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Explainer: After nine straight nights of strikes, where is the US-Iran conflict headed?

The US carried out a ninth consecutive night of military strikes against Iran early on Monday, targeting command centres, missile facilities, air defence systems, maritime assets and communications infrastructure. The latest developments indicate the conflict is expanding beyond direct military exchanges, with growing implications for regional security, global energy supplies and international shipping. Here is what to know. Why are the US strikes continuing? President Donald Trump said US forces had struck Iran “very hard,” describing the operations as retaliation for the deaths of US service members in the Middle East. The latest casualty on the US side came in northern Iraq, where a service member was killed during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance recovered from a downed Iranian drone. According to American media, at least 17 US soldiers have been killed since Feb 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Strait of Hormuz at the heart of the co...

North Korea signs friendship treaty with Belarus, KCNA says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held a summit in Pyongyang on Thursday, where the two leaders signed a friendship treaty, North Korea's state media KCNA reported. The two countries signed agreements on cooperation in various sectors, including diplomacy, agriculture, education and public health, KCNA said. At a banquet, Kim said Lukashenko's visit to Pyongyang, the first state visit by a Belarusian president since the two countries established diplomatic relations, was meaningful for upgrading bilateral relations between the two countries. Read: Ukraine signs deal with Saudi Arabia on defence cooperation, Zelenskiy says Further, Lukashenko told Kim that the bilateral relations "are developing at a very fast pace" and the leadership of the two countries shared the same views on international affairs, KCNA said. The summit brought together two leaders, both under international sanctions, who have provided crucial backing for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's four-year war with Ukraine. North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine in 2024, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources. Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a launchpad for Russia's February 2022 invasion and subsequently agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles on its territory, which borders three members of the NATO alliance.

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