children last week, finally able to take them out and buy them new clothes – a cherished Ramadan tradition in Yemen. The 35-year-old is a teacher, and he had just received his salary. That payment was a sign things are improving in Aden – the salaries are funded by Saudi Arabia as a way of backing the Yemeni government, which has recently arrived to take control of Aden after the defeat of secessionist forces. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list But problems and instability are never far away in Yemen. Just as soon as the children, Amjad, 10, and Mona, 7, began trying on their outfits, the sound of gunfire erupted. Shoppers froze. Amjad and Mona clutched their father, asking to leave. About 3km (2 miles) away, security forces had opened fire on protesters who attempted to breach the gates of al-Maashiq Palace, where members of the Yemeni government have been based since they arrived from Riyadh a week ago. The gunfire shattered the family’s moment of joy. “It ruins your joy when you see a person bleed and robs you of peace when you hear prolonged gunfire,” Abu Amjad told Al Jazeera. After years of operating from exile, Yemen’s Saudi-backed, UN-recognised cabinet is spending Ramadan in Aden, a move that has coincided with improvements in basic services and a renewed sense of relief. Yet that relief was overshadowed by the deadly confrontation between security forces and antigovernment protesters, in which at least one person was killed. “That was the first clash after the return of the government to Aden. Our concern is that it may not be the last,” said Abu Amjad. Government wins Yemen’s new Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani has said that stabilising Aden and other areas under government control was among the new government’s main priorities. Advertisement The Yemeni government is currently in its strongest position for years. An advance by the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) at the end of last year in eastern Yemen ultimately was a step too far for the United Arab Emirates-backed group. Saudi Arabia considered the STC advance the crossing of a red line, and lent its full military backing to the Yemeni government, allowing it to take territory it had not controlled for years. Now, the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia are focused on attempting to improve conditions in the southern and eastern areas of Yemen under government control, to attract more public support. That would in turn weaken support for both the STC and the Houthi rebels, who have controlled northwestern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, since the country’s war began in 2014. Lit city and busy markets Abdulrahman Mansour, a bus driver and resident of Khormaksar in Aden, said Ramadan this year feels different. “When I see the lights on and the markets busy on Ramadan nights in Aden, it feels like a different city. The improvement is undeniable,” Mansour, 42, told Al Jazeera. He noted that one distinct difference this Ramadan is the stable provision of electricity. “This reminds me of the pre-war time. We used to take that service for granted,” said Mansour. “When the city is dark at night, it appears gloomy, and families prefer to stay home. The movement of people brings life to the city and helps small businesses keep afloat, especially in Ramadan,” Mansour added. Yemeni Electricity Minister Adnan al-Kaf said last week that efforts to improve electricity services in Aden and other provinces continue, noting that Saudi support had contributed to improved service over the past two months. Wafiq Saleh, a Yemeni economic researcher, said the improvement in the living standards of citizens in Aden and southern Yemen, in general, was obvious, particularly after Saudi Arabia’s payment of public sector salaries and the supply of basic services such as water and electricity. Saleh told Al Jazeera, “The recent Saudi financial support has been very generous, and it can help the government during this period by enabling it to work on reactivating dormant resources, resuming oil exports, combating corruption, and improving the efficiency of revenue collection with transparency and good governance.” But Saleh emphasised that the progress achieved so far is not the result of economic reforms by the Yemeni government, but rather because of Saudi support. Advertisement Therefore, according to the economist, the improvement in the living situation and the currency’s value may not be sustainable, even if it is a positive indicator and may be the first step towards promised economic reforms in the country. “There must be a comprehensive vision for developing revenue collection so that the government can implement sustainable economic reforms,” Saleh said. Search for cooking gas While the distribution of electricity has improved in Aden, other essential services remain strained. Cooking gas shortages remain a major concern. The search for it remains a daily struggle for families in the port city, and the crisis has intensified in Ramadan. Lines of vehicles queue at stations, while residents wait with cylinders for a few litres (quarts) of gas. “Going from one station to another in search of cooking gas while fasting is exhausting,” said Fawaz Ahmed, a 42-year resident of Khormaksar district. Fawaz describes the shortage of cooking gas as a cause of hunger in the city. “If I stay in [my home] village, I would resort to firewood. But in the city, that option is not available, and if we find firewood in the market, it is expensive.” Gas distributors say the quantity of cooking gas supplied to them is not adequate, citing this as the root cause of the crisis. Supplies are transported from Marib province in northern Yemen. Tensions to continue The cooking gas shortage is a sign that it will not be plain sailing for the Yemeni government in Aden. And opponents will likely seize on any ongoing problems to foment more unrest. Majed al-Daari, editor-in-chief of the independent Yemeni news site Maraqiboun Press, described the situation in Aden as “very worrying”.
