Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
Senior Iranian official accuses Donald Trump of ‘betraying diplomacy for third time’
Removed from bookmarks
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
US forces attacked a cargo ship they claimed was attempting to breach their naval blockade of Iran on Saturday.
Centcom said Lian Star ignored over 20 warnings before its forces struck the Gambia-flagged vessel’s engine room with a missile, stranding it in the Gulf of Oman.
The incident came as Tehran awaits the US president’s response to a proposed peace deal, as efforts to bring an end to the war drag on.
A senior official accused Trump of “betraying diplomacy for the third time”. Mohsen Rezaei pointed at the continuing naval blockade and what he called the president’s excessive demands in negotiations as he blamed the White House for failure to reach a peace deal.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israeli troops pushed beyond the Litani river and seized the Crusader-era Beaufort fortress in their deepest invasion of the neighbouring country in over 25 years.
Defence minister Israel Katz said the country’s troops will remain stationed in the 900-year-old castle, where the flags of Israel and the IDF’s Golani Brigade have been hoisted.
On Friday morning, it issued a fresh evacuation warning for residents south of the Zahrani River in southern Lebanon.
The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports…
Britain’s special relationship with the United States is “meaningless” unless it “locks arms and shields” with the US and matches its military capabilities, Donald Trump’s war secretary has warned.
Giving a speech in Singapore, Pete Hegseth said that “model allies” who comply with US demands will benefit from arms sales and access to intelligence, while those seen to be “freeloading” on US capabilities will be penalised.
Referring to conversations with the UK defence secretary, the politician said: “As my friends, Mr [Richard] Marles [the Australian defence minister] and John Healey know, I’m probably the most blunt with our closest friends about what our capabilities are and where they need to be to ensure that we’re locking arms and shields, considering the threats of the world.”
He continued: “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, we’ve been friends for a long time, so let’s work together.’ It’s: ‘We’ve been friends for a long time, so you better have the same capabilities we do, because if we don’t, our alliance is meaningless.’”
Mr Hegseth also vowed to move allies who step up their military capabilities to “the front of the line” when it comes to closer ties, praising countries such as South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
Read more here.
The navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has said that 28 vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.
This is according to Iranian state media – we’re working to bring you more detail on the claims.
We’re hearing now from Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the Israeli military’s expanded invasion of Lebanon.
He says the instruction to deepen Israel’s control of Lebanon was on his own orders.
The next instruction for the Israeli military, Netanyahu says, is to deepen and expand Israel’s grip on the areas that were under Hezbollah control.
We’re just hearing from Iran’s top negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf.
He says no agreement with the US will be accepted until Iran’s rights are secured, according to Tehran’s IRNA state news agency.
The Iranian government does not trust promises made by the US side, he said, adding that only objective results matter.
It comes after Donald Trump reportedly asked for changes to the proposed Iran agreement negotiated by US envoys, triggering another round of talks with Tehran.
“At the turn of the week, we hope to have something,” a senior administration official said.
As we reported earlier, Israel has announced its occupation of Lebanon’s Beaufort Castle will remain in place as part of its security zone.
The Israeli military had already been striking in the area around the ancient structure as it deepens its invasion and occupation of southern parts of the country.
The 900-year-old Beaufort Castle was hit by Israeli strikes on Tuesday, as its bombardment of southern Lebanon killed 31 people and wounded another 40 in the deadliest day since a ceasefire was supposed to take hold, state news agency NNA reported.
The fortress has been described by UNESCO as one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the region.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has declared that the country’s troops will remain stationed in Beaufort castle as part of the Israeli security zone in Lebanon.
Israeli forces are occupying larger areas of the country as they push their invasion deeper, seizing more territory than they have done in decades and intensifying attacks on the south.
When one of the world’s worst ever energy crises began in the Strait of Hormuz in February, few believed that their internet access – rather than their gas bill – would be the worst affected aspect of daily life.
But lurking many thousands of metres beneath the oil ships being attacked by the Iranian navy lie a series of undersea cables that play a vital role in the global economy, helping to power our internet and keep the world connected.
Earlier this month, Tehran floated plans to impose tariffs on Strait of Hormuz submarine cables, warning that they were a vulnerable chokepoint for the region’s digital economy.
Undersea internet cables form the backbone of all worldwide connectivity, enabling bank transfers, messaging, and critical services to function. But as global conflicts threaten crucial chokepoints through which they run, how can the critical cables be protected? Alex Croft reports
Dutch defence minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius has warned that the Iran war is exposing how closely conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have become intertwined.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, she cited Iran’s alleged drone support for Russia during the war in Ukraine and growing military cooperation between Tehran, Moscow, North Korea and China.
“A war in Europe involves drones from Iran, soldiers and ammunition from North Korea and various types of support from China,” she said. “The lesson is clear: regional tensions are no longer regional. Our security is interconnected.”
The US, UK, France, and the EU have accused Iran of supplying Shahed drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Iran has denied sending drones for use in the war, although it acknowledged in 2022 that it had supplied a “small number” of drones to Moscow before Russia’s invasion.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Leave a Reply