Iran war opens cracks within Trump's MAGA base

Trump, Spain’s Sanchez trade barbs over Iran war

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back on Wednesday at US President Donald Trump's criticisms of Madrid's refusal to let US planes use its bases to attack #Iran. #Trump called #Spain a "terrible" ally on Tuesday....

Iranian warship sinks off Sri Lanka, 32 sailors rescued

An Iranian warship, the IRIS Dena, has sunk off the ​coast of Sri Lanka, with the Sri Lankan authorities saying on Wednesday they had rescued 32 people who were on board and recovered ​several bodies ‌from the sea....

"US lawmakers' efforts to curb Trump's ability to continue war almost sure to fail"

Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate are set to vote on March 4th on a bipartisan war powers resolution aiming to stop the military campaign against Iran and require that any ​hostilities against it ‌be authorised by Congress. This comes as Trump faces little voter support for the war. But lawmakers' e...

Broadest evacuation order for Lebanon issued by Israeli army

The Israeli military ordered the ​evacuation of ‌a swathe of southern Lebanon on March 4th, asking residents to move north. This evacuation is the broadest evacuation order yet in this new conflict. Meanwhile, Syria has closed its border with Lebanon after a warning it would be targeted by Isra...

US plans for Iran remain unclear as it defends "pre-emptive" strikes

On the fourth day of US-Israeli bombardment of Iran, US officials gave more reasons for their offensive in the country, though their plan for after the war remains unclear. Stated US motivations have also shifted over time, from intervening on the behalf anti-regime protesters in January to "preemp...

"Everything is speculation" over Khamenei succession but son set as favourite

Iran announced that a state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was postponed after it was meant to be held on March 4th. This comes as the late supreme leader's successor is set to be appointed, with his son expected to take on the role. But "everything about this nomination is specu...

Dubai influencers 'interrupted' by Iran strikes wake up from a 'senseless dream'

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, March 4: The war in the Middle East has transformed the lives of influencers and expats living in Dubai. But first: papers discuss why US President Donald Trump chose to strike Iran. Also: junior doctors in England use ADHD as an excuse to skip working overnight. Finall...

Energy prices start climbing after war closes Strait of Hormuz down

Since the start of US Israeli strikes on Iran Saturday, the Middle East has been gripped by widespread conflict and chaos, disrupting important shipping routes for oil and other goods. In an attempt to curb rising prices, US president Donald Trump says the US will provide political risk insurance f...

Us-Israeli strikes on Iran intensify as war enters fifth day

The US and Israel intensified strikes on Iran on March 3rd and 4th. Since the start of the conflict, hundreds of people have been killed in the country, including over 160 students who died in an attack on a girl school in the south of the country. The admiral in charge of US operation revealed tha...

France deploys its aircraft carrier to protect Middle East allies

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 3rd the deployment of additional military resources, including the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle and its escort, to help protect his allies facing the consequences of the war in the Middle East. The flagship of the French fleet is interruptin...

Israel expands strikes in Lebanon and issues new evacuation warnings

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading tit for tat strikes for a second day. According to a Lebanese health ministry official, 52 people have been killed and more than 150 wounded due to Israeli attacks . Thousands of civilians have been displaced, and on March 3rd the Israeli military issued dozen...

Republican concern over effect of Iran war on party popularity ahead of midterms

As the Iran war enters its fifth day, the Trump administration is facing growing criticism. After US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted at Israel having forced the US's hand to strike Iran, MAGA backlash grew as they are "isolationists and often anti-Israel", FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani exp...

Israel launches fresh strikes on Tehran as war enters fifth day

The United States and Israel hit Iran's capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on March 4, the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces as the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel and across the regio...

France deploys military assets to Mediterranean amid war in the Mideast

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets as war in the Middle East showed no signs of de-escalating. Macron also noted that France has defence agreements with several Gulf states as...

