https://www.scmp.com/rss/518130/feed The latest on the life and legacy of Iran’s second Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who ruled for nearly four decades until he was killed in a US-Israeli military campaign on February 28, 2026. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to “forcefully attack Hezbollah targets” after the army accused it of breaching the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry had said earlier that “Israeli enemy strikes on a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3351445/new-israeli-strikes-reported-lebanon-after-netanyahu-orders-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3351445/new-israeli-strikes-reported-lebanon-after-netanyahu-orders-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 22:16:43 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang The two-week ceasefire the United States agreed to with Iran on Tuesday not only sets a deadline to seal a deal with Tehran, but leaves just days before the expiration of the 60-day legal limit for waging war without congressional authorisation that is set out under America’s War Powers Resolution. This has left open the question of how the conflict will proceed if diplomacy fails and the legal clock runs out. “Almost all the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3349437/us-ceasefire-iran-sets-diplomatic-clock-war-powers-deadline-nears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3349437/us-ceasefire-iran-sets-diplomatic-clock-war-powers-deadline-nears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:17:26 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Whether it wraps up quickly or drags on, the repercussions of the US-Israeli war on Iran will echo for years, reshaping warfare, geopolitics, energy security and global perceptions of American tactical and strategic power. In the first of a three-part series, Mark Magnier looks at how the Iran war may alter Beijing’s approach to potential conflict over Taiwan, asymmetrical weaponry and the United States as an adversary. The US military is formidable, well-disciplined, projects deadly force... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3349130/how-lessons-iran-war-could-shape-mainland-chinas-calculus-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3349130/how-lessons-iran-war-could-shape-mainland-chinas-calculus-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:01:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters North Korea appears to be distancing itself from long-time partner Iran and carefully managing its public messaging to preserve the possibility of a new relationship with the US after the Iran war, South Korean lawmakers have said, citing the spy agency. Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said North ‌Korea had not sent weapons or supplies so far to Iran since the conflict started on February 28, and did not issue public condolences upon the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3349136/north-korean-silence-iran-signals-openness-us-talks-seouls-spy-agency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3349136/north-korean-silence-iran-signals-openness-us-talks-seouls-spy-agency?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 06:32:16 +0000 Reuters Reuters An Israeli air strike on Kfarhata, a village in south Lebanon, killed seven people on Sunday, including a four-year-old child, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement. Another Israeli attack on the Jnah neighbourhood in Beirut killed four people and injured ‌39 others, the ministry added. The strike on Kfarhata followed an overnight evacuation order by the Israeli military instructing residents to leave the village. As Lebanese Christians, who make up roughly a third of the population,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349099/israeli-strikes-kill-11-lebanon-israel-announces-security-buffer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349099/israeli-strikes-kill-11-lebanon-israel-announces-security-buffer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 15:14:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Israeli military said on Saturday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing. Two loud explosions were heard in the capital within half an hour early on Saturday, with smoke billowing from one of them. Local media reported two strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a locality that has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349021/israel-targets-iran-backed-hezbollah-sites-lebanon-fresh-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349021/israel-targets-iran-backed-hezbollah-sites-lebanon-fresh-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 05:16:02 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that they would target leading US technology firms like Apple, Google and Meta if more Iranian leaders were killed in “targeted assassinations”. “These companies, starting from 8pm Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1, should expect the destruction of their relevant units in exchange for every assassination in Iran,” the Guards said in a statement listing the names of 18 companies it alleged were complicit in the killing of officials. “We advise the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348585/iran-says-will-target-apple-google-and-meta-if-more-its-leaders-are-killed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348585/iran-says-will-target-apple-google-and-meta-if-more-its-leaders-are-killed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:23:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, hit by a surge in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the war he launched on Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The four-day poll, which closed on ‌Monday, showed 36 per cent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40 per cent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347768/trumps-approval-hits-new-36-low-fuel-prices-surge-amid-iran-war-poll-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347768/trumps-approval-hits-new-36-low-fuel-prices-surge-amid-iran-war-poll-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 18:06:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters Iran’s veteran supreme leader and a host of other top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in US-Israeli strikes but the ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate ⁠in the war that began on February 28. Born from a 1979 ⁠revolution, the Islamic Republic built a complex power structure with layered institutions buttressed by a shared ⁠commitment to the survival of the theocratic system rather than relying on a small number of individuals. Is the new... