03/04/26 06:40Russia prepared to divert oil to India as Middle East conflict disrupts flowOpen this photo in gallery:
A oil tanker train moves near a railway station on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India.Amit Dave/Reuters
Russia is ready to divert oil to India to offset Middle East supply disruptions, with about 9.5 million barrels of Russian crude in vessels near Indian waters and able to arrive within weeks, an industry source with direct knowledge told Reuters.
The source declined to say where the non‑Russian fleet cargoes were originally headed but said they could deliver to India within weeks, giving refiners rapid relief.
India is vulnerable to supply shocks, with crude stocks covering only about 25 days of demand, while refiners hold similarly limited inventories of gasoil, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas.
An Indian government source said New Delhi was scouting for alternative supply to prepare for continuing conflict in the Middle East beyond 10–15 days.
The disruption has immediate market consequences, with about 40 per cent of India’s crude imports moving through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most vital oil export route, the source said, and the near-closure of the route has compelled the No.3 oil consumer to seek alternatives.
Indian refiners process about 5.6 million barrels per day of crude. The Strait has become inaccessible after vessels were struck by Iranian attacks that followed U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran-based targets that commenced on Saturday.
The industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia was ready to help India meet up to 40 per cent of its crude needs.
India’s imports of Russian crude fell to about 1.1 million barrels per day in January, the lowest since November 2022, as New Delhi sought relief from U.S. tariffs, pushing Moscow’s share of overall oil imports down to 21.2 per cent, industry data showed. The source said the share climbed back to around 30 per cent in February.
-Reuters
03/04/26 06:27Gold gains as Middle East conflict revives safe-haven bid
Gold prices climbed 2 per cent on Wednesday, rebounding from their lowest in more than a week reached in the previous session, as the dollar took a breather and mounting tensions in the Middle East drove investors toward safe havens.
Spot gold gained 2.2 per cent to $5,198.58 per ounce by 1017 GMT, after falling more than 4 per cent on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery added 1.7 per cent to $5,211.20.
The U.S. dollar fell 0.2 per cent, making greenback-priced gold more affordable for buyers using other currencies.
“After the past few days of position unwinds and dollar strength, markets are back to a more typical macro risk-off stance, with silver higher too. A pause in the rise of the dollar and Treasury yields helps with their opportunity costs,” said Jamie Dutta, market analyst at Nemo.money.
“Gold and silver’s safe-haven characteristics can shine again.”
Gold’s appeal as it draws support from the widening conflict in the Middle East is expected to remain intact even if some investors have favored the dollar as their preferred safe-haven, traders and analysts said on Tuesday.
-Reuters
03/04/26 06:08Carney reiterates comments on Iran war and ‘failure’ of world order
– Steven Chase
Prime Minister Mark Carney responds to a question as he takes part in an armchair discussion at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney repeated statements he made earlier Wednesday that the current war between Iran and the United States and Israel was a “failure” of the international order.”
“The current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order, despite decades of UN Security Council resolutions, the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a succession of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks,” Mr. Carney told the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank, on Wednesday.
Asked if he would welcome a change of regime in Iran, which he said has been the main source of instability in the Mid East, Mr. Carney said yes.
“We always would have welcomed a change in regime. In Iran, we’ve broken off diplomatic relations with Iran many years ago. We’ve listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.”
Read more on Carney’s comments in Australia.
03/04/26 05:27Israel sees decline in launches from Iran
Israel is seeing a decline in launches from Iran as the campaign enters its fifth day, military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
Defrin also said Israel is not surprised by any new weapons Iran may use and had prepared extensively for the confrontation.
He said Israel would continue to “hunt and destroy” Iran’s military capabilities.
Israel has struck more than 250 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 48 hours, an Israeli army spokesperson said Wednesday.
Defrin said in a recorded statement that the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah had been launching rockets at Israel overnight.
Defrin said Israel would continue to target Hezbollah until “the threat is removed.”
The Israeli military also said one of its F-35 stealth fighter jets shot down a piloted Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter over Tehran. Israel described it as the first air-to-air combat kill of a piloted aircraft by the fighter jet.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 05:25European selloff pauses on Trump pledge but oil shock hits Asian markets
-Eric Reguly
President Donald Trump’s pledge to ensure safe passage of oil and natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint calmed markets somewhat on Wednesday even though Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran remained in full force.
