Italy says to re-open Tehran embassy on Friday Italy's embassy to Tehran will re-open on Friday after more than three months of closure because of the Iran war, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "Our embassy in Tehran will re-open its doors on Friday," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italy's parliament. After the US and Israel began the war with air strikes on Iran, Italy in early March decided to temporarily close its embassy and move its staff to neighbouring Azerbaijan for security reasons.
Sudanese victims ask ICC to investigate Emiratis over RSF atrocities in el-Fasher Submitted by Sondos Asem on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 14:08 Legal submission filed in The Hague urges prosecutors to pursue paramilitary's alleged foreign backers, including UAE vice president Sudanese women walk at the Tulum refugee camp, amid ongoing conflict in Sudan between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in Wadi Fira province, eastern Chad, 30 November 2025 (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters) Off A group of Sudanese survivors has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate senior Emirati officials and business figures over their alleged backing of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) atrocities in Darfur. The submission, filed with the Office of the Prosecutor on Tuesday, names Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a vice president of the United Arab Emirates, among those alleged to maintain close ties to the RSF and to have contributed to its financing and logistical support. It asks prosecutors to examine the responsibility of intermediaries under Articles 25(3)(c) and 25(3)(d) of the Rome Statute, provisions covering those who aid, abet or knowingly contribute to crimes committed by a group acting with a common purpose.
Lebanon's talks with Israel ‘independent’ of US-Iran deal, president says Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that his country's negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the US-Iran deal. Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and separate their conflict from the wider regional war. "The assurances we have received, and what we insist on, is that Lebanon's path in the negotiations is independent, though we are certainly for a ceasefire and for any country that helps us, including Iran," Aoun said, according to a statement from his office.
Trump says he talked to Syria's Sharaa on countering Hezbollah US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had spoken to Syria 's Ahmed al-Sharaa about combatting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Asked at the G7 summit in France if Sharaa was willing to take on the Shia group, Trump said he would talk about that later. Trump’s remarks came after he criticised Israel for killing civilians in Lebanon and not just Hezbollah members.
Obama tried to ‘bribe his way out’ of 2015 Iran nuclear deal: Trump The US President Donald Trump accused former president Barack Obama of “bribing” Iran with $1. 7 billion to agree to the 2015 nuclear agreement . “The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) done by Obama – he handed them $1.
Somaliland denies reports of Israeli military base Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel will deepen its cooperation with Somaliland , whose officials denied rumours that the Israeli military is building a base there. Israel was training Somaliland's military and police, but reports on negotiations to establish an Israeli military base in the territory were "rumours", Somaliland's Defence Minister Mohamed Yusuf Ali said, speaking on the sidelines of a business conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi arrived last week in Israel for his first-ever state visit, during which the country opened an embassy in Jerusalem.
Russia's Lavrov discusses US-Iran framework deal with Iranian counterpart Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday about the US-Iran deal, and said Moscow was ready to help. Russia is ready to support efforts to resolve the crisis "based on its unique experience and expertise", the Russian foreign ministry stated. "The Russian minister expressed support for the understandings reached through effective mediation by Pakistan and Qatar to de-escalate tensions in the region.
Trump denies reports of US funding as part of Iran deal US President Donald Trump denied recent reports that the US-Iran deal includes provisions for $300bn in investments for Tehran. “We're not investing, we're not putting up 10 cents,” he said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France. He added that he’s not asking Gulf countries to invest in Iran either, but “if they do it, fine”.
Israeli official says Iran war may not have been worth launching Submitted by Mera Aladam on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 11:11 The senior official's remarks come amid a wave of criticism over Netanyahu's handling of the war An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-Israel mural on a street in Tehran on 8 June 2026 (Majid Asgaripour/Wana/Reuters) Off A senior Israeli official has questioned whether Israel would have launched its operation against Iran had it known the political consequences in advance amid growing public anger. "If we had known that these would be the final results of the operation in terms of political habit, it is highly doubtful that we would have embarked on this event," the official was quoted as saying on Israeli channel i24News. The terms of the deal reached between Iran and the US underline how Israel’s war on Iran has left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing pressure not only from the Islamic Republic, but from inside his own political and security establishment.
In Belfast, ancient grudges and new furies leave a city burned Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 12:01 In Northern Ireland's capital, locals described a growing racism problem made worse by an absent government A street in east Belfast on 12 June 2026, after homes were attacked and cars burned during the race riots (Oscar Rickett/MEE) On In the streets off east Belfast's Newtownards Road, houses are blackened and boarded up. Cars sit burned to their shells. Ash is in the air.
Trump's U-turn on Iran war has ended Israel's Middle East dream Submitted by David Hearst on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 08:11 The failure to subdue Iran has halted, or shattered, a much larger ambition: a project to change the shape of the Middle East, with a reborn and rejuvenated 'greater Israel' at its head A woman holds an Iranian flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, on 10 June, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters) On Of all the military failures the US has suffered in the past 25 years in the Middle East, the Iran war is probably the most consequential. Unlike America’s military interventions in Afghanistan , Iraq , Yemen , Libya and Syria , the Islamic Republic did not just survive another US attempt at regime change.
