Qatar announces ‘gradual resumption’ of flights by foreign airlines
Qatar’s aviation authority announced on Monday that it would begin allowing flights from foreign airlines to land at its main airport for the first time since the start of the Middle East war.
“Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has issued a Notice to Airmen announcing the gradual resumption of operations for foreign airlines in the State of Qatar via Hamad International Airport,” the body said in a statement.
Qatar shut its airspace amid Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile campaign against Gulf countries, and partially reopened it to limited traffic on March 7, but only for flights operated by national carrier Qatar Airways.
The Qatari aviation authority said the reopening to foreign airlines “follows a comprehensive assessment of the situation”, adding that “safety and security of all remain its top priority”.
Israeli drone footage shows damage in southern Lebanon town after IDF operations
Xi tells Saudi prince passage through Hormuz ‘should be maintained’
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the normal passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained in a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state news agency Xinhua reported.
China advocates an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, and insists on resolving conflicts in the Middle East through
political and diplomatic channels, Xinhua cited Xi as saying.
Shipping traffic remains at virtual standstill through Hormuz, data shows
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill with just three crossings in the past 12 hours, according to shipping data.
Oil products tanker Nero, which is under UK sanctions, left the Gulf and was sailing through the Strait on Monday, according to satellite analysis from data analytics specialists SynMax and tracking data from the Kpler platform.
Two separate ships – a chemical tanker and a liquefied petroleum gas tanker – sailed into the Gulf through the critical waterway separately on Monday, the data showed.
Lebanon names former envoy to US Simon Karam to lead Israel talks
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun named ex-ambassador Simon Karam to lead a delegation taking part in talks with Israel aiming to end “hostilities” and the Israeli occupation in the south.
The former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Karam will head talks that are “separate from any other negotiations”, Aoun said in reference to US-Iran diplomacy to end the wider Middle East war.
“The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders” with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.
Former ambassador to the United States Simon Karam © Joseph Barrak, AFP
‘Ten of our ships have so far safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz’, says India
Iran says ‘no decision’ on whether to attend next round of US talks
FRANCE 24’s Reza Sayah reports from Tehran.
Argentina’s Milei reaffirms his political alliance with Israel
Trump says he will consider advice from Pakistan’s Munir on Hormuz blockade, Pakistani source says
US President Donald Trump told Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir that he would consider Munir’s advice on the Strait of Hormuz blockade being a hurdle to peace talks with Iran when the two spoke by phone, a Pakistani security source said on Monday.
Oil prices jump on Iran war escalation but stocks up on peace hope
Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States’ blockade of its ports.
However, lingering hopes for a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support Asian equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.
Crude plunged Friday while US stocks rallied after the Islamic republic said it would again allow ships to pass through the waterway – through which a fifth of global oil and LNG gas usually passes – citing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump told AFP that “we’re very close to having a deal”, adding that there were “no sticking points at all” left with Tehran, though Iran quickly pushed back, saying its stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred “anywhere”.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate dived more than 11 percent and Brent shed nine percent.
US releases footage of marines seizing Iranian‑flagged vessel Touska
The US has released footage of members of its military attacking and seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it said had tried to evade its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
Trump on social media said a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman warned the Iranian-flagged ship, the Touska, to stop and then “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room.”
He said US Marines had custody of the US-sanctioned vessel.
China voices concern over US seizure of Iranian cargo ship
China has expressed concern over the “forced interception” by the US of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, urging relevant parties to abide by the ceasefire agreement in a responsible manner.
“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is sensitive and complicated,” said spokesman Guo Jiakun during a regular press briefing. Parties involved should avoid further escalation and “create the necessary conditions for normal transit through the Strait to resume,” he added.
The US earlier on Monday said it fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s military said the ship had been travelling from China and vowed retaliation against what it called “armed piracy by the US military.”
No plans for second round of negotiations with US for now, Iran’s FM says
Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday it has yet to reach a decision on whether to attend the next round of talks with the United States.
“As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
Israeli FM apologises to Christians for damaged Christ statue in Lebanon
Threat from Iran’s missile, drone cache unclear due to incomplete reporting, says war monitor
The threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs is still unclear due to incomplete reporting about the damage that the US-Israeli combined force inflicted on the weapons cache, according to a new report from conflict monitor Institute for the Study of War
Iran’s president highlights importance of diplomacy while stressing distrust of US, IRNA reports
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that every rational and diplomatic path should be used to reduce tensions with the US, while stressing that vigilance and distrust in interactions with Washington were an “undeniable necessity”, according to state media IRNA.
A two-weeks ceasefire between Iran and the US is set to expire on Wednesday, with US representatives set to reach Islamabad for Iran negotiations on Monday while Tehran is yet to announce whether it will send a delegation to Pakistan.
More than 3,300 people have died in Iran during war
Iran has offered a new death toll for the war with Israel and the United States, with its forensic chief saying at least 3,375 people had been killed in the conflict.
The figure came from Abbas Masjedi, the head of Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization.
Masjedi, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other outlets Monday, said only four of the dead remain unidentified.
His comments did not break down casualties among civilians and security forces, instead just saying that 2,875 were male and 496 were female.
Masjedi said 383 of the dead were children 18 years old and under.
Masjedi’s figures raised questions about whether or not they included security force members, particularly given the levels of intense bombings targeting military bases and arsenals in the country.
Iran ensures safe passage through Hormuz, Iranian envoy says
Iran ensures the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz under a new legal regime, the Vedomosti newspaper quoted Iran’s ambassador to Moscow as saying on Monday.
Ambassador Kazem Jalali said the US and Israeli attacks on Iran had failed as their declared intention had been to enact regime change and yet the Islamic Republic was more united than before.
“Iran ensures safety of passage. Based on the security measures and the legal regime of the Strait of Hormuz, ships and vessels can pass through,” Jalali said, Vedomosti reported.
Israeli military urges south Lebanon residents to avoid restricted areas
The Israeli military has warned residents in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages or approach areas near the Litani River, saying its forces remain deployed in the area during a ceasefire due to what it described as continued Hezbollah activity.
In a statement, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee also urged civilians not to return to multiple border villages until further notice, citing security risks.
Iran executes two accused of involvement in ‘spy network linked to Israel’
Iran executed two men convicted of co-operating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and planning attacks inside the country, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday.
Mizan said the two, identified as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi, were accused of belonging to a spy network linked to Mossad and had received training abroad, including in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
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