France unveils rearmament boost to face Russia threat

Israel's attacks on Beirut 'much bigger than anything we've seen in this war or the previous one'

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Rania Abouzeid, Lebanese Australian independent journalist and veteran war reporter. Ms. Abouzeid describes "chaotic scenes" in the Lebanese capital. Israel's attacks on Beirut have been extensive and they are now targeting areas well beyond the southern suburbs:...

Israel pounds Lebanon with heaviest air strikes of the war

Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the ​conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, even as the Iran-aligned group paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon under a two-week US-Iran ceasefire....

Hegseth hails Iran 'victory' as confusion remains over ceasefire deal

US ​Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday ​that the United States has had a decisive military victory over Iran and that Tehran's missile ​program ‌has been functionally destroyed a day after the two countries agreed a two-week ceasefire to hold talks on ending the war. But much...

Israel pounds Beirut as Lebanon left out of ceasefire deal

Lebanon's government said Wednesday Israeli strikes killed dozens and wounded hundreds across the country, with the capital Beirut hit by the most violent bombardment since the start of the war with militant group Hezbollah. It came despite a deal for a two-week ceasefire between the United States...

France to target Russia's 'shadow fleet' with tougher penalties for ships sailing under false flag

France plans to double jail terms for owners and operators of ships that fail to fly the correct flag or refuse to comply with orders to stop, according to a draft update to the country's military planning law, in a move aimed at vessels suspected of transporting Russian oil in violation of Western...

Lebanon displaced share stories at theatre turned refuge

Some families forced to flee the war in Lebanon have found shelter at a Beirut theatre, where has well as a roof over their heads they have also been given a chance to take the stage to tell their story....

France to ramp up drone stocks by 400 percent to face Russia threat

France will sharply increase its stockpiles of explosive drones – by as much as 400 percent by 2030 – under sweeping new defence plans unveiled Wednesday. Paris is accelerating rearmament in response to what it sees as a growing threat from Russia....

'Unlawful' war on Iran: 'Use of force by the United States never justified'

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Professor Marc Weller, Director of the Global Governance and Security Centre and Programme Director of the International Law Programme at Chatham House. According to Professor Weller, the central issue is whether we are witnessing an erosion of the international ord...

From Evin Prison to a dash through wartime Iran: How French couple’s four-year ordeal ended

French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris returned home on Wednesday after more than three and a half years in Tehran's most notorious jail and a perilous journey through a country at war. Their release, which Iran views as a “prisoner swap”, comes as France has distanced itself f...

Ex-NATO general: 'I was worried my former colleagues would become war criminals overnight.'

A former NATO general tells FRANCE 24 he feared his former colleagues would become war criminals overnight. Michel Yakovleff says US forces are trained to refuse unlawful orders, such as wanton destruction of infrastructure, which is exactly what US President Donald Trump threatened before the two-...

US war on Iran: Lucas makes case for 'discussions & dialogue over renewing violence & confrontation'

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies and Int'l Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin. According to Professor Lucas, this is not a moment of resolution, rather recalibration. The ceasefire did not emerge from strength, but from constrai...

Arctic Metagaz: Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker adrift in the Mediterranean faces uncertain fate

More than a month after being hit by an explosion, the Arctic Metagaz, a liquid natural gas (LNG) carrier belonging to Russia’s "shadow fleet", is adrift in the Mediterranean following a failed Libyan towing operation. The incident underscores the risks and crisis management challenges posed by t...

No link between release of French pair held in Iran and Mideast war, France says

Two French nationals arrived home on Wednesday after Iran allowed them to leave the country following three and a half years in detention, a surprise move that came as Paris sought to distance itself from the war in the region. France 24's Kethevane Gorjestani takes a closer look....

Pro-regime Iranians celebrate ceasefire

Supporters of Iran's Supreme Leader have been taking to the streets in Tehran to celebrate following the two week ceasefire announcement in the war with the US and Israel. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed "regime change" has already happened in the country despite hardliners remaini...