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347669/host-top-figures-killed-war-who-now-running-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347669/host-top-figures-killed-war-who-now-running-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 04:55:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse How long will the Iran war last and what are the US goals? President Donald Trump has issued a dizzying number of conflicting answers to these questions since launching the conflict three weeks ago. The stakes have risen as Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes across the Gulf after the United States and Israel started their attacks on February 28. Here, in Trump’s own words, are his shifting positions: Duration of the war March 1: “Well, we intended four to five weeks.” (To The New... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347664/tracking-trumps-ever-shifting-positions-iran-war-his-own-words?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347664/tracking-trumps-ever-shifting-positions-iran-war-his-own-words?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 04:17:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A series of strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday and early Tuesday, the first attack on the Hezbollah stronghold in days, as Israel’s military said it captured two members of the Iran-backed group in southern Lebanon. An earlier Israeli strike hit the upscale, predominantly Christian area of Hazmieh near Beirut, with Israel saying it targeted a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm. AFPTV’s live broadcast showed clouds of smoke over the capital’s southern... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347646/israel-strikes-south-beirut-claims-it-captured-hezbollah-members?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347646/israel-strikes-south-beirut-claims-it-captured-hezbollah-members?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 23:24:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters Less than 48 hours before the US-Israeli strike on Iran began, Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu spoke by phone to US President Donald Trump about the reasons for launching the kind of complex, far-off war the American leader once had campaigned against. Both ⁠Trump and Netanyahu knew from intelligence briefings earlier in the week that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his key lieutenants would soon meet at his compound in Tehran, making them vulnerable to a “decapitation... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347640/trump-approved-iran-operation-after-netanyahu-argued-joint-killing-khamenei?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347640/trump-approved-iran-operation-after-netanyahu-argued-joint-killing-khamenei?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:59:46 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen Iran’s leadership is likely to prove resilient despite US-Israeli decapitation tactics, analysts say. Dozens of senior Iranian officials, including the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and national security chief Ali Larijani, have been killed since the start of the bombing raids on February 28. Tehran has argued these changes do not matter. “Of course, individuals are influential, and each person plays their role – some better, some worse, some less – but what matters is that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347624/not-venezuela-why-iran-likely-survive-us-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347624/not-venezuela-why-iran-likely-survive-us-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:15:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s military said it was investigating whether its own fire killed an Israeli civilian near the Lebanese border on Sunday, after Hezbollah claimed an attack in the same area. Israeli emergency workers said earlier on Sunday that a man was killed in a “direct hit” on his car by a rocket from Lebanon. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said after the incident that its fighters had attacked Israeli soldiers in the same area. But the Israeli army later said it was “conducting a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347503/hezbollah-claims-rocket-killed-one-israeli-army-demolishes-houses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347503/hezbollah-claims-rocket-killed-one-israeli-army-demolishes-houses?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 14:54:27 +0000 Lawrence Chung Lawrence Chung The survival of Iran’s political and military apparatus following a massive US-Israeli decapitation strike has ignited a strategic debate in Taiwan, with experts weighing the island’s ability to withstand a similar “surgical” opening to an attack from the mainland. Military analysts and officials in Taipei are closely studying the February 28 strikes that killed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, and Iran’s ability to sustain organised resistance in the weeks that have followed. Iran’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3347431/could-taiwans-military-continue-fight-after-iran-decapitation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3347431/could-taiwans-military-continue-fight-after-iran-decapitation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Three weeks into the Iran war, tit-for-tat escalations on multiple fronts have dragged the Middle East to the brink of the region-wide conflict that its governments have repeatedly warned about – and tried to avert – since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in recent days, after Hezbollah entered the conflict in response to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iraq has been turned into a shooting range, as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347363/iran-war-nears-3-front-tipping-point-gulf-energy-hubs-burn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347363/iran-war-nears-3-front-tipping-point-gulf-energy-hubs-burn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the Islamic Republic after the killing of its leaders. A pillar of the Iranian establishment for some three decades and one of the Islamic republic’s most prominent non-clerical figures, Ghalibaf, 64, now appears to be playing a key role spearheading the war effort. Whereas the son and successor of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347261/irans-parliament-speaker-emerges-key-figure-war-after-assassinations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347261/irans-parliament-speaker-emerges-key-figure-war-after-assassinations?