Is the US negotiating with Iran or preparing to strike?
Iran and the US begin new nuclear talks as Washington builds up forces in the region. Iran and the United States are heading into a third round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Geneva, while US military assets build up across the region. Is either side prepared to compromise, or is the confrontation at a breaking point? In this episode: Episode credits: This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz, Melanie Marich, and Marcos Bartolomé, with Spencer Cline, Tamara Khandaker, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadeh, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke and Sarí el-Khalili. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Published On 27 Feb 202627 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
‘Like it’s 2024 again’: Trump takes centre stage in 2026 midterm elections
Nationalising the race The Republican Party has suffered losses since Trump’s return to the presidency last year. In 2025’s off-year races, Democrats notched a handful of victories, from Virginia to New Jersey. Wiles, a close adviser to Trump, has blamed the Republican defeats on Trump’s absence from the ballot. “Typically, in the midterms, it’s not about who’s sitting in the White House. You localise the election, and you keep federal officials out of it,” Wiles explained to The Mom View. “We’re actually going to turn that on its head and put him on the ballot, because so many of those low-propensity voters are Trump voters.” Her strategy is designed to harness the strong sense of loyalty Trump has engendered in the Republican Party. The YouGov poll found conservative voters overwhelmingly approved of his job, at a rate of 82 percent. A mid-January CBS News survey found an even higher approval rating — 90 percent — among US adults who identify as Republicans. “Since 2016, our surveys have all been off because we underestimate the Trump vote consistently,” said political scientist Lonna Rae Atkeson. “Trump has definitely drawn more support from irregular voters, people who don’t regularly go to the polls, during presidential elections.” But she questioned whether Trump’s endorsement would translate into increased support for down-ballot races. “We haven’t seen that carry over well to the midterms,” said Atkeson. “So it may not turn out well for him.” But putting Trump “on the ballot”, as Wiles suggests, also risks shifting the focus of the midterm races away from local issues. Instead, experts like Gillespie believe that “nationalising” the midterm races could homogenise both down-ballot candidates and their policy platforms, as they seek to reflect national priorities, not local ones. “One manifestation of polarisation in American politics is that national issues increasingly supplant local ones,” Gillespie said. “As national politics seep into state and local races, it becomes harder for federal candidates to distinguish themselves from Washington.” Adblock test (Why?)
Iran says US must drop ‘excessive demands’ in nuclear negotiations
Iranian foreign minister emphasizes seriousness and realism as key to successful negotiations with the United States. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 27 Feb 202627 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo The United States must drop its “excessive demands” in nuclear talks with Iran to achieve a successful outcome, the Iranian foreign minister has said, as the US embassy in Jerusalem granted permission to nonemergency staff members to leave Israel amid fears of a regional war. Abbas Aragchi made the remarks during a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Ati, according to a report on Friday by the ISNA news agency. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Iran’s top diplomat said that “success on this path requires seriousness and realism on the part of the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands”. He did not elaborate on what those demands are. Aragchi’s statement tempered down previous comments where he hailed “progress” at the talks and described the last round of negotiations between Iranian and US officials in Geneva as the “most intense so far”. “It concluded with the mutual understanding that we will continue to engage in a more detailed manner on matters that are essential to any deal – including sanctions termination and nuclear-related steps,” he said. Further negotiations will be conducted in parallel to meetings between technical teams in Vienna in the coming days, the Iranian diplomat added. American and Iranian officials left the Swiss city following the indirect talks mediated by Oman on Thursday to consult with their respective governments. Since resuming talks last month, the US has said it wants Iran to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure entirely, limit its arsenal of ballistic missiles and stop supporting regional allies. While Tehran has shown flexibility about discussing limitations on the enrichment of uranium for civilian use, it has so far treated missiles and proxies as non-negotiables. Advertisement US President Donald Trump has said he favours a diplomatic resolution to the standoff, but has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not accept a deal. The US has amassed its biggest military arsenal in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which arrived on Friday in the Israeli port city of Haifa, according to Israeli Channel 12. Iran has said that it was not going to initiate a war, but that it was ready to respond if attacked, threatening to strike bases used by US forces in the region. The military build-up has left the region bracing for a potential war that could spiral into a regional conflict. On Friday, China told its citizens to evacuate from Iran “as soon as possible” and the US authorised the departure of nonemergency embassy staff from Israel – the same order Washington issued for the US mission in Lebanon earlier this week. Canada, India, UK and Poland have also issued similar orders. Adblock test (Why?)
LIVE: Pakistan declares ‘open war’ on Afghanistan, fighter jets bomb Kabul
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Pakistani and Afghan officials have both declared full military operations as border clashes intensify. Published On 27 Feb 202627 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)