Macron announces future ‘defensive’ mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

G7 leaders to discuss release of strategic oil reserves as crisis looms

Finance Ministers from the G7 group of the world's leading economies are meeting on March 9 to discuss a potential release of stocks from Strategic Petroleum Reserves. The talks will be joined by the executive director of the International Energy Agency. The organisation was formed in the wake of t...

Europe rallies around Cyprus after Iranian strikes

French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Cyprus on March 9, days after dispatching a warship to the east Mediterranean island nation, where a Shahed drone struck a British air base on its southern coast last week during the Iran war. The goal is to show the 'French military might' to defend pa...

Iran names Khamenei's son as new supreme leader

Iran's ruling clerics on Sunday appointed the slain leader's son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, defying threats from the United States and Israel to oppose him. This comes nine days after US-Israeli strikes killed the elder Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the M...

Khamenei son nomination met with mixed reactions

Iranian state TV announced that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor. He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war. U.S. President Donald Trump told ABC News he wants a say in w...

The 'shadow prince': Mojtaba Khamenei succeeds father as Iran's new Supreme Leader

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, March 9: The new Supreme Leader embodies both continuity with his father’s hard-line rule and a departure from what was intended to be a non-hereditary system of governance. In other news, Greenpeace has warned of “rogue companies trying to sidestep international law”...

Israelis divided over war with Iran as conflict expands

Air raid sirens ring out across Israel, alerting residents of Iranian missile launches, a sound that now dictates the daily lives of Israelis. The population has grown accustomed to taking shelter as soon as they hear it. But it doesn't stop some in Jerusalem from enjoying outdoor activities and wh...

Iran-related oil price surge impacts United States

Crude oil prices have hit their highest levels since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. International benchmark brent crude jumped some 20% to more than $120 per barrel on March 9. The spike in energy prices will be felt across the global economy - notably in Asia, which imports most...

Half a million displaced in Lebanon amid intensifying Israeli strikes

An air strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9 after Israel warned it would target branches of a firm linked to Hezbollah. In the past week, nearly 400 people have been killed in attacks, according to Lebanese authorities. FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent breaks it down for us from Beirut...

Who is Khamenei's son, the new Iranian supreme leader?

After over a week of deliberation Iran's Assembly of experts has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the new supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. The 88-member panel of clerics chose Khamenei with the support of the Revolutionary Guard. As supreme leader, he is ex...

Middle East war live: Israel launches 'wide-scale' strikes on Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran

The Israeli military on Monday launched what it described as a "wide-scale wave of strikes" against the Iranian cities of Tehran and Isfahan, as well as across the country’s south, the IDF said in a statement. A man in central Israel was earlier killed by shrapnel as several blasts rocked the are...

Pressure builds for Australia to offer Iran women's football team asylum

Australia must protect the visiting Iranian women's football team, the son of the nation's late shah urged Monday, warning their refusal to sing the national anthem before a match could have "dire consequences"....

Israeli strikes on Tehran infrastructure aim to 'limit regime's ability to govern'

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Hen Feder, the Israeli Embassy spokesperson in Paris, said Israeli attacks on oil depots in Tehran were part of a new phase of the war. "The infrastructure that is connected to the regime is being targeted in order to limit their ability to keep governing," he said,...

Iran keeps targeting Gulf states

Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) expressed its disapproval of Iranian president Pezeshkian remarks on Saturday, warning neighbouring countries that Tehran would continue attacks if US and Israel used their territory to attack Iran. For more on these attacks and on weapon...

Assembly of Experts reaches decision on Khamenei successor

The body responsible for selecting Iran’s next Supreme Leader said it had reached a decision, though the name has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, Israel warned it would “pursue every successor” to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli airstrikes l...

Pelicot joins Paris march as rallies across world mark International Women's Day

Gisèle Pelicot joined tens of thousands of protesters in the French capital on Sunday as women across the world marked International Women's Day with rallies for equal rights, female empowerment and an end to gender-based discrimination. Many events also denounced the war in the Middle East sparke...

