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Pope Leo XIV has issued a heartfelt plea for peace amid escalating U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, warning that continuing violence risks plunging the Middle East into an “irreparable abyss.”
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday in what President Donald Trump said was a massive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would defend its homeland as the Revolutionary Guard launched counterattacks, firing drones and missiles at Israel. Further strikes were launched at U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The strikes follow weeks of pressure from Trump on Tehran to make a deal to constrain its nuclear program. In the lead up to the strikes, Washington built up a significant fleet of American warships in the region.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in January to bolster the number of warships in the region. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later were also dispatched from the Caribbean.
At least 165 people were reported killed at a gi..
Oil prices jump and shares fall as conflict escalates40 minutes agoShareSaveDaniel Thomas,Ben Hatton,Peter HoskinsandDearbail JordanShareSaveEPAVessels have been forced to anchor as Iran threatens to close the Strait of HormuzGlobal oil prices rose as Iran continues to launch strikes across the Middle East in response to ongoing attacks by the US and Israel.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, jumped by 10% to touch more than $82 a barrel on Monday after at least three ships were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend. Natural gas prices also surged by as much as 25%.
Iran warned vessels not to pass through the crucial waterway in the south of the country, through which about 20% of the world's oil and gas is shipped.
In London, the FTSE 100 stock market index opened nearly 1% down with shares in airlines falling after airspace was closed across the Middle East.
Leading stock markets in Europe sustained bigger drops. In France, the CAC-40 fell by 1.6% wh..
Allies of US in the Gulf bear brunt of Iran attacks12 hours agoShareSaveFrank GardnerBBC security correspondentShareSaveReutersCities in the Gulf states, like Abu Dhabi pictured here, were not built to withstand attacks from drones and ballistic missilesIn the clear blue skies above Abu Dhabi, white contrails streak high above the sand-coloured villas and well-watered gardens.
These are no incoming Dreamliners or Airbuses bringing in the next manifest of tourists and guest workers. They are incoming ballistic missiles, launched by the Emirates' giant neighbour just across the Gulf: Iran.
As of Sunday afternoon, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) defence ministry said it had so far “dealt with” 165 incoming ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 Iranian drones.
In Bahrain, a friend alerted me on Sunday morning that the airport was under attack after having a sleepless night.
“Woken by huge bangs and wailing siren,” he texted. “I think maybe around 20 booms and bangs. At leas..
Over 60 South African nationals, including nine children, have been deported from Ireland following an operation by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. The deportations, which took place on Saturday, were carried out under orders issued by Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan. The group removed comprised 28 men, 26 women, and nine children, all part of family units.
They left Dublin on a chartered flight on Saturday and arrived in South Africa on Sunday.
The group were accompanied on the flight by gardai members, medical staff, an interpreter and a human rights observer.
Gardai said 10 of the individuals had been convicted of offences in Ireland.
open image in galleryA United Airlines Boeing 757-224 comes in to land at Dublin Airport (PA Archive)Mr O’Callaghan said: “Charter flights are now a routine and essential part of immigration enforcement for the state.
“Without effective enforcement measures, our immigration laws would be undermined, and I want to ensure that there is publi..
What we know so far: Supreme Leader Khamenei killed, as Iran launches retaliatory strikes47 minutes agoShareSaveHafsa KhalilandDavid GrittenShareSaveAirbus DS 2026Satellite image showing damage to the compound of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in TehranIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed after Israel and the US launched a “massive” and ongoing attack against Iran's leadership and military.
US President Donald Trump has urged Iranian forces to lay down their arms, and for Iran's people to rise up against its government.
Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
On Sunday, Israel said it had launched fresh attacks on “the heart of Tehran”, as Iranian attacks across the region also continued.
Here's what we know.
Videos shared online show aftermath of strikesWhy have the US and Israel att..
Ayatollah Khamenei's iron grip on power in Iran comes to an end9 hours agoShareSaveSam WoodhouseShareSaveAFP via Getty ImagesAyatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed on the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump has announced.
The death of the 86-year-old ruler of the past three decades – one of the longest in the world – was later confirmed on Iranian state TV.
Iran has had only two supreme leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
It's an all-powerful office – the supreme leader is head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards.
Khamenei is not quite a dictator, positioned in the middle of a complex web of competing power centres, able to veto any matter of public policy and hand pick candidates for public office.
Young Iranians have never experienced life without him in charge.
State television has covered Khamenei's every move. His image is plastered on billboards in pub..
The United States and Israel have launched a wide-scale military attack on Iran, plunging the Middle Eastern region into turmoil as Tehran retaliates.
Several nations, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan, have since been targeted following the attacks ordered by Donald Trump and Israel on Saturday morning.
It has prompted the closure of airspaces within the region, with global airlines cancelling flights throughout the Middle East and Dubai International Airport, the biggest global aviation hub, suspending all travel.
Confirming the attacks, Donald Trump said the US had launched “major combat operations”, aimed at “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime”, including to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The US President called the regime “a vicious group of very hard, terrible people”, adding that “its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world..
Smoke seen rising from area of southern Tehran following Israeli attackThe US and Israel have launched co-ordinated strikes across Iran, including Tehran, on Saturday, in a “preventative attack”.
Iran have retaliated with the Israel Defence Forces confirming that they had identified missiles launched towards them, and were intercepting the threat. Reports of explosions have also been made in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, which house US military bases.
President Donald Trump confirmed a “major combat operation” in an eight-minute speech, stating Iran could never have a nuclear weapon and adding: “It's been mass terror, and we're not going to take it any longer.”
Witnesses said they heard the blasts in the Iranian capital, while footage appears to show columns of smoke rising above the city.
Iran and Israel have closed their airspace, while officials in Tehran said their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location.
The development comes amid hei..
Flights between Western Europe and the Middle East have been severely disrupted after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and many other airlines are cancelling flights.
The “major combat operation” confirmed by Donald Trump on Saturday morning has had a major impact on flights in the region, as Iran and Iraq’s airspaces were closed due to the escalating action.
With missiles being launched from Israel against Iran, and retaliatory strikes from Iran, flights that would normally cross those countries are being forced to divert.
A video from the flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows the overnight stream of aircraft from the Gulf crossing northeast Iraq. But from around 6 am GMT, the pattern ends with aircraft instead flying west over Saudi Arabia.
British Airways has cancelled its flights linking London Heathrow with Bahrain and Tel Aviv until 3 March. Saturday’s link to Amman is also grounded.
A spokesperson told The Independent: “We are c..
