World Echo

President Donald Trump ends the third week of the Iran war confronting a crisis that seems to be slipping out of his hands: global energy prices are surging, the United States stands isolated from allies and more ​troops are preparing to deploy despite his promise that the war would be only a "short excursion". A defensive Trump called other NATO countries "cowards" for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and insisted the campaign was ‌unfolding according to plan. But his declaration on Friday that the battle "was militarily won" clashed with the reality of a defiant Iran that is choking off Gulf oil and gas supplies while launching missile strikes across the region. Read: Iran's Natanz nuclear facility attacked by US-Israeli airstrikes again: report Trump, who took office promising to keep the US out of "stupid" military interventions, now appears to control neither the outcome nor the messaging of a conflict he helped to initiate. ...

Muslims across the world marked Eidul Fitr, celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramazan, during which they fast from dawn to dusk. The festival begins with the sighting of the new moon, signalling the start of Shawwal. As some countries depend on physical moon sightings, the date of Eid can differ by region. Consequently, nations such as Mali, Niger and Afghanistan observed the occasion on Thursday, while much of the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia celebrated on Friday. Worshippers offer congregational Eid prayers at the Kaaba in Makkah [AFP] Eid prayers offered by worshippers. — AFP Read: In pictures: Muslims celebrate Eidul Fitr around the world Eidul Fitr, which lasts for two days, is distinct from Eidul Azha that coincides with the Hajj pilgrimage. The celebrations typically begin with a congregational prayer held in open spaces, followed by gatherings of family and friends and festive activities. Sunni Muslim worshippers exchange greetings after Eid al-Fitr prayers at ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iranian leaders on Nowruz and said Moscow remained a loyal ​friend and reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on ‌Saturday. The extent of Moscow's support for Iran, though, is in dispute. Some Iranian sources have said that they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest ​crisis for Iran since the US-backed Shah was toppled in ​the 1979 revolution. Putin sent congratulations to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah ⁠Mojtaba Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the Iranian new year, ​the Kremlin said. "Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people to overcome the harsh ​trials with dignity and stressed that in this difficult time Moscow remains a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran," the Kremlin said. Russia says the US and Israeli ​attacks on Iran have thrust the entire Middle East into the abyss ​and triggered a major global energy crisis, while Putin condemned the killing of Iranian Supreme ‌...

Firefighters battled a blaze at a giant oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday after a fresh drone attack as Iran kept up a wave of strikes on its neighbours and vowed there was "no concern" about its missile production. Despite calls by European leaders on Thursday for an end to targeting Gulf energy infrastructure, Kuwait reported a fire at its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, a day after a direct hit on Qatar's vital Ras Laffan facility. Iranian authorities had vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on Wednesday damaged its South Pars gas field, which draws on the world's biggest known gas reserve and is vital for domestic supplies. The escalating damage to Gulf infrastructure has spiked oil and gas prices again and led to fears of lasting damage to global supplies, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated an end to the fighting could be close. "We are winning and Iran is being decimated," the Israeli premier said at a press conference on Thursda...

Hundreds of worshippers held Eidul Fitr prayers at the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, with Israel closing access to the Al-Aqsa mosque and other holy sites over its war on Iran. “Today, Al-Aqsa has been taken from us. It’s a sad and painful Ramazan,” Wajdi Mohammed Shweiki, a silver-haired Palestinian man in his 60s, told AFP. “It’s a catastrophic situation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for Palestinians in general and for all Muslims across the globe.” Since Israel and the United States started the war on Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have closed access to Jerusalem’s world-renowned holy sites over security concerns — Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Western Wall for Jews. As Iranian missile barrages head towards Israel, the authorities have banned gatherings of more than 50 people nationwide to limit potential casualties. In a sign of the risks, police said this week that shrapnel fragments had fallen on the O...

If the US-Israeli war on Iran ended tomorrow, one verdict is already clear: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would walk away stronger, while President Donald Trump would be left to manage the shock to global markets and Gulf allies who have borne the heaviest costs. For Netanyahu, analysts say, the war has redrawn Israel’s political map on his terms, pivoting attention away from Gaza and toward Iran, where national consensus is strongest and his security and economic credentials resonate most. For Trump, it has done the reverse: trapping him in a conflict with no clear exit, exposing his Gulf Arab allies to spiralling risks, and undercutting the economic storyline that powered his return to office. “There is a clear winner and a clear loser,” said Aaron David Miller, a former US Middle East negotiator. “Netanyahu is by far the key winner. He has demonstrated Israel’s military competence. The Gulf states are by far the biggest losers.” Also Read: IRGC says it 'seriously damaged...