In early trading, European gas prices were more or less flat after climbing more than 70 per cent since Monday, when ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe and Asia stopped crossing Hormuz.
But oil continued to climb. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 3 per cent in London, to US$84 a barrel, taking the one-year gain to 18 per cent. Before the Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran started on Saturday, Brent was trading at US$73.
The FTSE-100 index was up marginally; Germany’s DAX index, whose selloff on Monday and Tuesday was severe, was up 1 per cent.
Asian markets continued to see steep declines, reflecting the region’s dependency on the Middle East for oil and LNG supplies. South Korea’s benchmark Kopsi lost 12 per cent after shedding 7.2 per cent on Tuesday – the index’s worst two-day performance since the 2008 financial crisis. Markets in Japan and Taiwan each fell about 4 per cent.
03/04/26 04:54Repatriation flights begin amid airspace closures
A handful of repatriation flights were due to take off from the Middle East on Wednesday as governments try to bring tens of thousands of stranded citizens home, while the selloff in global airline shares eased even as the U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran escalated.
The airspace over most of the Middle East remained largely empty on Wednesday, with major Gulf hubs including Dubai, the world’s busiest international airport, remained shut for a fifth day, in the biggest travel crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first repatriation flights were due to leave for Britain and France on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates opened special corridors to allow some citizens to return.
This contrasts with the thousands of flights that take off in the region normally. Marooned tourists and some expatriates have also tried to find their own way out.
Airline shares were finding some stability after double-digit percentage drops in the past few days, wiping tens of billions of dollars from airlines’ market value.
-Reuters
03/04/26 04:47Iran close to choosing new Supreme Leader, official says
Iran is close to choosing a new Supreme Leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, tasked with choosing the new leader, told state TV on Wednesday.
“The Supreme Leader will be identified in the closest opportunity, we are close to a conclusion, however the situation in the country is a war situation,” Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told state TV.
– Reuters
03/04/26 04:01Iran official threatens any support of U.S., Israeli airstrikesOpen this photo in gallery:
Smoke rises following reported airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released March 3, 2026.SOCIAL MEDIA/Reuters
Iran’s judiciary chief on Wednesday threatened “those who say or do anything” in support of the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign now targeting the Islamic Republic.
Gholam Hosseini Mohseni Ejehei made the comments in an interview with Iranian state television.
His remarks raised the possibility of those detained facing death-penalty charges, as cooperating with an enemy can carry execution if convicted.
“As we said during the unrest, riot cases are a priority,” Ejehei said, referring to January’s nationwide protests that Iran violently suppressed. “We have now also announced that those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”
He added: “Those who say or do anything in line with the will of America and the Zionist regime are on the enemy’s side and must be dealt with on revolutionary, Islamic principles and in accordance with the time of war.”
Explosions continued to sound in Tehran on Wednesday with Israel targeting the Iranian leadership and security forces and the Islamic Republic responding with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel and across the region.
The blasts in Tehran came at dawn, according to Iran state television. Israel’s military said its air defenses had been activated to intercept Iranian missiles targeting Israel and explosions were heard around Jerusalem.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 03:58Spanish PM pushes back on Trump criticismOpen this photo in gallery:
A TV screen shows a live broadcast of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as he delivers a statement to address international developments, after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would cut off all trade with Spain, at a house in Ronda, Spain on Wednesday.Jon Nazca/Reuters
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday doubled down on his opposition to the attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, warning that the conflict risked playing “Russian roulette” with the lives of millions.
Sanchez was responding after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut trade with Madrid over its position on the conflict.
“This is how humanity’s great disasters start … You cannot play Russian roulette with destiny of millions,” Sanchez said in a televised address to the nation.
Tensions between the two NATO allies increased after Sanchez denounced the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran as reckless and illegal, and later banned U.S. aircraft from using naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran.
Sanchez said the world could not solve its problems with conflicts and bombs.
“We’re not going to be complicit in something that’s bad for the world nor contrary to our values and interests simply to avoid reprisals from someone,” Sanchez said, appearing to reference Trump’s trade threats.
