Seen in the News

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update from Iran.
The US military confirms a refuelling aircraft went down over western Iraq, while saying neither hostile or friendly fire were to blame. A statement says "rescue efforts are ongoing" after an incident involving two planes, the second of which landed safely. Earlier, Israel said it had launched a new wave of strikes against the Iranian capital Tehran - it has also targeted Hezbollah in Lebanon today. Elsewhere, a statement attributed to Iran's new supreme leader was read out on state-controlled TV - it is his first since assuming power and included a commitment to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since succeeding his father. There is speculation he has been injured or even killed, says BBC Persian. At least three more cargo ships have been attacked in the Gulf, apparently by Iran. Iranian state media say Iranian forces were behind at least one strike. The UN Refugee Agency says 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since Israel and the US launched their attacks on 28 February

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest on Iran......
President Donald Trump says the US has "totally obliterated" every military target on Iran's Kharg Island, but spared the oil infrastructure. The island accounts for 90% of Iran's oil exports and is an economic lifeline for Tehran, the BBC's Mikey Kay explains. Earlier, two officials told the BBC's partner CBS news that the US is expected to send a marine unit and more warships to the Middle East. Plans have not been confirmed but the unit, which can carry out amphibious raids, is typically made up of up to 5,000 Marines and sailors across several warships. The BBC has approached the US military and the Pentagon for comment - while our diplomatic correspondent says the reports suggest Washington is considering an expanded range of options in its war on Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian outlets publish footage of officials attending pro-establishment rallies in Tehran to mark Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event. Iran and Hezbollah carried out a joint attack on Israel, and Israel has also carried out waves of strikes on Lebanon and Iranian targets. Earlier, the Israeli military dropped leaflets over Beirut, urging residents to rise up against the Iranian-backed armed group - one man tells our reporter he thought it was an air strike

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest report on Iran.
The US embassy in Baghdad has warned its citizens in Iraq to leave "immediately" after a missile hit the building early on Saturday. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has repeated a call for allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz - here's why the oil shipping lane matters. The US president earlier posted on Truth Social, urging the UK and other nations to join the US in sending ships to the passage. In a follow-up post, he said countries receiving oil through the strait "must take care" of it. In an interview with NBC, Trump says he is not ready to make a deal with Iran "because the terms are not good enough yet", adding the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island "a few more times just for fun". Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was only closed to Tehran's "enemies". Strikes are continuing across the Middle East, with a fire still burning at the port of Fujairah in the UAE after it was targeted by a drone attack early on Saturday. In Iran, a man from Tehran says he disagrees with the US's strikes on Kharg Island, where 90% of Iran's crude oil passes through. "At this pace we will end up with a ruined Iran," he tells BBC Persian

[Tizer]

...the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island "a few more times just for fun".

That sums up Trump's attitude to war.

There are lots of news reports saying that an amphibious group of the USS Tripoli and 5000 marines is being sent in to sort out the Hormuz problem. But when will they arrive and where from? The only information I've seen is that they've set out from Australia. If that's so, it won't solve immediate problems!

Meanwhile, back home, Trump is losing supporters due to rising prices, concerns over `forever wars' and his distraction from the main job at home.

[Stanley]

"That sums up Trump's attitude to war."
That was my first thought as well Peter. To him this is all scoring debating points in a negotiation. I doubt if the image of suffering humanity ever enters his head. The man is a disgrace.....

[Whyperion]

...the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island "a few more times just for fun".

That sums up Trump's attitude to war.

There are lots of news reports saying that an amphibious group of the USS Tripoli and 5000 marines is being sent in to sort out the Hormuz problem. But when will they arrive and where from? The only information I've seen is that they've set out from Australia. If that's so, it won't solve immediate problems!

Meanwhile, back home, Trump is losing supporters due to rising prices, concerns over `forever wars' and his distraction from the main job at home.

Apparently from protecting S Korea and Japan

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update on Iran......
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin says there are still "thousands" of targets to hit in Iran, hours after strikes were expanded to include areas in western and central Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has not asked the US "for a ceasefire". In an interview with CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, Araghchi also says Iran doesn't "see any reason why we should talk with [the] Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us". US President Donald Trump had said on Saturday Iran wanted to make a deal, but that he felt the terms were "not good enough". Meanwhile, Trump has had a phone call with PM Keir Starmer - the UK government says the pair spoke about the "importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping". Trump tells the Financial Times it could be "very bad for the future of Nato" if allies do not help the US open the Strait of Hormuz

[Tizer]

Well said, McFadden and Carter. We should send them to the White House to explain to Trump and his cronies what NATO is about...
`US-Israeli attack on Iran is not a Nato war - UK minister Pat McFadden says' BBC News
More now from BBC Radio 4's Today programme, where Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden was speaking a short while ago. He says the Nato defence alliance was not conceived with the "kind of situation that we're seeing in the Middle East" in mind. Nato was founded by 12 countries, including the US and UK, in 1949 and one of its core principles is Article 5, which states that an attack against one country is an attack against all.

As we mentioned in our last post, former Chief of Defence Staff - Gen Sir Nick Carter - has also been on the programme this morning and he says Nato "is not an alliance that was designed for one of the allies to go on a war of choice and then oblige everyone else to follow". Asked whether he agrees, McFadden says Gen Carter is "right" and describes the current conflict as "not a Nato war" but "US-Israeli action". McFadden adds "we're deeply committed to Nato".

[Stanley]

HERE'S the live update on the ME situation.
The United Arab Emirates has closed its airspace following "incoming missile and drone threats from Iran", its defence ministry says. The UAE's civil aviation authority says the closure is temporary - it comes as airlines Etihad and Emirates had just resumed some flights. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump says he's "not happy" with the UK after PM Keir Starmer said it would not be drawn into a "wider war" over Iran. Trump repeats his call for other nations, particularly Nato allies, to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, and says he has been surprised more world leaders were not "eager" to be involved in the key oil shipping route. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says this war "is not a matter for Nato", while Nato says "allies have already stepped up to provide additional security in the Mediterranean". Meanwhile, leaders of the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement, saying a significant Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon would have "devastating humanitarian consequences". Earlier the Israeli military said it had begun "a wide-scale wave of strikes" in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, with BBC Verify seeing videos of damage in Iran's capital
Opposition to Trump's strategies seems to be strengthening.....