Proposals on Middle East de-escalation must be addressed to US — Iranian FM

Middle East states keep coming up with de-escalation solutions, but they should be addressed to the United States since it was Washington that unleashed the war on Iran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Merz says 'grateful' Trump delaying Iran power plant strikes

German Chancellor ​Friedrich Merz said ​that he had spoken to US ​President ‌Donald Trump ⁠on Sunday and expressed ‌his concerns about threatened ⁠attacks on Iran's power plants.

"I am ​grateful that ‌he said today that he is ‌postponing them for another ​five days and is now also opening ​the possibility for ​immediate and ​direct contact with the ​Iranian leadership," said Merz at a press conference in ⁠Berlin on Monday.

 Iran's ⁠Fars ​news agency, ​citing a source, said there are ​no ‌direct ⁠or ‌indirect communications with the ⁠United States, despite US ​President Donald ‌Trump's recent statement about "productive" talks ‌with Tehran.

Fars ​also said Trump backed down on ​targeting ​Iranian power plants ​after Iran ​warned it would target power plants ⁠across West Asia ⁠in ​response.

Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defense says detected 2 ballistic missiles

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said it detected two incoming ballistic missiles on Monday, as the kingdom and its Gulf neighbours face Iranian strikes.

Strait of Hormuz closed only for those who violate Iran’s borders

The Strait of Hormuz is closed only for ships from those countries that violate Iran’s borders, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said.

Iran warnings of attacks on regional energy and water sites if its power grid is hit

Iran’s military has threatened to attack all energy infrastructure linked to the US and Israel in the Middle East if its power plants are targeted.

United Airlines prepares for oil to reach $175 a barrel

The airline’s CEO says the US company is also preparing for oil to not return to $100 a barrel until the end of next year.

Russian air defense forces down 668 Ukrainian drones over past day

Russian air defense forces shot down 668 fixed-wing Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

IRGC announces 70th wave of retaliatory strikes

The 70th wave of retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli interests in the Gulf region and beyond targeted more than 55 locations, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).