All posts tagged: Iran

Iran weighs attacks on military targets in Europe if war escalates: FT

Iran weighs attacks on military targets in Europe if war escalates: FT

Published by Sam Flores

Iran has considered attacking U.S. military targets in Europe if the war escalates, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing two regime insiders. U.S. assets in Bulgaria and Cyprus were weighed as potential targets, according to the FT’s report. CNBC has reached out to Iran’s Military of Foreign Affairs for comment and has not independently verified the story. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war have stalled, with little sign that talks will resume, leaving the belligerents to consider their next stages in the prolonged conflict. UAE severs trade with Iran The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said it had paused all “trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions” with Iran until further notice. On Tuesday, the UAE’s Ministry of Defense said it detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward its territorial waters. Both were reported to have fallen into the water and caused no damage or casualties. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected the UAE’s claim that Tehran had targeted the country. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. is not …

UAE imposes indefinite trade embargo on Iran over alleged missile attacks | US-Israel war on Iran News

UAE imposes indefinite trade embargo on Iran over alleged missile attacks | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Iran denies launching missiles at the UAE, suggesting the incident was a ‘false flag operation’. The United Arab Emirates has imposed an indefinite trade embargo on Iran after accusing Iranian forces of firing two ballistic missiles at the country, an allegation Tehran denies. In a statement early on Wednesday, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision was made in “light of escalations that undermine peace and security in the region”. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “All trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” it added. The statement came after the UAE’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, with one falling outside the country’s territorial waters and the other landing within them. In a follow-up statement, the ministry said the missiles had been “targeting maritime traffic” and promised to “resolutely confront any attempt to undermine the security of the nation or maritime navigation in the region”. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the accusation as “baseless”, …

A fraying U.S. umbrella is raising the risk of nuclear cascade

A fraying U.S. umbrella is raising the risk of nuclear cascade

Published by Sam Flores

A woman rolls a baby stroller past a replica of the Soviet RDS-4 nuclear bomb installed in memory of its creators in a park in Moscow on July 29, 2026. Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images For decades, allies worldwide rested in the comfort of the U.S. nuclear umbrella, confident they didn’t need their own weapons of mass destruction. That belief is rapidly evaporating as President Donald Trump’s latest National Defense Strategy for 2026 dropped any explicit mention of extended deterrence and has pressed allies to spend more of their own money on defenses. The change is prompting more governments to reconsider whether to acquire nuclear weapons of their own, raising the risk of a proliferation cascade, analysts say. Allies almost universally perceive Washington as becoming more “disengaged and unreliable,” prompting “various flavors of strategic autonomy,” said Ankit Panda, senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Most recently, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in joint military exercises with ally South Korea, saying that the exercises sent …

UAE Says Two Missiles Detected Earlier Were Launched From Iran

UAE Says Two Missiles Detected Earlier Were Launched From Iran

Published by Sam Flores

CAIRO, Aug 18 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates’ ⁠defense ⁠ministry said on Tuesday ⁠that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from ​Iran, the first such incident reported since a May 4 strike on the ‌Fujairah port. In a statement later, ‌the ministry said the missiles targeted “maritime traffic” based on its assessments. ⁠Both ⁠missiles fell into the sea, it said. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil ​Baghaei rejected early on Wednesday the statement by the UAE, describing it as “baseless.” In a statement issued after the missile threat, the UAE said it had suspended ​all trade activities, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until ⁠further notice, ⁠citing an escalation that ⁠it ​said undermined regional and international peace and security. The missile launch comes as a ​60-day window for ⁠U.S.-Iranian peace talks expired on Monday without a breakthrough, raising fears of a new escalation in the conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February. “The defense ministry affirms its full readiness to ⁠deal with any threats and firmly confront anything …

