Russia's spring offensive in Ukraine expected to focus on 'Fortress Belt' in Donetsk region

26/03/2026 20:50 France 24

Russia's spring offensive in Ukraine is expected to focus on the so-called "Fortress Belt" of heavily defended cities in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow has repeatedly demanded Kyiv relinquish in return for peace. Speaking on FRANCE 24, retired Vice Admiral of the US Navy Robert B Murrett, says that the region is "a veritable highway for any army that wanted to conduct operations further into Ukraine and beyond".

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Trump insists Iran is ‘begging to make a deal’ after Tehran dismisses ceasefire plan

A day after Tehran dismissed Donald Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan, the American leader claimed that Iran was “begging to make a deal,” and that he wasn’t the one pushing for negotiations. Reporting from Tehran for FRANCE 24, Reza Sayah says that Iranian leaders do not consider the exchang...

26/03/2026 19:33 France 24

Winding down or spinning out of control? Trump's mixed signals on Iran rattle traditional allies

As G-Seven foreign ministers root for the offramp in the Iran war, François Picard’s panel weighs the damage done to the region, to the world economy and to transatlantic trust. From Donald Trump’s threats against NATO allies to France denying it disinvited South Africa from next June’s G7 s...

26/03/2026 19:22 France 24

As 'war of choice' escalates into international crisis, Miller says Trump has 'no strategy'

Genie Godula welcomes Aaron David Miller, former State Department Middle East negotiator, and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. According to Miller, Trump's war on Iran is evolving into systemic entrapment, in which regional dynamics involving Iran, Israel, and the...

26/03/2026 18:45 France 24

Moscow and St Petersburg internet blackouts raise fears of Kremlin surveillance

Restrictions that had left Moscow residents without mobile internet for three weeks – with the Kremlin citing “security” – were lifted on Wednesday while St Petersburg endured a third consecutive day of outages. Some fear an attempt to isolate Russians from information from the outside w...

26/03/2026 18:10 France 24

'Tehran assumes war is behind them: Iran will not capitulate, Trump has it all wrong'

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Danny Citrinowicz, Senior Researcher in the Iran and Shi'ite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies. According to Citrinowicz, the trajectory of the war in Iran hinges not on battlefield dominance alone, but on competing perceptions of resilie...

26/03/2026 17:30 France 24

Russia says report it is sending drones to Iran 'lies'

The Kremlin said Thursday that a report in the Financial Times that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran was "lies". Russia is a close ally of Iran, but denies having sent military aid to its partner since the United States and Israel began attacking the country in February....

26/03/2026 16:51 France 24

Trump insists Iran operations 'extremely' ahead of schedule

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Iran war was "extremely" ahead of schedule, as he pushed Tehran to make a deal at his first cabinet meeting since the conflict began nearly a month ago. As Tehran publicly rebuffed negotiations, Trump again cited the original timeframe of four to six...

26/03/2026 16:48 France 24

G7 wants 'lasting peace and stability' in Middle East, France's foreign minister says

G7 nations want to "create the conditions for lasting peace and stability" in the Middle East, ‌France's foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said at a two-day conference outside Paris on Thursday. The talks aim to narrow differences with the US on the Middle East war. ...

26/03/2026 16:17 France 24

Russian oil tanker nears Cuba in test of US resolve on blockade

Russian officials confirmed Wednesday that Moscow is sending fuel to Cuba as humanitarian aid, intensifying geopolitical tensions as a Russian oil tanker likely bound for the island approaches the Caribbean. Moscow’s announcement comes amid a US effort to choke off oil supplies to Havana that...

26/03/2026 16:16 France 24

Iraq caught between US and Iran, facing attacks from both warring sides & Iran-aligned actors within

Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Hayder Al-Shakeri, Research Fellow with the MENA programme at Chatham House. Al-Shakeri describes Iraq as a state navigating a precarious balance between two powerful allies whose conflict is increasingly unfolding on its own territory. This position is not merely...

26/03/2026 14:24 France 24

Iran, US harden positions as Tehran tightens grip on Strait of Hormuz

Iran and the United States appeared at an impasse Thursday, with each side hardening its position over talks and setting the stage for another potential escalation in the Middle East war. Thousands more US troops neared the region, while Tehran tightened its grip on the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Si...

26/03/2026 14:12 France 24

War in the Mideast: Iranian cluster ballistic missiles test Israel’s defences

As the regional conflict between Israel and Iran enters a volatile new phase, a banned weapon of war is reappearing over civilian centers. While Israel’s defence systems remain robust, a new threat – the cluster ballistic missile – is testing the limits of safety. Unlike a single warhead, the...

26/03/2026 14:11 France 24

SpaceX reportedly set to launch IPO valuing firm at $1.75 trillion

Elon Musk's profitable rocket and satellite internet company SpaceX is reportedly preparing to raise $75 billion on public equity markets as its subsidiary xAI burns cash. But first: a pair of US court verdicts against social media giants could signal the sector's Big Tobacco moment, and France's f...

26/03/2026 11:05 France 24

Israel, US diverging timelines on possible negotiation for end of war

A US plan aimed at ending the war in the Middle East has been conveyed to Tehran through Pakistani mediators. However, according to Press TV, Iran has rejected the proposal and put forward its own conditions. Despite these indirect exchanges, Israel has carried out large-scale strikes in Iran. FRAN...

