Spotlight
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the United States was "taking over" the Strait of Hormuz as fighting over the strategic waterway threatened to derail efforts to permanently end the war in the Middle East.
"We're taking over the Strait. They have nothing. They've got nothing," Trump said in an interview with "Fox and Friends," where he also complained about the tactics of Iranian negotiators seeking changes on what was agreed during hours of talks "yesterday."
Full Story
Bahrain's military on Monday accused Iran of targeting civilians with its latest attacks on the kingdom, after Tehran said it had struck U.S. military facilities and infrastructure there.
Full Story
Israeli forces on Monday shot dead a Palestinian worker as he attempted to climb over a barrier separating Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Ramallah-based ministry reported that 30-year-old Naser Kaabneh "was killed by Israeli gunfire this morning near the apartheid wall in the town of Bir Nabala, northeast of Jerusalem".
Full Story
Iran on Monday fired "warning shots" at two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, state television reported, as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the strategic waterway.
Full Story
Yemen's internationally recognized government said it struck Sanaa's airport on Monday following a dispute over an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation, in an attack the rebel group had initially attributed to Saudi Arabia.
"The terrorist Houthi militias -- backed by the Iranian regime -- prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the airport in the capital, Sana'a, while insisting on allowing an Iranian plane to violate Yemeni territory; consequently, the airport runway was targeted," the Yemeni defense ministry said.
Full Story
Iran said Monday it was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent any further escalation in its war with the United States.
"The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
Full Story
The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran into Monday morning over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Iran retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East.
Missile alert sirens sounded at dawn Monday in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.
Full Story
The United States and Iran each asserted Monday they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider Middle East, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.
The attacks, sparked by Iran striking a container ship Sunday in the strait off the coast of Oman, again underlined that the waterway that once saw a fifth of the world's traded crude oil and natural gas pass through it remained the key issue in negotiations. The narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf has seen shipping disrupted since the start of the war as Iran maintained a chokehold on it by attacking commercial vessels around it, intimidating shippers.
Full Story
Qatar's government on Sunday announced the death of former leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who led the country from 1995 to 2013. He was 74, according to a government website.
"With hearts steadfast in faith in God's decree and destiny, the Bureau of the Emir mourns the great loss to the nation of the late -- may God have mercy on him -- His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani," read a statement published by the emir's office on social media.
Full Story
Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new U.S. strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew.
Full Story



