International News
Trump clears waiver for India to purchase Russian oil to stabilise energy markets: White House
Washington, March 11: The White House said that President Donald Trump personally approved a temporary waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil as part of a broader effort to stabilise global energy markets amid disruptions caused by the ongoing US military campaign against Iran.
The decision was taken after consultations between the President, the Treasury Department, and members of the national security team, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“The President and the Secretary of the Treasury and the whole national security team came to this decision because our allies in India have been good actors and have previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil,” Leavitt told reporters in response to a question.
She said the temporary measure was meant to address disruptions in global oil supply triggered by the crisis surrounding Iran.
“So as we work to appease this temporary gap of oil supply around the world because of the Iranians, we have temporarily permitted them to accept that Russian oil,” she said.
Leavitt noted that the shipments involved had already been dispatched before the waiver was granted.
“This Russian oil was already at sea, it was already out on the water,” she said.
According to the White House, the administration does not expect the arrangement to significantly benefit Moscow financially.
“So this short-term measure, we don’t believe it will provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government at this time,” Leavitt said.
The remarks came as the White House provided updates on Operation Epic Fury, the US military campaign targeting Iran’s missile infrastructure and naval capabilities.
Leavitt said the operation had achieved rapid progress since it began ten days ago. “More than 5000 enemy targets have been struck so far,” she said.
She added that Iran’s ability to retaliate had sharply declined.
“Iran’s ballistic missile attacks are down more than 90 per cent, and their drone attacks are down by approximately 35 per cent since the start of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said.
US forces have also targeted Iran’s naval assets.
“We have destroyed more than 50 Iranian naval vessels, including a major drone carrier ship,” she said, adding that the Iranian navy has been assessed as “combat ineffective.”
The administration said the operation’s goals remain unchanged.
“The stated objectives for Operation Epic Fury remain the same: destroy the terrorist regime’s ballistic missiles, raise their Iranian missile industry to the ground, ensure their terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region, and ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said.
The White House also stressed that the United States would ensure the continued flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.
Leavitt said President Trump had reiterated his commitment to protecting energy supply routes.
“President Trump reiterated his commitment toward keeping oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz so the United States and all of our allies can receive their energy needs,” she said.
She added that the administration had already taken steps to stabilise energy markets.
“Thus far, the Trump administration has offered political risk insurance to tankers operating in the Gulf,” she said.
Officials also said the US Navy could escort tankers if necessary to keep the vital waterway open.
International News
Iranian security official says no talks with US until conditions met

Tehran, Sep 15: A top Iranian security official said early on Tuesday that Iran will not negotiate with the United States unless its conditions are met.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei made the remarks in a post on social media platform X in response to US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Monday, in which Trump claimed that Tehran wanted to make a deal “quickly and badly” and that Washington could resume negotiations with it.
“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the USA will choose to engage — The concept of which we are open to,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Don’t get distracted by the US president’s mixed signals — from ‘no negotiations’ to ‘we’re ready to talk.’ The stakes around oil and the straits have changed. Damage control won’t stop what’s coming,” Rezaei said.
“No talks until Iran’s conditions are met. Period!” he stressed.
On June 18, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon, reports Xinhua news agency.
Under the MoU, they were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days, which ended on August 17, to reach a final agreement, but the talks’ fate remains unclear following a series of recent escalations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, two fishing boats were targeted in a drone attack off Iran’s southern coast on Monday night, leaving a number of fishermen missing, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The attack was carried out off the coast of the southern port city of Kargan and near Larak Island, Mehr cited Ahmad Nafisi, Hormozgan province’s deputy governor for political and security affairs, as saying.
Search and rescue operations have been launched to find the fishermen, Nafisi added, noting that further details of the incident will be announced after investigation, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Mehr.
Earlier, the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that a super oil tanker seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz via the “forbidden” route south of the waterway exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines.
In a statement on the IRGC’s official news outlet, Sepah News, the navy said efforts to contain the fire on the tanker, identified as “EL GAIA,” were futile, and the entire vessel was engulfed in flames.
It added that warnings had been issued about the risks of using the “illegal” route in the strategic waterway, stressing that the strait remains closed and under the control of Iran’s naval forces.
International News
Yemen Houthis claim major missile, drone attack on Saudi air base

Sanaa, Sep 14: Yemen Houthi group said Monday that it had launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at a major military air base in southwestern Saudi Arabia, marking a significant escalation in the widening cross-border confrontation.
In a statement carried by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, a southwestern Saudi city near the Yemeni border.
Saree said the operation targeted fighter-jet hangars, radar systems, runways, ammunition depots and other military facilities at the base, claiming that the strikes were “precise and direct” and caused significant damage, Xinhua News Agency reported.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on Monday’s Houthi claims or information on possible casualties and damage.
Saree said the operation was carried out in retaliation for what the group described as an intensifying Saudi air campaign across Yemen, claiming that Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets had conducted more than 300 airstrikes on several Yemeni provinces in recent days.
He warned that the Houthis would continue launching attacks deep inside Saudi territory as long as airstrikes on Yemen continue, saying any further escalation would be met with broader military operations.
The claim came amid a sweeping Houthi offensive launched on Sept. 3 that has rapidly redrawn front lines along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, with the group capturing several government-held areas in the Red Sea Hodeidah province and neighboring southwestern Taiz province.
The Houthis captured the strategic port city of Mocha on Thursday before pushing south into the Bab al-Mandab Strait area and seizing Mayun Island at the heart of the strait, tightening their grip on the vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Following the advance on Friday, the Houthis said international navigation through the strait remained “free, safe and smooth,” while stressing that Saudi vessels remained excluded under a maritime ban the group imposed on July 20.
Yemen’s conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
International News
Iran says Oman meeting postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request

Tehran, Sep 14: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that a meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and Gulf states scheduled to be held on the same day in Oman was postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request.
He made the remarks at the weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran after Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi announced the meeting’s deferral the previous day in a post on social media platform X.
Baghaei rejected “incorrect” reports that the meeting was postponed due to the ongoing developments between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, describing such speculation as “giving a wrong address.”
The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in the Omani City of Salalah on Monday.
“In the interests of consensus, the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed,” Omani FM Al Busaidi said on X.
“We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region,” he added.
Confirming the meeting’s deferral in an interview with Iran’s official news agency IRNA, Mohammad Ali Bak, director general of the Persian Gulf at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said it was postponed to another date at some regional countries’ requests and based on a joint decision by Iran and Oman.
The official stressed that Iran is in close consultations with Oman to ensure the necessary arrangements and coordination regarding the appropriate time for holding the meeting, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Baghaei on Friday announced that Gulf littoral states’ foreign ministers were scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to exchange views on regional issues, including the Iran-Oman talks on designating safe routes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Baghaei said the gathering would “hopefully” be attended by foreign ministers from Gulf states as well as Iran and Iraq.
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