World Echo

China on Thursday said the killing of Iranian leaders and attacks on civilian targets are “unacceptable”, as tensions escalate in the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, speaking at a regular press briefing, said Beijing opposes the use of force in international relations. Read: China to offer emergency humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq “The killing of Iranian leaders and attacks on civilian targets are by no means acceptable,” he said in response to a question. The remarks came after reports that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was killed in an Israeli strike. China has repeatedly called for restraint and a peaceful resolution as the conflict intensifies. Earlier, China on Tuesday announced emergency humanitarian assistance for Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, citing worsening humanitarian conditions amid ongoing regional conflict. Speaking at a regular briefing in Beijing, Lin said the conflict had...

Iran seeks compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of enabling US attacks against Iranian territory, Iran's UN Ambassador told the UN Secretary General in a letter, according to a Nournews report published on Thursday. In the letter, Amir Saeid Iravani said the UAE’s decision to allow its territory to be used for the strikes constituted "an internationally wrongful act that entailed state responsibility." Tehran said the UAE had an international responsibility to provide reparation, including compensation for all material and moral damages incurred. This letter follows a series of seven complaints submitted by Iravani to Guterres, protesting the illegal use of regional countries’ airspace and territory by the United States and Israel in operations against Iran. He detailed how Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait were used to facilitate these attacks, according to state‑linked Press TV. Read: US weighs military reinforcements as ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from regional Arab and Islamic countries as Pakistan continues diplomatic efforts to tone down the conflict in the Middle East. FM Dar was received upon arrival by Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed Farooq, along with representatives of the Saudi Foreign Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50, arrived in Riyadh to participate in the Consultative Ministerial Meeting of Foreign Ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, hosted by the Saudi Arabia. He was received upon arrival by Pakistan’s… pic.twitter.com/L6BwNJiMbr — Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) March 18, 2026 The Foreign Office said FM Dar would use the meeting to reiterate Pakistan’s diplomatic position amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. 🔊PR No.7️⃣0️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ Curtain Raiser:Visit of Deputy Prime Minister/Fo...

Israel said on Wednesday its forces had killed another top Iranian official, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, and said its military was authorised to kill any senior figure of the Islamic republic in its sights. The announcement, the day after Iranian security chief Ali Larijani was confirmed killed in an Israeli strike, is part of a longstanding strategy by Israel to target its enemy's leaders. "Last night, Iran's Intelligence Minister Khatib was also eliminated," Israeli Defence Minister Katz said in a statement. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to eliminate any senior Iranian official for whom the intelligence and operational circle has been closed, without the need for additional approval," he added. "We will continue to thwart and hunt them all down." Read More: Kremlin condemns ‘murder’ of Iranian leadership after Larijani killed in US-Israeli strikes There was no immediate comment o...

A US federal judge ordered the Trump administration to bring more than 1,000 Voice of America employees back to work and resume broadcasts by the government-funded media outlet, AFP reported. District Judge Royce Lamberth's order comes 10 days after he ruled that President Donald Trump's pick to oversee mass layoffs at VOA was unlawfully appointed, rendering the job cuts invalid. Kari Lake, a former TV anchor, slashed jobs and funding after she was appointed by Trump to head the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which runs VOA, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and other stations. Lamberth, an appointee of Republican president Ronald Reagan, ordered the reinstatement by March 23 of 1,042 VOA employees who have been on paid administrative leave for the past year. Read More: After Larijani, Israel claims it killed Iran's intelligence minister The judge also ordered USAGM to come up with a plan by next week to resume international broadcasts. VOA was created in the wake of ...

Israel's military on Wednesday acknowledged that its tank fire hit a UN position in southern Lebanon on March 6, wounding Ghanaian peacekeepers, an incident that underscores ​the growing risks as Israeli operations expand. Initial findings by an internal UN inquiry had suggested Israel was behind the attack, a Western military source had ‌told Reuters on Tuesday. The UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel - an area that is at the heart of clashes between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters. The mission, which will be halted at the end of 2026, has been sporadically caught in the crosshairs of both Israel and Hezbollah over the last couple of years, but ​with Israel considering a broader ground operation, the risks could be greater in the coming weeks. In a statement to Reuters, Israel's military acknowledged its troops were ​behind the incident, but said they had respon...