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:24:41 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Allies of exiled Iranian royal Reza Pahlavi are signalling a potential reset in Tehran’s ties with China and Russia, even as the 65-year-old increasingly positions himself as a central figure in Iran’s political future – a claim that contrasts with Washington’s more cautious stance. Speaking at a media briefing in Washington on Thursday, Pahlavi’s chief of staff, Cameron Khansarinia, dismissed Beijing’s mediation efforts in the ongoing conflict, arguing that the current Iranian leadership was... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3347224/peacock-thrones-gambit-irans-reza-pahlavi-plans-flip-script-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3347224/peacock-thrones-gambit-irans-reza-pahlavi-plans-flip-script-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 19:33:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Iranian women’s soccer team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on Wednesday to complete a fraught return journey from Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there. Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member after they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if they returned to Iran. Concerns over their safety surfaced when several players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347071/iranian-women-footballers-return-home-after-withdrawing-australia-asylum-bids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347071/iranian-women-footballers-return-home-after-withdrawing-australia-asylum-bids?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:47:24 +0000 Alcott Wei,Seong Hyeon Choi Alcott Wei,Seong Hyeon Choi Iran’s power structure, succession mechanism and geographic conditions are all factors in its military resilience, despite the decapitation of its leadership by the US and Israel, according to Chinese experts. They also said the United States was unlikely to achieve regime change in Iran without deploying ground forces, a lesson one expert argued Beijing would take into account for any operation on Taiwan. Beginning on February 28, the US and Israel have killed a string of senior Iranian... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3347070/chinese-experts-assess-military-decapitation-iran-venezuela-lessons-closer-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3347070/chinese-experts-assess-military-decapitation-iran-venezuela-lessons-closer-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:37:24 +0000 Agencies Agencies Sweden’s foreign minister on Wednesday said that Iran had executed a Swedish citizen, after Iranian authorities announced the first execution of a man convicted of spying since the start of its war against Israel and the United States. “It is with dismay that I have received information that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran earlier today,” Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in a statement. Since the man’s arrest during in June 2025, Sweden had “repeatedly raised the case at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347042/iran-announces-first-spy-execution-war-israel-us-began?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347042/iran-announces-first-spy-execution-war-israel-us-began?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:16:52 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Satellite images are beginning to be released, giving a glimpse into the toll of the Iran war, with ships ablaze in an Iranian port and destroyed buildings at an American base. Information has so far been scarce about the damage being done across the Middle East, particularly when it’s inside closed military facilities, since the start of the war on February 28. The images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including Associated Press. Planet Labs has put... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346987/satellite-images-reveal-damage-widening-middle-east-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346987/satellite-images-reveal-damage-widening-middle-east-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:15:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran vowed on Wednesday a “decisive” retaliation for the death of its security chief Ali Larijani, firing off a wave of missiles at Israel which said it killed him in an air strike. A barrage of Iranian missiles killed two people near Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv, while Gulf nations intercepted rockets and drones headed for targets including US bases in the region. Iran will hold funerals Wednesday for Larijani and another powerful figure killed Tuesday by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346949/iran-confirms-security-chief-larijani-dead-israel-vows-neutralise-supreme-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346949/iran-confirms-security-chief-larijani-dead-israel-vows-neutralise-supreme-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 01:20:17 +0000 Agencies Agencies Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Iran’s powerful national security chief Ali Larijani was “eliminated last night”, along with the commander of Tehran’s Basij paramilitary force, General Gholam Reza Soleimani. “I have just been updated by the chief of staff that Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Basij – Iran’s central repression apparatus – [Soleimani], were eliminated last night,” Katz said in a statement released by his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346898/irans-ali-larijani-basij-paramilitary-head-eliminated-tehran-strike-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346898/irans-ali-larijani-basij-paramilitary-head-eliminated-tehran-strike-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:03:58 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Fatima Nazha slept on the street for two days after she and her family fled their home in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli mass evacuation order. All of the schools the government turned into shelters were full, and the family could not afford a hotel or a flat, so she and her husband eventually moved into a tent in the country’s biggest stadium while their children and grandchildren found shelter near the southern coastal city of Sidon. In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346678/over-800000-lebanese-1-7-population-displaced-war-10-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346678/over-800000-lebanese-1-7-population-displaced-war-10-days?