International News
White House rebuts US newspapers’ criticism on Iran war
Washington, March 12: The White House pushed back sharply against critical reporting in major US newspapers on the Trump administration’s handling of the war with Iran and its impact on global energy markets, accusing the media of spreading a “fake narrative” about the objectives of the military campaign.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said reports suggesting confusion or “mixed messaging” about the goals of Operation Epic Fury were incorrect.
“The left-wing media is lying and pushing a fake narrative that there has been ‘mixed messaging’ about the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt wrote on social media.
Her remarks came after reports in New York Times and Wall Street Journal raised questions about the administration’s planning, its assessment of Iran’s response, and the rapid policy shifts surrounding emergency oil market intervention.
Leavitt said the administration had repeatedly laid out clear military objectives from the beginning of the campaign.
“From the beginning, President Trump and his entire team have consistently laid out clear objectives to the American people about what the US Military seeks to accomplish through these ongoing successful major combat operations,” she said.
President Donald Trump had earlier outlined the mission in public remarks.
“Our objectives are clear. First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities… Second, we’re annihilating their navy… Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon… And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders,” Trump said on March 2.
Senior defence officials have described similar operational goals.
“The mission is laser-focused: obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons,” the US war secretary said on March 4.
Admiral Brad Cooper also described the military campaign as a major operation aimed at reducing Iran’s threat to the United States.
“Our military in the Middle East is undertaking an unprecedented operation to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten Americans, as they’ve been doing for nearly half a century,” Cooper said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration initially opposed a massive intervention in global oil markets, then reversed course within hours and urged allies to support an unprecedented release of emergency oil reserves.
The report said the shift reflected a change in Trump’s position as officials scrambled to stabilise markets amid fears that the conflict could disrupt energy supplies.
The New York Times separately reported that the administration may have underestimated how aggressively Iran would respond to the military campaign and the risks to global energy flows through the Persian Gulf.
The report said oil prices surged and shipping disruptions emerged as tensions escalated, forcing officials to search for ways to contain a potential economic shock.
Leavitt defended the administration’s handling of the energy situation and said the decision to release oil reserves was consistent with Trump’s earlier statements.
“President Trump previously stated that he would responsibly use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the right time, and that time is now,” she said.
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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