Mena Today

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday the reinforcement of military cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces, pledging armored vehicles and logistical support. 

The Lebanese government has taken two significant steps to distance itself from Tehran amid the escalating regional conflict: canceling visa-free entry for Iranian citizens and formally banning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from operating on Lebanese soil.

Hezbollah has deployed elite fighters to confront Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sending them back into the border region from which they withdrew after a war in 2024, three Lebanese sources familiar with the deployments said, as the Iran-backed group wades deeper into the conflict in the Middle East.

In an area of London known as Little Tehran, the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prompted spontaneous street parties, dancing and fireworks. Shoppers still smile as some stores hand out sweet pastries, traditional in Persian culture when there's cause for celebration.

Russia has charged a former deputy defence minister with corruption, investigators said on Thursday, in the latest of a series of prosecutions against top figures in the military establishment.

Qatar came under direct Iranian fire Thursday, as the Islamic Republic launched 14 ballistic missiles and four drones against the Gulf state starting at 11:51 AM, the Qatari Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced.

Israel warned residents to leave Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs on Thursday, sparking panic as people fled a swathe of the Lebanese capital on the fourth day of full-scale hostilities between the Iran-backed group and Israel.

The U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its sixth day on Thursday with what residents described as even more intensive bombing, while Iran vowed to retaliate anywhere for a U.S. attack on a ship thousands of miles from the battle zone.

More than 20,000 Israelis have returned to the country since the start of the Iran air war that began on Saturday, the Transportation Ministry said on Thursday, adding that about 120,000 more Israelis currently abroad are seeking to come home.

Eurowings, the Lufthansa subsidiary, has extended the suspension of its flights to Beirut until March 28, according to an internal message sent to the airline's agents.

Escalating conflict in the Middle East has laid bare how heavily global air travel relies on a handful of hubs led by Dubai, the world’s busiest international airport, after the shutdown of Gulf airspace rippled quickly across airline networks worldwide.

Turkey said on Thursday that it was closely following the actions of the Iranian Kurdish PJAK militant group, which it said threatened Iran's security and regional stability, amid reports of discussions between Iranian Kurdish militias and Washington about the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.