Reuters: World

Iran hits Gulf states and Jordan after seventh night of US strikes Iran launched more attacks on Washington's Gulf allies and ​Jordan on Saturday after a seventh straight night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets, escalating the war one week after a ceasefire collapsed. Kuwait came under sustained attack, with a ‌desalination plant hit and operations at Kuwait International Airport suspended due to repeated missile and drone threats. read more

Iran halting indirect talks with US over Israel's Lebanon incursion, Tasnim says ran is halting indirect negotiations with the U.S. ​after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon to battle Tehran-backed Hezbollah, the Iranian news agency Tasnim said on Monday, complicating diplomatic efforts to end three months of war. Tasnim said the Islamic Republic's ‌negotiating team was stopping exchanging messages with Washington through mediators over attacks on Lebanon, where the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has reignited Israel's conflict with Hezbollah. read more

The great Indo-Pacific hedge - deeper defence ties as US doubts grow and China ascends Caught between China's rapid military rise and growing doubts about the U.S. ​focus on a region it has long dominated, Indo-Pacific nations are racing to arm themselves, and each other. At Asia's premier defence forum ‌on Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed regional partners to shoulder more of the security burden. Yet, he faced persistent concerns that U.S. priorities may be drifting, with conflict in Iran competing for attention. read more

Trump says he will soon decide on Iran deal, demands reopening of Hormuz Strait U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he ​would soon decide on a proposed deal to extend the ceasefire with Iran, though the two countries still appeared to differ on significant issues ‌that have been central to the conflict. Trump said on Friday morning that he would meet in a secure White House room to make a "final determination" on the proposal, which would extend an early-April truce for another 60 days, giving negotiators time to forge a permanent end to the war. read more

Iran confirms supreme leader Khamenei is dead after US, Israeli attacks Iranian state media reported that Khamenei "was carrying out his assigned duties and was present at his workplace (his office)". "This cowardly attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning", state media said. "We have lost a great leader and we are mourning him, a leader who was unique in in terms of purity of spirit, strength of faith, resourcefulness in affairs, courage in the face of the arrogant, and jihad in the path of God", a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards said. read more