Oil prices fall after ceasefire deal as questions over Hormuz Strait linger

A two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran on Wednesday led to a steep drop in oil prices and a rebound in Asian and European equities. In this edition, we see what the various stakeholders are saying the deal means for the future of the Hormuz Strait through which a fifth of...

Hungary's Orban plays on energy price fears in re-election bid

Much of Hungary's electoral campaign has centred around energy policy, at least in incumbent Viktor Orban's camp, as he seeks re-election amid the world's worst energy crisis in decades. Orban promises to keep prices low with energy subsidies and warns of unaffordable power bills should he lose. Bu...

What we know about Iran’s 10-point plan for ending war with US, Israel

Iran proposed a 10-point plan for ending the war with the US and Israel early Wednesday after the establishment of a two-week ceasefire just before a US-imposed deadline and threats to destroy Iranian "civilisation". US President Donald Trump said the plan was "workable", despite several points whi...

How did Pakistan broker a temporary truce between Iran and the US?

Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary between Iran and the United States to secure a temporary ceasefire and host negotiations to end the war in the Middle East....

How Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire deal between Iran and the US

Pakistan cast itself as an unlikely diplomatic broker on Wednesday, saying it had helped secure a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said he would host talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the Middle East war beginning on April 10....

US-Iran ceasefire ‘a major problem domestically’ for Netanyahu

Reporting from Jerusalem, FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky says the US-Iran ceasefire is likely to be “a major problem domestically” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The right-wing Israeli prime minister’s base “was expecting regime change, was expecting something very dramatic...

French arms exports to Israel ‘a continuous pipeline of military hardware’

Throughout the war in Gaza, France maintained that its exports of military equipment to Israel were solely for defensive purposes or intended for re-export to other countries. A new report by two pro-Palestinian groups argues that French firms and transport hubs have continued to arm...

Antimicrobial resistance threatens the lives of millions on the African continent

In tonight's edition: As leaders gather for the “One Health” summit in France, antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a bigger killer in Africa than malaria, HIV or TB. Also, in Kinshasa, a woman seeking care was beaten by her doctor. The video has gone viral, sparking outrage in the DRC and...

Trump repeats falsehoods claiming he predicted 9/11 and demanded Bin Laden's death

During a press conference on Monday about the war in Iran, US President Donald Trump made a series of false claims about Washington’s progress in the conflict, his own past foreign policy, and that his book released in 2000 predicted 9/11....

Qatar warns Iran war can now 'spiral out of control'

As Donald Trump threatened to wipe out an entire civilisation in Iran ahead of his latest deadline for Tehran to open up the Strait of Hormuz, Qatar's foreign ministry official warned that the world was nearing a point beyond which the war would be out of anyone's control. Oil markets continue to b...

Are war crimes being committed in the Middle East war?

With US and Israeli strikes on Iran's critical infrastructure already underway Tuesday amid threats of more to come, the UN and other organisations have warned that such attacks could constitute war crimes....

French nationals leave Iran after more than three years in detention

Two French nationals, who spent more than three years in an Iranian prison on espionage charges, headed home from the war-stricken country on Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron said. Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, had been under house arrest at the French embassy in Tehran ever since th...

Trump warns a 'whole civilization will die tonight' if a deal with Iran isn't reached

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran fails to meet his latest deadline to strike a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while the Islamic Republic urged young people to form human chains around power plants and other p...

Europe's future on the ballot? Hungary's Orban in tight re-election race

Is Europe’s future on the ballot in Hungary? In Budapest, the US vice president actively stumping for far-right incumbent Viktor Orban who trails in the polls ahead of Sunday’s general election. European politicians sometimes campaign for likeminded peers from neighboring nations but here, it...

Why Viktor Orban wants energy prices at the heart of Hungary’s elections

Faced with the very real prospect of defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has built his campaign around cheap and secure energy and outspoken opposition to EU support for Ukraine. An alleged plot to blow up a pipeline bringing Russian gas into Hungary...

🔴 Middle East war live: Russia, China veto UN resolution on reopening Strait of Hormuz