UAE blames missile alert on ‘technical malfunction’
The UAE says that a technical malfunction in its early warning system has been handled.
Earlier, it issued a message telling residents to disregard an alert suggesting there might be a missile threat.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 15:31
Iran-US war in numbers: Five charts that lay bare the impact of Trump’s conflict
It is nearly four months since the US and Israel launched war on Iran – a decision which had a dramatic and devastating impact stretching almost every corner of the world.
From skyrocketing oil prices, rising costs of global commodities, and deepening levels of food insecurity and poverty, normal people have been paying the price for a war involving the world’s most advanced military and the two most powerful forces in the Middle East.
But a war that many believed would be short-lived – with Donald Trump repeatedly vowing it would end “soon” with a total victory – dragged on for days, weeks, and then months, inflicting spectacular damage not only on global finances, but on the US military’s reputation as an unassailable force.
The global impact of the Iran war ranges from jet fuel prices, to the price of food, to increases in household bills.
At the centre of the global impact was Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital chokepoint through which one fifth of the world’s oil supply flowed during peacetime.
Alex Croft26 June 2026 15:30
UAE issues missile alert, followed immediately by all clear
The United Arab Emirates issued a statement on Friday telling residents the situation was safe, moments after issuing an alert warning of a possible missile threat.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the initial alert, which was like those issued at the height of the Iran war when Iranian missiles and drones targeted the UAE.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 15:20
Trump promises farmers they will get to sell crops to ‘lovely country of Iran’ after war
President Donald Trump has promised American farmers they will soon be able to sell their crops to the “lovely country of Iran” now that he has signed a memorandum of understanding to end his war.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden Thursday, the president said: “After years of getting ripped off by other countries on trade, we’ve reduced the agricultural trade deficit, just this year, by 42 percent, opening markets to the American exports, and all over the world, we’re opening up markets for the farmers.
“And we have another one, a new market, coming up. And that’s called the lovely country of Iran. It’s a beautiful place. Would anybody like to go there?
James Reynolds26 June 2026 15:00
Tucker Carlson lambasts Trump over Iran threats
Tucker Carlson, once a close ally of Donald Trump, brushed off the president’s threats to Iran as meaningless, going as far as to tell him “shut up, b****” during a podcast appearance Wednesday.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 14:30
Israel ‘ready to finish the job’ if attacked by Iran amid tensions over Lebanon
Israel’s defence minister has warned Iran that it is “ready to finish the job” if attacked again.
Israel Katz wrote on social media on Friday that Tehran would “commit its biggest mistake” if it reopens hostilities.
“Neither Hormuz nor attacks on civilians will help them; nothing will stop us. Our forces are ready to finish the job.”
Katz issued the threat after Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
Despite a renewed ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, Israel has continued operations across the border.
Israeli forces dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 14:03
Recap: Iran says safe passage through Hormuz cannot be guaranteed without coordination with Tehran
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz could not be guaranteed without coordination with Iran, and that failure to coordinate could result in the suspension of any designated route.
The comments posted on social media platform X on Friday came after Oman, in coordination with the International Maritime Organization, designated temporary routes for passage through the strait.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 14:00
Israel’s Katz warns Iran against attacking Israel
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that any Iranian attack on Israel would be Tehran’s “biggest mistake”.
Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 13:42
Israel drops leaflets over south Lebanon town ordering residents to leave
Israeli forces dropped leaflets over the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, the first such order issued since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
A senior Lebanese military official said Israel had recently added the town to a zone occupied by Israeli troops inside southern Lebanon.
Lebanese officials say Israeli troops are enforcing the zone’s northern boundary by firing at anyone approaching it, including civilians and Lebanese soldiers.
The military official said farmers had continued to enter and leave Mansouri, but had not been living there.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 13:34
Trump shrugs off Iran school strike as questions over U.S. role remain
President Donald Trump said this week that it may never be determined who was responsible for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children on the first day of the Iran war, as questions continue over whether U.S. forces were involved.
The February 28 strike in Minab, southern Iran, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials, triggering international outrage and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. military operation.
Trump, speaking to reporters, said the circumstances surrounding the attack may never be fully resolved.
James Reynolds26 June 2026 13:00