26/03/2026 10:22 France 24

Hungary moves to restrict gas supplies to Ukraine

Hungary has banned its ⁠gas transmission system operator from holding auctions for shipments to Ukraine in the third quarter, as it moves to wind down supplies to its neighbour in a dispute over oil flows. Hungary and Slovakia, whose leaders are outliers in the European Union for maintainin...

26/03/2026 10:20 France 24

Turkey-operated tanker carrying Russian oil struck by naval drone in Black Sea

A crude oil tanker sailing from the Russian port of Novorossiysk to Istanbul was hit by a naval drone near Istanbul's Bosphorus strait Thursday morning, Turkey's Transportation Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said. No one was injured in the attack, which Uraloglu said had targeted the ship's engine...

26/03/2026 09:21 France 24

Football: France and Brazil face off in World Cup-style friendly

In their final warm-up match before the start of the FIFA World Cup (June 11-July 19) in the United States, Mexico and Canada, France face Brazil in a glamour friendly. Weakened by absences, the Brazilians will have their work cut out against the French side, the 2022 World Cup runners-up, who comf...

26/03/2026 06:28 France 24

Middle East war live: Israel killed IRGC naval commander in strike, defence minister says

Israel killed Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ naval commander Alireza Tangsiri in an overnight air strike, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Thursday. As the US-Israeli war on Iran creeps towards the one-month mark, both sides continue to harden their positions while a diplomatic push for a ceasefi...

26/03/2026 03:09 France 24

Belarus's Lukashenko greeted by Kim Jong Un on first visit to North Korea

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made his first visit to North Korea on Wednesday, where he and Kim Jong Un signed a "friendship and cooperation" treaty the next day. The trip highlights growing ties between the two Moscow-aligned nations, both of which have supported Russia’s war in Ukr...

25/03/2026 23:10 France 24

US ties Ukraine security guarantees to Donbas withdrawal, Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said the US is conditioning post-war security guarantees on Kyiv ceding the Russian-occupied Donbas, as Washington pushes for a swift end to the war. Zelensky warned such terms would weaken Ukraine’s defences and embolden Moscow, amid uncertainty over future...

25/03/2026 22:53 France 24

France confirms oil crisis, says 30-40 percent of Gulf energy infrastructure destroyed

France's Finance Minister Roland Lescure revealed on Wednesday that between 30 and 40 per cent of Gulf refining capacity has been damaged or destroyed by Iran's retaliatory strikes, leaving a shortage of 11 million barrels a day on global oil markets. Lescure warned it could take up to three years...

25/03/2026 22:10 France 24

Israel 'concerned Trump could decide to end war unilaterally as soon as Saturday'

Reporting from Jerusalem, FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky says that there's "genuine concern from the Israeli government that Donald Trump could unilaterally decide an end to this war as soon as Saturday"....

25/03/2026 19:42 France 24

Iran media casts doubt on US peace plan as strikes land across the Mideast

State media in Iran said Wednesday that Tehran had rejected a US plan to end fighting, as the head of the United Nations warned that the Middle East war was spiralling out of control. In a first public acknowledgement of US efforts to discuss peace, state television cited an unidentified official a...

25/03/2026 19:17 France 24

Trump's war, NATO's problem: Will allies help secure Strait of Hormuz?

It's Trump's war, but is it also NATO's problem? Europeans are forced to bear the security and financial consequences of the second war on their doorstep. We see if our panel agrees with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who assures it's only a matter of "a couple of weeks" before traditional all...

25/03/2026 19:14 France 24

Lukashenko 'not an independent actor’: opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya on why Belarus needs Russia

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has recently embarked on a flurry of diplomatic activity, from US negotiations to an official visit to North Korea on Wednesday. But despite efforts to diversify relations with other countries, he ultimately remains dependent on Russia, said Sviatlana Tsikh...

25/03/2026 18:51 France 24

Iran targets US public opinion with online information war

The Iranian regime has been running an online influence campaign using AI-generated photographs, videos and memes to sow confusion about the war in the Middle East. Experts say the main goal is to ramp up anti-war sentiment in the US and pressure President Trump to end the conflict...

25/03/2026 18:08 France 24

Governments move to shield consumers from soaring energy costs due to Mideast war

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has rattled global markets, with oil prices up around 40 percent since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Governments are now scrambling to shield ⁠consumers from soaring energy costs. ...

25/03/2026 17:48 France 24

Israel's defence network challenged by Iranian cluster ballistic missiles

As the regional conflict between Israel and Iran enters a volatile new phase, a banned weapon of war is reappearing over civilian centres. While Israel’s defence systems remain robust, a new threat - the cluster ballistic missile - is testing the limits of safety. Unlike a single warhead, these m...

25/03/2026 17:06 France 24

Heritage sites in the Middle East under threat due to conflict

The Middle East war is having an impact on the region's heritage sites. Archaeological and Unesco heritage sites have been collateral damage in the war, on all sides. Unesco believes at least 6 heritage sites in the Middle East have been damaged, the Tyre site in Lebanon, four in Iran and the White...

25/03/2026 16:24 France 24

Iran 'dismisses' US 15-point peace plan, issues its own ceasefire proposal

Iran on March 25 an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East, issuing its own counterproposal instead, as it launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries. Its own plan includes a halt to killings of its officials, means to make sure no other war is waged against it, reparations...

25/03/2026 16:21 France 24

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