26/03/2026 – 12:42Canada urges G7 to ‘collectively’ back Iran de-escalation
The G7 should collectively back a de-escalation of the war in the Middle East, Canada’s foreign minister said Thursday, before a meeting of top diplomats from the group expected to be dominated by the conflict.
Anita Anand told AFP in an interview she had spoken to all countries impacted in the region and all G7 members “to ensure that we are all collectively advocating for de-escalation and for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and for a path forwards for the Iranian people that preserves their lives.
“We must continue to use diplomatic channels to be sure there is a common view not just for a de-escalation but to mitigate the economic shock,” said Anand, pointing to “problems in the global provisioning chain”.
Making his first trip abroad since the war started, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join fellow top diplomats from Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and the United Kingdom for the G7 meeting, but only on the second day on Friday.
There is to be no final joint communique at the end of the meeting and instead, the G7 presidency, which is held this year by France, will issue a statement, a diplomatic source said, asking not to be named.
“For Canada it’s very important to have a de-escalation and a opening of the Strait of Hormuz and also to continue to avoid the loss of civilian lives, that is the objective of Canada here,” said Anand.
“The G7 is a multilateral organisation and we will have the conversation here,” she added.
26/03/2026 – 12:14Russia’s Rosatom evacuates another group of staff from nuclear plant in Iran, TASS says
The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said on Thursday that Rosatom had evacuated another group of its staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, TASS reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday said it had been informed by Iran that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr plant.
Rosatom said on Wednesday it had begun a third phase of personnel evacuation, with one group departing by road towards the Iranian-Armenian border on Wednesday morning and two more groups set to leave shortly.
26/03/2026 – 11:57Trump says Iran ‘better get serious soon’ to salvage talks
US President Donald Trump claimed Iranian negotiators were “begging” for a deal, rejecting Tehran’s public stance that it is only reviewing Washington’s proposal.
“They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty,” he said in a Truth Social post.
26/03/2026 – 11:55’The Israeli government seems to be scrambling’: Trump’s mixed messages keep allies guessing
A US plan aimed at ending the war in the Middle East has been conveyed to Tehran through Pakistani mediators. But according to the state-owned Press TV, Iran has rejected the proposal and put forward its own conditions.
Despite these indirect exchanges, Israel has continued to carry out out large-scale strikes in Iran.
FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.
26/03/2026 – 11:51’US-Iran indirect talks are taking place’, Pakistan says
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that indirect negotiations were being held to end the war in Iran, using Islamabad as an intermediary.
Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, described speculation about “peace talks” as “unnecessary”, adding: “In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan.
“In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran. Brotherly countries of Turkiye and Egypt, among others, are also extending their support to this initiative,” he wrote on X.
26/03/2026 – 11:49US Army raises maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42
The US Army has raised its maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42, aligning its recruitment policy with that of most other US military branches.
The new rules allow individuals aged up to 42 to enlist in the US Army, the National Guard and the Army Reserve, according to the 159-page regulation published by the Army this month.
The change takes effect on April 20.
The Army previously raised the enlistment age to 42 in 2006, during the Iraq War, but lowered it back to 35 a decade later.
The Air Force and Navy already accept recruits up to age 40.
26/03/2026 – 11:48US sailor sustained ‘non-combat’ injury aboard USS Abraham Lincoln
An American sailor was injured aboard an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea in a non-combat related incident, the US Navy in the Middle East said.
“A US Navy Sailor was injured aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while the aircraft carrier was conducting flight operations in the Arabian Sea on March 25. The injury is not combat-related nor life threatening,” the Fifth Fleet said in a statement on X.
“The Sailor has been transported ashore for additional medical care and remains in stable condition,” it added.
The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has been conducting strike missions as part of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
26/03/2026 – 11:24Israel defence minister says Iran Guards navy commander killed in strike
Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that an Israeli air strike had killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ navy.
“Last night, in a precise and lethal operation, the IDF eliminated the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ navy, Tangsiri, along with senior officers of the naval command,” Katz said in a video statement.
26/03/2026 – 11:11In Pictures: Iraqi soldiers sift through the ruins of a bombed-out military healthcare centre
Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a destroyed healthcare centre in the Habbaniyah military base, which was targeted by in an air strike killing seven security personnel and wounding 13 others, in Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad on March 26, 2026. Photos: Ali Jabar, AP and Ahmad al-Rubaye, AFP
26/03/2026 – 10:50Kremlin says report Russia is sending drones to Iran is ‘lies’
The Kremlin responded to a Financial Times report that Russia is delivering drones to Iran by saying that the media were printing a lot of lies and people should pay no attention.
26/03/2026 – 10:14Pentagon considers diverting Ukraine military aid to the Middle East, Washington Post reports
The Pentagon is considering whether to divert weapons intended for Ukraine to the Middle East as the war in Iran depletes some of the US military’s most critical munitions, the Washington Post reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The weapons that could be redirected include air defence interceptor missiles purchased through a NATO initiative launched last year, under which partner countries buy US arms for Kyiv, the report said.
26/03/2026 – 09:20In Pictures: Iranian missile hits Arab city in central Israel
Residents gather by a crater at an Iranian missile impact site in the Arab city of Kafr Qassem in Israel, March 26, 2026. Photo: Rami Amichay, Reuters
26/03/2026 – 09:15Israeli local media says military ‘eliminated’ Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps navy commander
26/03/2026 – 08:52 ‘Iraq is the only country in this war being bombed by both sides’: Baghdad’s uneasy balancing act
Hayder al-Shakeri, a research fellow with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa programme, told FRANCE 24 that Iraq’s close relationship to both Washington and Tehran puts it in an awkward position as the US-Israeli war on Iran escalates.
Watch the full interview by clicking on the player below.
26/03/2026 – 08:38Israeli soldier killed in combat in southern Lebanon, IDF says
The Israeli military said that one of its soldiers was killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon. Israeli troops are advancing across southern Lebanon as part of an escalating war with Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
This brings to three the number of Israeli soldiers killed there, after the military said two were killed on March 8.
26/03/2026 – 08:26Israel took Iran’s foreign minister and speaker off hit-list, Pakistani official says
Israel took Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf off its hit-list after Pakistan asked Washington not to target them, a Pakistani official told Reuters.
“The Israelis had their … coordinates and wanted to take them out, we told the US if they are also eliminated then there is no one else to talk to, hence the US asked the Israelis to back off,” the official said.
26/03/2026 – 08:07Two people killed in Abu Dhabi following missile interception, media office says
Two people were killed in Abu Dhabi after debris from an intercepted missile fell on Sweihan Road, the emirate’s media office said, adding that three others were wounded and several vehicles were damaged.
26/03/2026 – 08:07Number of people wounded in Iranian strike on central Israel rises to six
26/03/2026 – 07:13UAE says air defence systems currently responding to missile threat