World news from The Thursday Times' foreign desk.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged Donald Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks, called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and backed a temporary ceasefire to give diplomacy a real chance in the Middle East.
President Trump has said that Iranian civilisation “will die tonight” if Iran did not agree to the terms of a peace deal brokered by Pakistan before his deadline expired.
An Iranian strike tied to the Jubail petrochemical complex has sharpened fears of a wider regional rupture, deepened pressure on Saudi Arabia to respond, and cast fresh doubt over a fragile diplomatic track in which Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary.
Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has been appointed Iran’s new supreme leader, formalising a wartime succession that keeps power within the late Ali Khamenei’s family and signals hardline continuity at the top of the Islamic Republic.
A Riyadh meeting between Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prince Khalid bin Salman foregrounds Pakistan–Saudi security coordination as the Kingdom discusses steps to halt Iranian missile and drone activity within the Joint Strategic Defence Agreement framework.
Donald Trump has hardened his stance on Iran by declaring that no agreement is possible without “unconditional surrender”, while also saying the United States and its allies would help rebuild the country only after the emergence of what he called “great and acceptable” new leadership.
Saudi Arabia says its air defences intercepted three drones east of Al-Kharj, three cruise missiles outside the city and another drone near Al-Jouf as regional tensions intensify.
Donald Trump confirms Khamenei is dead and vows continued strikes, urging Iranians to “take back” their country.
Israeli officials claim Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, a claim not confirmed by Iran, as retaliatory missile attacks ripple across Gulf states hosting US assets.
The US Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs were unlawful, curbing a signature trade strategy and opening the door to large-scale refund claims from businesses that paid the duties.