David Petraeus speaks to FRANCE 24: Analysis on US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the regional fallout

The body responsible for selecting Iran’s next Supreme Leader said it had reached a decision, though the name has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, Israel warned it would “pursue every successor” to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli airstrikes...

Donald Trump taunts Starmer over Iran war

The US-UK “special relationship” could be on thin ice after President Donald Trump lashed out at the British Prime Minister. Trump said he didn’t need Britain’s help to fight the Iran war, after the British Defence Ministry announced it was preparing the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for...

Black smoke plunges Tehran into darkness after Israeli strikes on oil depots

The Iranian Red Crescent on Sunday warned Tehran residents to take extra precautions to avoid noxious fumes stemming from a fire that broke out after Israel struck multiple oil storage depots, cloaking the Iranian capital in thick black smoke that blocked out the sun....

The week in pictures: War in the Middle East, Milan Cortina Paralympic Games and Holi celebrations

From Israeli strikes on Lebanon and tributes to Iranian victims of the new war in the Middle East to celebrations of Purim in Israel, Holi in India, and the Paralympic Games' kickoff in Milan-Cortina, FRANCE 24 takes a look at the week's most striking images....

Iran: New Supreme Leader set to be announced

In Iran, the body responsible for choosing the next Supreme Leader has made a decision, but the name has not been released. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes eight days ago. Since then, there has been speculation about who will replace him and how the process will unfold. Th...

Middle East: How long will the war last?

Donald Trump has given conflicting timeframes over the past week: he initially said it would be 3 - 4 weeks, but now he’s talking about several months. Even though Israel and the US have targeted and killed Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei as well as key Iranian leaders, Tehran continues strik...

US, Israel hit five oil sites in Iran

Fuel distribution in Iran’s capital was “temporarily interrupted” after strikes on oil depots in and around the city, Tehran Governor Johammad Sadegh Motamedian told the state news agency on Sunday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards earlier said the country could sustain an “intense war” with...

🔴 War in Middle East live: Israeli strikes hit Tehran fuel depots as new supreme leader is chosen

The Israeli army expects the phase of this campaign to last another two weeks

Israel on Sunday struck southern Lebanon, Beirut and an oil storage facility in Tehran as the war in the Middle East keeps escalating. "The Israeli army expects the current phase of this campaign to last another two weeks", said FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neta...

OpenAI robotics chief quits over AI’s potential use for war and surveillance

A top robotics executive at OpenAI said Saturday she had resigned over the company’s deal with the US Department of Defence to allow its artificial intelligence to be used for war and potential domestic surveillance....

Iran fires at Gulf neighbours as president’s apology draws criticism at home

Iran's president apologised on Saturday for attacks on "neighbouring countries" even as its missiles and drones continued to target US bases in Gulf Arab states and hardliners in Tehran asserted that the country's war strategy would not budge. Iran also traded blows with Israel, whose Prime Ministe...

Iran keeps targeting Gulf States despite president's apology

Despite Masoud Pezeshkian’s assurances, new strikes were reported across several Gulf countries. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted U.S. forces at the Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Juffair on Saturday. Explosions were also heard over Dubai and the Qatari capital, Doha...

Iranian president promises to halt strikes on Gulf countries after apologies

The war in the Middle East has entered its eighth day, and Donald Trump has warned that the United States could begin targeting additional senior Iranian officials. Israel’s military says it has struck 16 Iranian aircraft at Tehran International Airport, describing the site as a key hub for the...

Reports suggest Moscow shares intelligence with Tehran

Russia has shared intelligence with Iran that could help Tehran strike US warships, aircraft and other American assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with US intelligence – the first indication Moscow may be stepping into the war launched last week by the United States and Isr...

Iranian civilians seek shelter abroad

As strikes against Iran appear to intensify, increasing numbers of Iranians are seeking safety abroad, raising fears that the conflict could trigger a refugee crisis. The United Nations has warned of a “moment of grave peril” for civilians caught up in the fighting, urging de‑escalation and p...