03/04/26 03:27European shares inch higher as investors weigh conflict
European shares ticked up on Wednesday as investors took a breather after a global equities rout that pushed the benchmark index to more than one-month lows, amid concerns about a widened and prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.6% at 607.62 points by 0810 GMT. The index has shed nearly 5% since hitting a record high on Friday.
Travel and luxury stocks, which were at the forefront of the sell-off, were up more than 1% each.
Technology and healthcare names were the biggest boost for the index. Vistry slumped 22% after the UK home builder announced that its CEO and Chair, Greg Fitzgerald, intends to step down and that the roles will be separated after his retirement.
– Reuters
03/04/26 03:20France, U.K. plan repatriation flights from Middle East
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said several repatriation flights for French nationals in the Middle East were planned for Wednesday and a British chartered flight will leave Oman today as well, the British Foreign Office said.
Barrot declined to say how many people would be on the flights. Around 400,000 French nationals are in the region.
Meanwhile, British Airways, which is currently unable to fly from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would also operate a flight from Oman in the early hours of Thursday local time.
The government said some 130,000 British citizens have registered their presence in the region.
– Reuters
03/04/26 02:37Oil prices rise 3% as Iran crisis disrupts supply
Oil prices rose 3% on Wednesday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies, but the pace of gains slowed from past sessions after President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. Navy could escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent rose $2.67, or 3.3%, to $84.07 a barrel by 0659 GMT, after closing on Tuesday at its highest since January 2025.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.24, or 3%, to $76.8, after settling at its highest since June. Both benchmarks have risen about 5% or more in the past two sessions.
“At this stage, only clear signs of de-escalation could mitigate or reverse the current bullish trend for WTI, and such signals are currently lacking,” said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.
Trump said the U.S. Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait if necessary, adding that he had ordered the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf.
“This is welcome news, but clearly it won’t happen overnight. Naval escorts would be helpful, but again, this effort will take time,” ING analysts said in a note.
– Reuters
03/04/26 02:24Any supreme leader will be ‘a target for elimination,’ Israel says
Israel’s defense minister on Wednesday threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader, saying he will be “a target for elimination.”
Israel Katz made the statement on X.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” he wrote.
Israel targeted a building Tuesday associated with Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.
Israel killed the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a strike Saturday that started the war.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 02:10UNESCO heritage site Golestan Palace damaged in bombingOpen this photo in gallery:
The Golestan Palace in Tehran, a UNESCO World Heritage site and former royal complex, suffered damage to its famed hall of mirrors from nearby airstrikes this week. Globe and Mail photographer Hossein Esmaeili captured some of the damage Tuesday while on a press tour in Tehran. The walled palace is one of the oldest groups of buildings originally constructed in the 16th century, according to UNESCO.Hossein Esmaeili/The Globe and Mail
03/04/26 01:54Public mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced by state media
Iranians will bid farewell to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony in Tehran late on Wednesday, a senior Iranian official told state media.
Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, head of Iran’s Islamic Propagation Council, said the farewell ceremony would continue for three days and the funeral procession will be announced later.
The official said the public will be able to pay their respects to the body of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall starting at 10 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET).
“The Mosalla (prayer hall) will be receiving visitors and the dear people can attend and take part in the farewell ceremony and mark a strong presence once again,” he said in comments carried by Iranian media.
Iran’s Ali Khamenei, who based his iron rule of Iran on hostility to the U.S. and Israel, was killed on Saturday, aged 86, in air strikes by Israel and the U.S., according to Iranian state media.
– Reuters
03/04/26 01:43Congress to vote on war powers todayOpen this photo in gallery:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks with reporters at the Capitol March 3, 2026.J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press
The U.S. Senate is headed toward a vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran, an extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy.
The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The Senate resolution and a similar bill being voted on in the House later this week face unlikely paths through the Republican-controlled Congress and would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump even if they were to pass.
Nonetheless, the votes marked a weighty moment for lawmakers. Their decisions on the five-day-old war — which Trump entered without congressional approval — could determine the fates of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.
“Wars without clear objectives do not remain small. They get bigger, bloodier, longer and more expensive,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference Tuesday. “This is not a necessary war. It’s a war of choice.”
After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control.