Trump threatens 'dropping bombs on their head' if Iran doesn't 'behave' US President Donald Trump said that the memorandum of understanding on Iran was not final, and that he could resume bombing Iran if he did not like the agreement. "It's a memorandum of understanding. And if I don't like it, we'll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head.
Iran team blames US for 'disastrous' restrictions at World Cup Submitted by Ayse Betul on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 10:40 Frustrated by US travel restrictions, Iranian players say Fifa should have done more to support them Members of the Iran coaching team during the national anthems before the New Zealand match as fans display pre-Iranian Revolution 'Lion and Sun' flags behind them, 15 June (Reuters/Daniel Cole) Off Iranian football players have voiced frustration over recurring World Cup hurdles against their participation in the tournament, pointing to politically driven decisions by US authorities as the source of restrictions. Team Melli have been subject to travel restrictions since the tournament kicked off last week. Players and coaching staff say the travel schedules are impacting their match performance.
‘A fantasy’: How the Palestine Action ruling whitewashed the history of civil disobedience Submitted by Katherine Hearst on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 09:02 Court upheld the ban on Palestine Action, denying it is a direct action group 'like the suffragettes' Police detain a demonstrator following a Court of Appeal ruling on the lawfulness of proscribing Palestine Action under terrorism laws, outside the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, 15 June 2026 (Reuters) Off On Monday, five judges quashed a High Court ruling that found the UK government's proscription of direct action group Palestine Action to be unlawful. In its judgement, the Court of Appeal noted the group's "covert" nature, saying that it is not "as it claims, a direct action civil disobedience group like the suffragettes". "It is a covert organisation that operates using secret cells to avoid the detection and prosecution of those using violence to destroy the property of third parties.
London real estate event admits promoting Israeli settlement property 'by mistake' Submitted by Imran Mulla on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 10:04 Middle East Eye earlier revealed details of properties advertised in illegal Israeli settlements at the event, which was held at the Edgware United Synagogue in London Demonstrators and counter-demonstrators face off outside the Great Israeli Real Estate Event on Sunday (MEE/Maya Saad) Off Organisers of a London real estate event have admitted properties in illegal Israeli settlements were promoted at the event last Sunday, saying it happened "by mistake". But they also defended the event, saying "it is outrageous that in this day and age, anyone would seek to deny British Jews the right to purchase property anywhere in the world". Organisers of the Great Israeli Real Estate Event appeared to deny that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are on "stolen Palestinian land".
'They're not all Hezbollah': Trump criticises Israel killing civilians in Lebanon Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 09:50 US president warns Netanyahu that without him there would 'be no Israel' US President Donald Trump attends a meeting at the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France, on 17 June 2026 (Ludovic Marin/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump has criticised Israeli conduct in southern Lebanon , saying the country has been killing civilians and not just Hezbollah members. Speaking at the G7 summit on Tuesday, Trump said "too many people have been killed in Lebanon" and suggested Israeli tactics were disproportionate and indiscriminate. "You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they're not all Hezbollah," he said.
War on Iran: How the Gulf stepped in to clean up America's mess Submitted by Andreas Krieg on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 18:18 As Trump waged a war he could not end, Gulf states closed ranks, revived diplomacy with Tehran and prevented a wider regional crisis US President Donald Trump meets Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on 16 June 2026 (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) On For 30 years, the Gulf monarchies rested their security on a single assumption: that the United States would keep them safe. The war that US President Donald Trump and Israel waged against Iran has buried that assumption. The American bases scattered across the Gulf did not shield states from a conflict they never chose.
The election that could reshape Colombia’s relationship with Israel As Colombia prepares for its upcoming presidential election on Sunday, Ivan Cepeda, a senator and human rights activist, represents the left’s bid to continue the political legacy of President Gustavo Petro. His opponent, Abelardo de la Espriella, a Trump-endorsed lawyer, businessman, and iron-fisted populist, is meanwhile seeking to “rebuild the miracle homeland” from a more punitive, right-wing perspective. De la Espriella won the first round of the race, held on 31 May, with 43.
Israeli settlers set fire to mosque in West Bank Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in an occupied West Bank village on Wednesday morning. Osama Abdullah, head of the village council in Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, told AFP that "settlers set fire to the ablution room, caused damage to the village's main mosque, and scrawled hostile slogans on the outer walls". AFP journalists who visited the mosque on Wednesday reported that the ceiling, walls and floors were blackened by smoke and flames.
UK minister accused of 'baiting' Zack Polanski into committing terror offence Submitted by Imran Mulla on Wed, 06/17/2026 - 09:28 Labour MP Mike Tapp asked the Green Party leader if he supported Palestine Action. Answering yes could land you in prison for 14 years Green Party leader Zack Polanski listens as incoming Green Party MP for the Gorton and Denton constituency, Hannah Spencer, speaks at a press conference in Manchester on 27 February (AFP) Off A British government minister has been accused of trying to bait Green Party leader Zack Polanski into committing a terrorism offence by asking him whether he supports the direct action group Palestine Action. Last year, the Labour government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