Korean stocks suffer worst crash ever as Iran war hits chipmakers

South Korea's main stock index, the KOSPI, lost 12 percent on Wednesday, sending retail investors into a panic as fears of energy shortages due to the war in Iran battered shares in chipmakers and industrial giants. Meanwhile, Donald Trump says the US will insure oil tankers transiting the Persian...

🔴 Live: Iran says won't negotiate with US, can 'continue the war'

'A war of choice': US Congress opens first Iran war vote amid intensifying debate

The US Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to move toward armed conflict with Iran, a rare congressional test of a fast‑escalating Middle East crisis that has unfolded without a clearly defined US strategy for ending the confrontation....

Ray Takeyh: 'Iran is not a personalised dictatorship, it's an ideological system'

Carys Garland is pleased to welcome Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). As war rages in Iran, Mr. Takeyh warns that America's "war of choice" is guided by an improvised military strategy that swings wildly between grand ambitions of regime ch...

Unpopularity of Iran war 'almost unprecedented' this early on, expert says

Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and Programme Director for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, says that "even in the most controversial wars, like Iraq, when the war initiates, people tend to rally around the flag [] th...

Can Iran's economy survive if the war drags on?

Iran has taken the risky gambit of closing the Strait of Hormuz, which could backfire and hurt its own economy. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Iranian-Austrian economist Mahdi Ghodsi from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies about Iran's unsustainable economic path and whethe...

African leaders call for dialogue amid escalating Iran crisis

In tonight's edition: The Global South widely condemns the war in Iran, with many countries accusing the US and Israel of violating international law and acting unilaterally. Also, the United States imposes sanctions on the Rwandan army and several top military officials over their role in the figh...

Trump threatens to cut off trade with Spain over Iran war refusal

Trump threatened Tuesday to sever all trade with Spain after it refused to let US planes use its bases to attack Iran. Spain's left-wing government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of Europe's most defiant leaders against Trump, has said that bases long used by US forces could only be allow...

'Not Churchill': Trump criticises UK PM Starmer over Iran strikes

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticised UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not initially permitting American warplanes to use UK bases to strike Iran, saying "this is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with"....

'The patience for Hezbollah's actions has worn out', analyst says

Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, says that "as time has gone on and as Hezbollah has repeatedly dragged the country into war, the patience of everyone else for this excuse 'well, we're fighting Israel, so it's ok' has wor...

'A feeling of bitter betrayal' - Gulf States' fears grow over Iran war fallout

"There is possibly a feeling of bitter betrayal" among Gulf countries over the Iranian response to the attacks, according to journalist Hoda Abdel-Hamid, who is reporting for FRANCE 24 in Doha....

US war on Iran divides American conservatives, MAGA voters

President Trump has launched into a war while he’s facing some of the lowest approval ratings of his political career and while a recent poll showed that just one in four Americans approved of his attack on Iran. But it’s not just the general American public. The war is also beginning to sho...

'Strangely normal': As war rages in Iran, daily life in UAE remains 'orderly, calm'

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Susan Marie Ossman, anthropologist, artist, historian, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Professor of Movements, Spaces and Cultural Practices Affiliationat NYU Abu Dhabi. As war rages in Iran and across the Middle East, Professor Ossman's classes have moved...

Israeli attacks on Lebanon displace more than 58,000 in two days, authorities say

Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday and warned residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate, as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel, dragging Lebanon into the US-Israeli-Iran conflict. According to the Lebanese health minist...

Macron addresses French nation on widening war in the Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered on Tuesday a speech to the nation about the war in Iran and its consequences, after France vowed to protect its nationals and bases in the Middle East. ...

Our Observers in Tehran: 'For us to achieve freedom, war is the only option'

Three days after US and Israeli air strikes started hitting their country, Iranians are torn between conflicting emotions: many are expressing joy for what they see as an opportunity to topple the Islamic regime, but also fear that the strikes will cause more civilian casualties. Two of our Observe...