Almost all Republican senators were readying to vote Wednesday against the war powers resolution to halt military action, but a number still expressed hesitation at the idea of deploying troops on the ground in Iran.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 01:33Beirut wakes up to drones and another evacuation warning
Strikes hit Lebanon overnight, including in several towns and on a hotel in a suburb right next to the capital.
Beirut woke up to the sounds of drones whizzing overhead.
The Israeli military warned residents in a southern suburb to flee ahead of a morning airstrike, as more displaced people fleeing the conflict pour into the capital seeking shelter.
Overnight Israeli strikes on towns near Beirut have killed at least six people, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said early Wednesday.
Israel struck the towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat just south of Beirut’s international airport, killing six and wounding eight others.
It also struck a hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh. No casualties were immediately reported there.
The strikes came without warning and the Israeli military did not immediately disclose the targets.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 01:32Israeli attacks target Iranian security forces in Tehran
The Israeli military said Wednesday it conducted a series of strikes across Iran’s capital targeting its security forces.
It said it hit buildings associated with the Basij, the all-volunteer force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted the bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.
The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past.
Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow its theocracy.
Strikes against counterprotest forces likely are part of that effort.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 01:18Asian shares swoon and oil surges higher
Asian shares tumbled Wednesday, with South Korea’s benchmark plunging more than 11%, while oil prices climbed even higher as the war with Iran widened.
South Korea’s Kospi led the regional losses as energy security concerns vanquished optimism over the boost computer chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been getting from expanding use of artificial intelligence.
South Korea’s stock market has been one of the world’s best performers this year, but its economy depends heavily on trade and fuel imports, that are threatened with disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway to the Persian Gulf through which roughly a fifth of globally traded oil passes.
The price of U.S. benchmark crude oil climbed 1.3% to $75.53 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 1.7% to $82.74 per barrel. Its price has jumped more than 13% since the war began.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 3.9% to 54,059.47. Like South Korea and Taiwan, Japan depends heavily on imports of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.9% to 25,023.18 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 1.2% to 4,074.22.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.9% to 8,901.20.
Taiwan’s Taiex lost 4.4% and shares in Bangkok sank 8%.
– The Associated Press
03/04/26 01:12Airstrike hits building linked to Iranian clerical panel in Qom
A building associated with the clerical panel that will pick Iran’s next supreme leader came under attack in an airstrike in the holy seminary city of Qom, semiofficial media reported.
The attack Tuesday hit the building in the Resalat neighborhood of Qom.
The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, linked the building to Iran’s Assembly of Experts and said there was no meeting ongoing there at the time of the attack.
Fars further went on to say the assembly is meeting remotely, without elaborating.
It added that meetings over naming a new leader are ongoing — suggesting there could be an announcement by Iran in the coming days over who will replace the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike at the start of the war Saturday.
There was no report on if anyone was hurt in the strike.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said Israel carried out the attack, though there’s been no confirmation from its military.
The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member panel which “must, as soon as possible” pick a new supreme leader under Iranian law.
The panel consists entirely of Shiite clerics who are popularly elected every eight years and whose candidacies are approved by the Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog.
– The Associated Press
03/03/26 21:14Israel expands war with incursion into southern Lebanon to push Hezbollah back
– Mark MacKinnon
A family takes refuge in Martyr’s Square in downtown Beirut after fleeing their home in the southern suburbs with their suitcases, following Israeli air strikes on the capital of Lebanon on March 2.Oliver Marsden/The Globe and Mail
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday he had ordered ground forces “to advance and hold additional dominant terrain in Lebanon” to push the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia farther away and prevent it from targeting communities in northern Israel.
The incursion into Lebanon appeared to be limited in scope, at least on Tuesday, with monitors from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon recording Israeli troops crossing the border in four locations.
Israel ordered the evacuation of some 80 Lebanese villages near the border, warning residents that their lives would be in danger if they remained in their homes.
The Israeli incursions sent a fresh wave of internally displaced people fleeing from southern Lebanon toward Beirut and the north of the country. The UN refugee agency said nearly 30,000 people had registered at its shelters in Lebanon since the start of hostilities on Monday, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, whom many Shia Muslims considered their spiritual leader.