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 13:54:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Turkey expressed deep concern on Saturday over Israel’s ongoing strikes on Lebanon, voicing fears it could commit “a new genocide” under the guise of fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah. “We are frankly concerned [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is moving toward a new genocide under the pretext of fighting Hezbollah,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference. “The international community must act as soon as possible in the face of the crimes that Israel continues to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346629/israel-may-commit-new-genocide-lebanon-using-iran-war-pretext-turkey-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346629/israel-may-commit-new-genocide-lebanon-using-iran-war-pretext-turkey-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 17:40:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel said the war against Iran was entering its “decisive phase” on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility. Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, security sources said, the second time it had been targeted since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shock waves through the global economy. Millions have been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346626/iran-war-entering-decisive-phase-israel-says-attacks-continue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346626/iran-war-entering-decisive-phase-israel-says-attacks-continue?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 15:51:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday called on Iran to refrain from targeting neighbouring countries, while affirming Tehran’s right to defend itself against Israel and the United States. In a rare appeal, Hamas also urged the international community to take steps to end the war that has gripped the Middle East since it began on February 28. “While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346608/hamas-calls-iran-avoid-targeting-neighbouring-countries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346608/hamas-calls-iran-avoid-targeting-neighbouring-countries?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 11:30:07 +0000 Xinmei Shen,Teresa Elena Frontado Xinmei Shen,Teresa Elena Frontado The Trump administration has sought to minimise the impact of the Strait of Hormuz’s effective closure while offering few details on how it might restore oil flows through the strategic waterway. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Friday, urging oil tankers to “show some guts.” Trump said Washington was still considering escorting ships through the strait but did not indicate whether a decision had been made. “We would do it... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3346558/us-says-irans-new-supreme-leader-likely-wounded-dismisses-strait-hormuz-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3346558/us-says-irans-new-supreme-leader-likely-wounded-dismisses-strait-hormuz-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:23:09 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan The cost of Malaysia’s subsidies for fuel at the pump is projected to rise by more than four times in the short term, the government has said, as it rushed to assure the public the country’s energy supply will not be disrupted even as the Iran war chokes global oil and gas shipments. Fear of an energy crisis has engulfed much of Southeast Asia since the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28, pushing Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway that handles about a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346520/malaysias-fuel-subsidy-bill-rise-more-fourfold-iran-war-drags?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346520/malaysias-fuel-subsidy-bill-rise-more-fourfold-iran-war-drags?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:30:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday issued ⁠a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei even as he acknowledged that Israel’s joint air war with the US may not lead to a collapse of Tehran’s clerical government. Holding his first press conference since the start of the war, ‌the Israeli leader said that Iran was “no longer the same” after nearly two weeks of bombardment and that Tehran had suffered blows to its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346419/netanyahu-threatens-irans-new-supreme-leader-defends-joint-assault-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346419/netanyahu-threatens-irans-new-supreme-leader-defends-joint-assault-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:31:01 +0000 Lucy Quaggin,Xinmei Shen Lucy Quaggin,Xinmei Shen Iran’s new supreme leader has vowed to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz, attack US bases and avenge the blood of its martyrs in his first statement since succeeding his father. US President Donald Trump responded with an insult and threat soon after. “The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used,” Mojtaba Khamenei said about the strategic waterway, which carries about a fifth of global oil shipments. Khamenei urged Iran’s Gulf neighbours to close US military bases in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346408/irans-mojtaba-khamenei-tells-gulf-nations-close-us-bases-war-rages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346408/irans-mojtaba-khamenei-tells-gulf-nations-close-us-bases-war-rages?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:05:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Tehran resident in her 30s agreed to share her thoughts with Agence France-Presse about the ongoing war and daily life. Her identity has been withheld for her protection. Here is an edited transcript of the conversation. How is daily life in Tehran? People left in waves, especially those who were next to targets. The financial situation is very bad. My job has been halted and I am spending out of my savings. Going away has costs too, so this may be one of the reasons why people are leaving... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346334/life-under-fire-tehran-resident-shares-her-story-iran-attacked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346334/life-under-fire-tehran-resident-shares-her-story-iran-attacked?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:33:04 +0000 Orange Wang,Alyssa Chen Orange Wang,Alyssa Chen The US-Israeli war on Iran could prove difficult to end in the short term, with Israel expected to continue to “fan the flames”, Chinese experts have warned. However, they still believe that the intense back-and-forth attacks and high tensions in the Strait of Hormuz are unlikely to last. They also reject the notion that a prolonged Middle East conflict involving the United States would benefit Beijing. It has been 12 days since the US and Israel launched joint air strikes on Iran on February... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346263/why-war-iran-not-trumps-end-will-israel-fan-flames?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346263/why-war-iran-not-trumps-end-will-israel-fan-flames?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a deadly missile strike on a junior school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict, according to a US official and a second person briefed on findings of a preliminary US military investigation into the incident. The bombing of the school and its casualties involving children has become a focal point of the war, and if ultimately confirmed to be at the hands of the US,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346300/outdated-intelligence-us-faces-mounting-evidence-deadly-strike-iran-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346300/outdated-intelligence-us-faces-mounting-evidence-deadly-strike-iran-school?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:52:03 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words When joint US-Israel strikes killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the initial shock soon gave way to a deeper unease. At the heart of this anxiety lay the method used in the decapitation of a regional power’s leadership: an accelerated “kill chain” orchestrated... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3346204/us-war-iran-underscores-need-global-governance-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3346204/us-war-iran-underscores-need-global-governance-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:30:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Iran’s sports minister said on Wednesday his nation will not take part in this summer’s Fifa World Cup because the United States killed the country’s leader and continues to wage war on the oil-rich nation – and now the question becomes who might replace them. The US and Israel bombing campaign, which began two weeks ago, has triggered a region-wide conflict and killed more than 1,300 Iranians, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Considering that this corrupt regime has... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3346289/iraq-italy-who-could-replace-iran-world-cup-rules-say-fifa-can-do-what-it-wants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3346289/iraq-italy-who-could-replace-iran-world-cup-rules-say-fifa-can-do-what-it-wants?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 02:41:26 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong As war with the United States and Israel batters Iran’s missile and nuclear infrastructure, analysts say Tehran is likely to turn to North Korea once again after the fighting stops, reviving a long-suspected partnership built on shared hostility towards Washington and years of military cooperation. North Korea has long been suspected of supplying missile technology to Iran and providing technical help with uranium enrichment, and analysts say it is likely to do so again once the war ends. “North... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346232/why-iran-and-north-korea-are-highly-likely-revive-missile-and-nuclear-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346232/why-iran-and-north-korea-are-highly-likely-revive-missile-and-nuclear-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Norwegian police said on Wednesday that three brothers had been arrested on suspicion of a “terrorist bombing” over a weekend explosion at the US embassy in Oslo that caused minor damage but no injuries. Police prosecutor Christian Hatlo told a press conference the brothers, who were Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin, had been arrested in Oslo around 3.30pm and that police were investigating the motive. “We are still working from several hypotheses. One of them is whether this is an order from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346274/3-brothers-iraq-links-arrested-terrorist-bombing-us-embassy-norway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346274/3-brothers-iraq-links-arrested-terrorist-bombing-us-embassy-norway?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:16:23 +0000 Xinmei Shen,Lucy Quaggin,Teresa Elena Frontado Xinmei Shen,Lucy Quaggin,Teresa Elena Frontado US Central Command (CENTCOM) has urged civilians to keep clear of all port facilities in Iran, an announcement that drew a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of Gulf-wide retaliatory strikes if those sites are targeted. On Wednesday, CENTCOM said that the Iran was using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations, which would make the ports legitimate military targets under international law. Civilians should immediately avoid all port facilities, and Iranian... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3346273/us-military-warns-civilians-avoid-port-facilities-used-iranian-navy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3346273/us-military-warns-civilians-avoid-port-facilities-used-iranian-navy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:42:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters Iran cannot take part in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the United States launched air strikes against the country alongside Israel, killing its leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday. The US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran almost two weeks ago, killing the Islamic Republic’s ‌supreme leader, leading to a region-wide conflict in the Gulf. “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3346272/iran-cannot-take-part-united-states-hosted-2026-world-cup-sports-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3346272/iran-cannot-take-part-united-states-hosted-2026-world-cup-sports-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:52:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, said the son of the Iranian president on Wednesday. “I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel. He did not elaborate. State television had called... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346205/irans-new-supreme-leader-safe-despite-war-injury-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346205/irans-new-supreme-leader-safe-despite-war-injury-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 07:47:43 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia granted humanitarian visas to two more members of the Iranian women’s football delegation on Monday, with both opting to stay in the country because of fears for their ‌safety if they returned home. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said a player and a support staff member accepted the government’s offer, after five players from the team were granted asylum a day earlier. “I made them the same offer that I made the five players the night before,” Burke told reporters. “If they wanted to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3346153/australia-grants-asylum-2-more-members-iran-football-delegation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3346153/australia-grants-asylum-2-more-members-iran-football-delegation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 01:14:48 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump has built a potential off-ramp by suggesting the Iran war could end soon, but the world is still guessing about whether he will take it – and whether Tehran will let him. With surging oil prices threatening the global economy and his political fortunes at home, Trump’s tone appeared to shift abruptly on Monday as he called the war “very complete” and a “short-term excursion”. But the 79-year-old commander-in-chief continued to send mixed messages about when the war... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346150/will-trump-taco-iran-analysts-say-hes-looking-way-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346150/will-trump-taco-iran-analysts-say-hes-looking-way-out?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 20:23:36 +0000 Lucy Quaggin,Xinmei Shen Lucy Quaggin,Xinmei Shen US President Donald Trump warned Iran against laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday as the US unleashed some of the heaviest strikes of the war so far. Tensions over the critical shipping lane continued to escalate amid soaring global oil prices, with the US claiming it had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels. Trump said that the US was using the same technology and missile capabilities deployed against drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean to “permanently... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3346147/hegseth-says-tuesday-will-be-most-intense-us-war-iran-trump-considers-endgame?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3346147/hegseth-says-tuesday-will-be-most-intense-us-war-iran-trump-considers-endgame?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:51:47 +0000 Orange Wang,Shi Jiangtao Orange Wang,Shi Jiangtao Chinese analysts expect Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, to continue and possibly harden his assassinated father’s policies towards the US and Israel. The appointment of the 56-year-old cleric could signal a sense of continuity inside Iran, as well as stabilise ties between Beijing and Tehran, the analysts added. Iran’s Assembly of Experts confirmed on Monday that the younger Khamenei would succeed the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader – a post holding the final say... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346134/why-china-sees-stability-hardliner-mojtaba-khameneis-rise-lead-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346134/why-china-sees-stability-hardliner-mojtaba-khameneis-rise-lead-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:15:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli strikes and mass evacuation orders have seen nearly 700,000 people flee their homes in Lebanon in just over a week, with more than 100,000 fleeing in 24 hours, the UN said on Tuesday. “Lives have been upended on a massive scale,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative in Lebanon of UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. In just over a week since the new escalation in Lebanon, Israeli air strikes and evacuation warnings to residents of dozens of villages “forced families... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346067/war-middle-east-nearly-500-dead-lebanon-israeli-offensive-last-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346067/war-middle-east-nearly-500-dead-lebanon-israeli-offensive-last-week?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:22:42 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow China condemned it. Russia condemned it. Brazil condemned it. Brics, as a bloc, has said nothing. More than a week after US and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered the worst regional crisis in years, the grouping that positions itself as the collective voice of the Global South has yet to issue a single joint statement. The silence is not an oversight. It is the sound of a bloc whose expansion has outpaced its ability to speak as one, analysts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346065/why-has-us-israeli-war-iran-left-brics-speechless?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346065/why-has-us-israeli-war-iran-left-brics-speechless?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:03:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Five players from Iran’s visiting women’s football team claimed asylum in Australia on Tuesday, seeking protection after they were branded “traitors” at home for refusing to sing the national anthem. Iranian players fell silent as the anthem played ahead of a tournament match in Australia last week, an act seen as a symbol of defiance against the Islamic Republic. US President Donald Trump was among those urging Australia to offer the players asylum, citing grave fears for their safety if they... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345992/concern-iran-womens-football-team-rises-australia-amid-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345992/concern-iran-womens-football-team-rises-australia-amid-war?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:08:02 +0000 SCMP Reporter,Agencies SCMP Reporter,Agencies New video from Iranian state media shows a missile slamming into a compound in southern Iran, as evidence mounted that the US military was most likely responsible for the February 28 attack on a girls’ school that left more than 160 dead, mostly children. The footage, published Sunday by the Mehr News Agency, was titled “The moment when Israeli and American terrorists struck #Minab school”. Video shows a munition consistent with a Tomahawk cruise missile striking an area as black smoke rose from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345956/video-shows-apparent-us-strike-trump-blames-iran-school-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345956/video-shows-apparent-us-strike-trump-blames-iran-school-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:06:18 +0000