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The UN Security Council held two votes on the Middle East war, the first since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. A Bahrain-sponsored resolution condemning Iran -- but not the US and Israel -- was adopted. A second, Russian-sponsored one, condemning Iran and the US-Israel, was vetoed. FRANCE 24's Leela Jacinto examines the implications of the UN votes.
In the south Lebanon border village of Qlayaa, hundreds mourn parish priest Father Pierre al-Rai two days after he was killed by Israeli shelling while inspecting the site of an earlier attack. Amid the funeral procession, residents implore the army for protection from the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, but pledge to stay no matter what.
According to an investigation by the Bloomberg news organisation, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who has been appointed as the new head of the Islamic republic, has amassed wealth estimated at more than $100 billion. Money from oil sales has been channelled into investments in luxury British real estate, hotels in Europe and property in Dubai.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbors will continue. The Strait of Hormuz has been at the heart of several conflicts over the years. Here's a closer look at events that have shaken the region, and the world, over the past four decades.
Israel's military said Thursday that Hezbollah had fired around 200 rockets at Israel the night before, in what it described as the Lebanese armed group's "biggest barrage" since the war began. FRANCE 24's Olivia Bizot reports from Jerusalem.
Sparking turmoil in global energy markets and undermining Gulf countries’ reputations for economic stability is all part of the Iranian regime’s strategy, according to a Middle East analyst. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Paymon Azmoudeh, senior consultant in the risk and compliance practice at Forward Global, explains that Tehran hopes to pressure Washington to end the war. Iran, he says, is very aware o...
#Israel launched a new 'large-scale attack' against #Hezbollah targets late on March 11, following rocket fire from the militant group. It struck #Beirut's southern suburbs as well as the capital's city centre, for the second time in a day and the third time since the start of the #war.
Nerd Alert! This week we focus on France’s contribution to knowledge and ideas. If French philosopher René Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am,” then “we think, therefore we are” could be said of the French. Over the years, France has produced a wide array of world-leading thinkers at the forefront of dazzling theories about knowledge, liberty, justice, the human condition – and, of ...
The European Union is facing an “almost existential moment” as it seeks to weather global turmoil. That is the warning from Ireland’s Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris. He says the current conflict in the Middle East serves as “a stark reminder of how Europe must become much more energy independent and much more economically resilient."
Jean-Emile Jammine is pleased to welcome Dr H. A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) for Defence and International Security Studies in London. The succession process currently unfolding in Iran must be understood within the extraordinary context of wartime decision-making, Dr Hellyer explains. The debate over Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment is less about ...
Footage from January and February 2026 captures Israeli aircraft spraying herbicides over agricultural land in southern Syria. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to a farmer who described the significant losses resulting from these spraying operations.
As the US-Israeli war against Iran escalates, fears are rising that covert agents lying low in Western countries could be activated to retaliate. US President Donald Trump said his administration is "on top" of the possibility of Iranian cells operating inside the United States, but has offered few details about the level of threat.
Amid the political uncertainty surrounding Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr Anahita Motazed Rad, Visiting Senior Fellow in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. The Islamic Republic is navigating a moment of acute pressure, both internally and externally, and that the elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei serves an im...
Two #oil tankers were hit by Iranian explosives off the coast of #Iraq, as Tehran continues its blockade on the region. The attacks follow strikes in the Strait of #Hormuz, bringing up the number of #ships hit in the strategic passage point to at least 16.
Dubai reported a drone attack and fallen debris in two locations on Thursday while Kuwait's airport was damaged in yet another strike on the facility during Iran's Gulf campaign in the Middle East war. Iran has taken aim at US assets and civilian infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks that sparked the conflict engulfing the wider region. Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from ...
An Israeli strike on central Beirut's seafront killed eight people early on Thursday, Lebanon's health ministry said, another attack in the heart of the capital, as Iran-backed Hezbollah launched more missiles at Israel.
Lebanon's Hezbollah said it launched missiles at an Israeli military intelligence base in the suburbs of Tel Aviv early on Thursday, the Iran-backed group's latest claim in a major operation against Israel it announced hours earlier. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said earlier that they had carried out a joint missile operation with ally Hezbollah against targets in Israel. FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopols...
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, topped $100 a barrel early Thursday, just days after it spiked near $120. Oil prices shot more than 9% higher as supply concerns worsened with Iranian attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. The latest attacks marked an escalation in Iran’s campaign aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure ...
The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat a spike in global crude prices since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the US contributing the bulk of the supply.
Iran launched a new wave of attacks against Gulf energy targets on Thursday. The renewed drone and missile attacks against Iran's Gulf neighbours and Israel followed a warning from Tehran that it could wage a prolonged war that would "destroy" the world economy. FRANCE 24's Rochelle Ferguson Bouyahi tells us more about Iran's strategy.
US group Citi, consultancies Deloitte and PwC and other firms in Dubai have closed offices or asked employees to evacuate Wednesday after Iran threatened US and Israel-linked economic assets in the Middle East. The evacuations at the heart of the Middle East's financial hub come as the Gulf but especially the UAE has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes.
The use of AI to facilitate attacks in Iran has ushered in a new era of tactics. Palantir, the US data analytics company has taken on a major role in war technology. FRANCE 24’s Simon Moritz and Jules Boiteau take a look at its origins and how it's used.
A new violent escalation in Lebanon – but in reality, the war that began in 2023 never truly stopped. According to the United Nations, the ceasefire signed in November 2024 between Hezbollah and Israel has been violated more than 14,000 times by Israel. Then, in late February, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was assassinated in US-Israeli bombings. In response, Hezbollah – Lebanon’s pro-Iran ...
A passenger that departed from Dandong in China arrived in North Korea's capital Pyongyang on Thursday evening, state media said, after a six-year hiatus following strict border closures enforced in 2020 to prevent the spread of Covid. China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the isolated nuclear state.
A passenger train from China arrived in the North Korean capital on Thursday, state media said, after a six-year hiatus since the service was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, March 12: Multiple leaks to the American press by Pentagon officials point the finger at faulty US data that listed an Iranian primary school as a military target, leading to a Tomahawk strike that killed more than 170 people. In other news, UK papers react to the “Mandelson Papers”. And finally, The Guardian reports on an intrepid young fox with an American dream.
It all started off as a joke, a French researcher told AFP.
FRANCE 24’s François Picard is joined by Dr. Rouzbeh Parsi, Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Lund University in Sweden. According to Parsi, the current political situation in Iran should be approached with caution, as too much attention is being paid to the potential rise of Mojtaba Khamenei. The Islamic Republic is not a system built around a single individual, especially during a time of war. Decision...
FRANCE 24's François Picard is pleased to welcome Dr. Rouzbeh Parsi, Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Lund University in Sweden. According to Dr. Parsi, the current political situation in Iran should be approached with caution, too much attention is being paid to the potential rise of Mojtaba Khamenei. Yet the Islamic Republic is not a system built around a single person, especially during a time of war...