03/03/26 20:40Pro-Iran ‘hacktivists’ could target Canadian organizations, experts warn
– Alexandra Posadzki
Riot police stand in front of a state building in Tehran that is covered with an anti-U.S. billboard, Feb. 21.Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Cybersecurity experts are advising Canadian organizations and operators of critical infrastructure to be on the lookout for attacks from Iranian-linked groups as U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Middle Eastern country continue.
Pro-Iran “hacktivists” could target Canada because of the federal government’s support for the U.S. and Israeli military action, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security cautioned in a notice this week.
Iranian state-sponsored threat actors are also likely to conduct cyberespionage against political activists, journalists and human-rights advocates in Canada, according to the centre, which is part of the national cryptologic agency, the Communications Security Establishment.
“We assess that Iranian cyber threat actors will likely target opponents abroad, especially those advocating for regime change in Iran,” the agency said Monday.
03/03/26 19:01Broad sell-off hits markets as investors fear prolonged conflict
– Andrew Galbraith
Major North American stock indexes fell Tuesday along with bond prices and the price of gold as investors worried that a spiralling war in Iran may be growing into a drawn-out regional conflict with global economic implications.
While markets pared earlier losses after comments from President Donald Trump that the United States would insure oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and escort them if necessary, analysts said that investors remained concerned about further escalation of the three-day-old conflict.
“The market is still nervous … risk sentiment will remain very tempered until we get some more concrete signs of de-escalation or negotiation,” George Davis, chief technical strategist, global markets at RBC Capital Markets, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
03/03/26 18:22Pentagon releases names of Americans killed in Iran war Open this photo in gallery:
A combination image of undated photos shows U.S. Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, and U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady.U.S. Army Reserve/Reuters
The Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members killed in the Iran war, saying they died in a drone strike in Kuwait.
All four Army Reserve soldiers were killed Sunday when a drone hit a command centre in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. That was just a day after the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran, which launched retaliatory strikes.
All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, lowa.
Killed were Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
– The Associated Press
03/03/26 18:07Carney says Ottawa’s position supporting U.S., Israeli strikes on Iran was taken with regretOpen this photo in gallery:
Carney speaks with reporters in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday, March 4.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
– Stephanie Levitz and Steven Chase
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada’s position in support of U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran was taken with regret because the situation represents another failure of the international world order.
Carney said Iran’s nuclear threat persisted despite decades of United Nations Security Council resolutions, sanctions and the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and he cited their export of terror.
But the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or allies, and, Carney said, that leaves the question of where things will go from here.
The remarks came at the start of Carney’s first media availability since beginning an overseas trip in India on Feb. 26. He is now in Sydney.
Carney said it appears the attacks are “inconsistent” with international law. He said it is up to the U.S. and Israel to make their legal case, as well as other legal experts.
“We support the efforts to end the Iranian nuclear program and the regime’s decade-long process of state-sponsored terrorism, but we remind that international law binds,” he said.
03/03/26 17:13Opinion: Why even Iraq war hawks should oppose this war
– Andrew Coyne
When president George H.W. Bush went to war against Iraq in 1991, he sought and won the consent of the Congress of the United States. Resolutions authorizing military force passed the House, by a margin of 250 to 183, and the Senate, 52-47.
Bush had earlier secured the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 678. The cause was clear and compelling: to repel Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. The coalition in support numbered 34 countries in all.
When George W. Bush went to war against Iraq in 2003, he, too, obtained the consent of Congress. He famously failed to win the approval of the Security Council but he did line up more than 40 countries in support.
The particular casus belli in 2003 was the Bush administration’s charge that the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, had reconstituted his previous attempts to develop nuclear arms. That later turned out to be false. But most western intelligence agencies at the time believed it. Saddam’s own generals believed it. There is evidence that he himself may have believed it.
Contrast these two previous examples of U.S. military action, as controversial as they were and are, with the war Donald Trump has just launched against Iran. No congressional approval. No Security Council resolution.
03/02/26 15:17Are you a Canadian traveller affected by what’s happening in the Middle East?
Are you a tourist or business traveller whose plans have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East? Have you been dealing with travel delays or suspended flights? Share your story below for a future Globe story, or e-mail audience@globeandmail.com. If you’d like to submit a photo, use this link.
Have your travel plans been impacted by the Middle East war?
Are you a tourist or business traveller whose plans have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East? Have you been dealing with travel delays and suspended flights? Share your story below.