War in the Middle East: latest developments
The latest developments in the Middle East war:
- Trump 'shocked' at Meloni's war stance -
US President Donald Trump criticised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a political ally, in an interview published on Tuesday for her unwillingness to help in the Iran war.
"I'm shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
- Stocks rise, oil slips -
Stock markets climbed and oil prices retreated on rekindled hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the key Strait of Hormuz.
Wall Street's main indices rose as trading got underway, and European equity markets were higher in afternoon trading.
The main international oil contracts fell back to levels just below $100 a barrel.
- Journalist detained -
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, an American-Kuwaiti journalist, has been detained for weeks and charged in Kuwait, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Hundreds of people have been arrested across the Gulf as states seek to limit the spread of footage documenting the effects of Iran's attacks.
- Red Cross sends aid -
The international Red Cross and Red Crescent said a shipment of medical supplies and other aid crossed the border into Iran on Sunday, its first delivery since the start of the war.
- IMF cuts region's forecast -
The International Monetary Fund sharply reduced its 2026 growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa to 1.1 percent as war chokes Gulf oil and gas exports. It had previously expected 3.9-percent regional growth this year.
Iran, Iraq and Qatar will be particularly hard-hit, the IMF's World Economic Outlook warned. Growth should rebound next year, as long as energy production and transport are "normalised" over the next few months, the IMF predicted.
- Lebanon, Israel to meet -
Israel said it was open to peace with Lebanon ahead of the first direct talks in decades between the neighbours, but that Hezbollah remained the "problem" blocking an agreement on ending fighting.
The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing it could derail the two-week ceasefire in Washington's war with Iran.
The Washington meeting will be mediated by us Secretary of State Marco Rubio and include the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
- Ships defy blockade -
At least two ships sailing from Iranian ports passed through the Strait of Hormuz despite a US military blockade, maritime tracking data indicated Tuesday.
They were among at least four Iran-linked vessels that used the route after Washington's blockade came into effect at 1400 GMT on Monday, according to maritime data provider Kpler.
- Iran executes woman -
Iranian authorities have sentenced to death four more people, including a woman, over protests in January this year, several rights groups said on Tuesday.
Iran has already hanged seven people in connection with the protests which activists say were put down in a crackdown that left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested.
- New US-Iran talks? -
Pakistan is working to bring Iran and the United States together for a second round of talks, senior Pakistani sources told AFP, with one saying negotiators were working to extend the countries' current two-week ceasefire "to allow for additional time".
Washington and Tehran held historic face-to-face talks in Islamabad over the weekend, but failed to reach an agreement on ending the war.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had urged US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian to restart talks.
- Hormuz meeting Friday -
France and Britain will co-host a video conference Friday of more than 40 countries ready to contribute to a "purely defensive mission" to secure the Strait of Hormuz, officials said.
France's Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair the meeting to discuss a plan to "restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions allow", the French presidency said.
The plan would be put in place "once the conflict ends", a spokesman for Starmer's office said.
- Oil demand plunge -
Demand for crude oil will likely decline this year for the first time since the Covid pandemic, said the International Energy Agency.
Surging prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to production facilities will force countries and industries to curtail oil use, the IEA said in its monthly report.
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