Israel says strikes on Syrian military airfield were to ensure its security

Israel says strikes on Syrian military airfield were to ensure its security

Published by Sam Flores

19/08/2026 – 02:04 Turkey rejects Israeli claims on Syria Turkey rejected on Wednesday Israeli allegations that it posed a threat by preparing to send troops to a base in Syria, which was hit in a strike that the United States blamed on Israel. “The frivolous allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office aim to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Turkey‘s Communications Directorate said in a statement quoted by the Anadolu state news agency. 19/08/2026 – 00:25 Iraq approves three-month mechanism to export crude via local, international firms Iraq’s cabinet ​approved mechanisms for exporting Iraqi crude through specialised international ​and local companies and via multiple export outlets, the government said on Tuesday. The contracts under the new mechanism ​will ‌run for three months starting ⁠September 1, according to a statement issued after the cabinet meeting. Iraq ‌is seeking to diversify its oil export ⁠channels and maintain flexibility in marketing its crude amid the Iran war and the closure ​of the Strait of Hormuz, which ‌has disrupted regional oil flows and created …

Why has Trump threatened to bomb Oman – for a second time? | US-Israel war on Iran News

Why has Trump threatened to bomb Oman – for a second time? | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

United States President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a peace deal between the US and Iran. Oman is currently negotiating with Iran over the reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has repeatedly stated that it will not speak directly to the US. On Monday, as Iranian officials said they were close to announcing an agreement with Oman, a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Washington and Tehran – which had provided for a period of peace talks but largely fell apart early on – expired with little hope for renewal. This is not the first time Trump has threatened Oman, a US ally which has never entered into any direct conflict with the US. Oman, through whose territorial waters the contested Strait of Hormuz also flows, has positioned itself as a neutral party in the US-Iran war. Despite that, it has suffered a number of strikes by Iran, which has targeted US military assets and infrastructure around the region in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. …

Trump’s Oman bomb threat an attempt to get their ‘attention’: Ex-ambassador

Trump’s Oman bomb threat an attempt to get their ‘attention’: Ex-ambassador

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.S.-Iran peace talks have effectively stalled, a former U.S. ambassador told CNBC on Tuesday, with Washington pursuing a diplomatic solution that was never “seriously on the table.” The 60-day window for a negotiated settlement closed without a breakthrough on Monday, with ships still unable to safely transit the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman — an ally of Washington — if it “gets in the way” of negotiations with Iran. Tehran is in active talks with Oman over a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for international shipping that has become a key sticking point in negotiations with U.S. representatives. Speaking to CNBC’s Access Middle East on Tuesday, Marc Sievers, who served as U.S. ambassador to Oman between 2016 and 2019, said Trump’s threat to bomb the country …

Hormuz Crossings Rise Slightly From Weekend, Remain in Single Digits, Data Shows

Hormuz Crossings Rise Slightly From Weekend, Remain in Single Digits, Data Shows

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Ship crossings via the ⁠Strait ⁠of Hormuz were still ⁠in single digits on Monday, despite rising slightly from ​the weekend, according to preliminary shipping data on Tuesday, amid a stalemate in ‌U.S. and Iranian peace talks. Six ‌commodity ships transited the strait on Monday, of which three were ⁠exiting the ⁠Gulf and three were entering, Kpler shiptracking data showed, compared ​with the 10-day average of 11 ships. Three ships transited on Saturday while two moved through the waterway on Sunday. There were no very large crude carriers (VLCC) or ​tankers carrying liquefied natural gas passing through. Some vessels could be passing through ⁠the ⁠strait with their transponders ⁠switched off ​and they are not considered in the tally. The very large gas carrier (VLGC) ​Xavia entered the strait ⁠via the Iranian route under ballast, meaning empty of a cargo, according to the data. VLGCs are typically used to ship liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and butane. A medium-range fuel tanker and an intermediate-range tanker ⁠also entered the Gulf, the data …

Trump hints at contact with North Korea’s Kim after scaling back Seoul drills

Trump hints at contact with North Korea’s Kim after scaling back Seoul drills

Published by Sam Flores

ASIAN ANXIETY The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are designed to prepare for a possible war with North Korea. Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, has said they will simulate combat against North Korean troops hardened by their deployment on Russia’s side in its invasion of Ukraine. Seoul’s presidential office told AFP it remained in “close coordination” with Washington over the exercises. Pyongyang decries the drills as dress rehearsals for an invasion. It recently test-fired a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan, and warned on Friday it could respond to the exercises with a “new level of deterrent”. During his first term, Trump said after his initial meeting with North Korea’s Kim in Singapore in June 2018 that Washington would suspend the “provocative” drills. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country’s defenses, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. But Trump’s repeated criticism of time-honored alliances has cast doubt on …