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NATO allies reject US Hormuz blockade, push for diplomatic solution

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NATO allies including the United Kingdom and France have refused to join a U.S.-led plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, instead calling for a diplomatic approach to restore safe navigation through the critical shipping route.

The decision follows an announcement by US President Donald Trump that the United States would move to block maritime traffic linked to Iranian ports after talks to end the conflict with Iran failed.

U.S. officials later clarified that the measures would target vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports, rather than all shipping transiting the strait.

European leaders have distanced themselves from the move, stressing they do not want to be drawn further into the conflict. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London would not support the blockade despite what he described as “considerable pressure.”

Instead, European countries are working on alternative proposals aimed at reopening the waterway, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies normally pass.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France and the UK would convene a conference with international partners to establish a multinational mission focused on restoring freedom of navigation. He said the initiative would be strictly defensive and separate from ongoing hostilities, and could be deployed once conditions allow.

According to diplomatic sources, the proposed mission could involve around 30 countries, including several European and Gulf states, as well as India. The effort would aim to coordinate naval escorts for commercial vessels and establish guidelines for safe passage, while avoiding direct involvement in the conflict.

Mark Rutte has indicated that NATO could play a role in the region if member states reach consensus, although several countries have signalled they would only participate once there is a durable ceasefire and assurances that their vessels would not be targeted.

Since the conflict began in late February, Iran has largely restricted access to the strait, raising concerns over energy supplies and global trade.

European officials say diplomatic engagement remains the preferred path forward, with efforts focused on de-escalation and ensuring the safe flow of maritime traffic through one of the world’s most vital energy corridors.

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One dead in new attack on Saudi airport, a day after Houthi strike kills 13

US aviation authorities issued a notice to US airlines to use caution while flying to or over the kingdom, Reuters reported.

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One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack ​Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, Reuters reported.

Saudi-led coalition forces in ‌Yemen said an unidentified projectile had targeted Riyadh’s international airport Terminal 4 on Sunday, causing a fire. Eleven people were wounded in addition to the fatality, the Saudi civil aviation authority said.

Coalition forces also said Saudi air defences had intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport. They later added that a drone had been intercepted and destroyed in the country’s Eastern Province, and a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait had been intercepted. Emergency alerts were also issued in Abha, in the ​south, early on Monday but the danger had since passed, the Saudi Civil Defense said.

The strikes have exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi defence capabilities as the kingdom wages an air campaign against the Houthis, ​who are fighting a ground war in Yemen against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Footage released by Saudi state television of the Saturday attack on the Riyadh airport showed scores ⁠of religious pilgrims lined up at a gate as they prepared to travel to Islam’s two holiest sites. A bright orange flash sent people running in panic, while parts of the roof appeared to cave in, read the report.

The ​airport was closed after the attack, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack and said ​the group had also struck the airport in Dammam in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and two facilities of Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The Saudi government’s media office and Aramco did not respond to requests for comment.

The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed the strike on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport late on Sunday, adding that “damage assessments and safety inspections of airport facilities are under way.”

An eyewitness aboard a taxiing aircraft at Dammam told Reuters that around 8:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Sunday, they saw a projectile strike ​the tarmac beside several parked aircraft, causing a fire. The witness said the aircraft returned to the gate. Passengers disembarked and were told to leave.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed several delays and cancellations on Sunday for arrivals and ​departures at Dammam airport, the kingdom’s third-largest.

The Houthis earlier on Sunday had renewed their warning against using Saudi airports. “We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions,” the group said.

Britain’s embassy in Saudi ‌Arabia in a ⁠post on X advised British citizens against all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and all airports in the kingdom except the airport in Medina.

US aviation authorities issued a notice to US airlines to use caution while flying to or over the kingdom, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia has recently stepped up its military involvement in Yemen, launching strikes against the Houthis and backing a government counteroffensive after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.

The Houthis said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia carried out 124 air strikes in Yemen in the past 24 hours. “Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet ​to come, God willing,” Yemen’s Houthi-run foreign ministry said ​in statements carried by Al Masirah television.

US President ⁠Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis in the conflict, a spillover from the wider war with Iran that the US and Israel launched in February.

In a post on Telegram, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he told his Saudi counterpart that Tehran was ready to help facilitate ​dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

A five-day conference of international energy organization WPC Energy opened as planned on Sunday at a convention ​centre about 10 km (6 miles) from ⁠the Riyadh airport, the Saudi energy ministry said.

A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum also went ahead, according to a media advisory from the ministry. It was not clear which ministers attended.

Italy’s energy minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, whose country was co-hosting, had said on Friday he would participate remotely via video link.

German officials were trying to organise a return flight for economy minister Katherina Reiche, read the report.

She was supposed to return to Berlin from Riyadh on Monday but the ⁠ministry said it ​appeared likely her flight would be unable to take off.

Separately, Saudi authorities announced that in-person classes at schools in Riyadh would be ​shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday.

Sunday’s attack brought the death toll in attacks on Riyadh’s airport to 18 for the week. In Saturday’s attack, the dead included four Saudis while the remainder were foreign nationals, Saudi authorities said.

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14 killed in two separate mass shootings across the United States

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro expressed his support for the affected community, describing the incident as a tragic loss of life.

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At least 14 people have been killed in two separate mass shootings in the United States within hours of each other, according to local authorities.

Five people were shot dead at a home in Douglas, Georgia, on Friday evening, police said.

In a separate incident in Erie, Pennsylvania, nine people were killed, including two children and a pregnant woman. Authorities confirmed that the suspected assailant was also among the dead.

Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah described the scene as one of the most devastating incidents of his career, saying the motive for the shooting had not yet been established.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro expressed his support for the affected community, describing the incident as a tragic loss of life.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding both shootings.

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Zelenskiy says letting Russia sell diesel to US is ‘investment in war’

 “Gifts to Putin will not ​bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world,” Zelenskiy wrote ​on the X social media platform.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised an accord on ​Friday between the US and Russia allowing Moscow to provide the ‌US with diesel, calling it “an investment in a war that must be ended.”

He dismissed the accord, which was announced while a Ukrainian delegation was ​in the US to discuss how to seek a ​resolution of the war with Russia, as “a weak decision ⁠on the part of strong partners”.

 “Gifts to Putin will not ​bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world,” Zelenskiy wrote ​on the X social media platform.

“Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war ​that must be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is ​real de-escalation with Russia on a reciprocal basis,” Zelenskiy said.

Trump said in ‌a ⁠post on social media that he had agreed in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia would immediately supply diesel to the US and global marketplace. Trump said lower prices ​for Americans “is my ​Greatest Priority”.

 Zelenskiy, ⁠speaking to reporters later on WhatsApp, said the accord would provide Moscow with additional funds to ​wage war and undermine any attempts to work ​towards a ⁠settlement.

“I believe our team is simply being used as a front. And that is certainly not fair, nor is it how partners ⁠should ​treat each other,” he said. “In my ​view, it is a weak decision on the part of strong partners.”

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