Rappler's latest stories on tensions
Iran, Russia, Turkey agree to work together to ease Syria tensions
The conference comes at a time when Russia-Turkey relations are tense not just over Syria but also Libya, another theater of war where Moscow and Ankara support opposing fighters
In first, Iraq detains pro-Iran fighters accused of anti-U.S. rockets
It is unclear which authority will be responsible for bringing to trial or sentencing the suspects
Seoul's unification minister resigns over North Korea tensions
South Korean president President Moon Jae-in accepts 'Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul's offer to resign'
North Korea warns U.S. to stay out of inter-Korean affairs
A North Korean official says Washington should 'hold its tongue and mind its internal affairs first' if it wanted to avoid experiencing a 'hair-raiser' and ensure the 'easy holding' of November's presidential vote
Trump says U.S. will destroy Iranian gunboats harassing U.S. ships
'I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,' US President Donald Trump says on Twitter
Warriors' Kerr wary of 'unwinnable' war as US-Iran tensions mount
Steve Kerr voices out his concern in the wake of the US strike in Baghdad that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani
North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of nuclear talks
(UPDATED) Analysts say Pyongyang frequently couples diplomatic overtures with military moves, as a way of maintaining pressure on negotiating partners
Iran leader says Europe untrustworthy, condemns 'hostility'
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks follow a failed European push to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
Iran rules out direct U.S. talks
President Hassan Rouhani says any dialogue with the US will have to fall within the framework of the group of major powers that agreed the landmark nuclear deal with Iran in 2015
Escalation ends, but Israel-Hezbollah tensions remain
Burnt fields can be seen in the border area and a new military checkpoint is set up outside the Israeli community of Avivim
Pakistan PM Khan leads nationwide protests over Kashmir
Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the nation and vows to continue fighting for Kashmir until the disputed Himalayan territory is 'liberated'
Pakistan PM Khan calls for nationwide protests over Kashmir
India reacts angrily to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's call for nationwide action
Iran unveils homegrown missile defense system
President Hassan Rouhani attends the unveiling ceremony for the mobile surface-to-air system and orders it to be added to Iran's missile defense network
Empty classrooms as some schools reopen in Indian Kashmir
Authorities say they are reopening 190 primary schools in the city yet few children could be seen at half a dozen places visited by Agence France-Presse
Iran tanker in limbo off Gibraltar as U.S. issues warrant
The US Justice Department alleges the tanker Grace 1 is part of a scheme 'to unlawfully access the US financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps'
Clashes in Indian Kashmir as U.N. begins landmark meeting
Police fire tear gas and pellet-firing shotguns to disperse residents who tried to march down the main road in the main city of Srinagar after Friday prayers
India says some Kashmir restrictions eased
'You need to understand that restrictions and relaxations are area-wise. You can't generalize them,' says senior police officer Munir Khan
Iran says tanker freed by Gibraltar poised to set sail
The Grace 1 will be renamed and switched to the Iranian flag for its onward journey, an official says
North Korea fires missiles, rejects further talks with South
(UPDATED) The South Korean military says the projectiles were fired from near the city of Tongchon of Kangwon Province into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan
Pakistan vows to respond to any Indian aggression in Kashmir
'We have decided that if India commits any type of violation we will fight till the end,' says Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan
Iran says in touch with Britain over seized tanker
A court in Gibraltar is to decide the fate of Grace 1 supertanker on Thursday, August 15, when an order for its detention lapses
Iran says U.S. Gulf mission will 'increase insecurity'
The US has been seeking to form a coalition whose mission – dubbed Operation Sentinel – it says is to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Gulf
Kim Jong-un sends missile 'warning' to South Korea, U.S. as tensions rise
KCNA, North Korea's state news agency, says Kim watched the launches, which verified the 'war capacity' of the 'new-type tactical guided missiles'
Iran 'favors' talks despite Trump snub
'Iran favors talks and negotiations and, if the US really wants to talk, before anything else it should lift all sanctions,' says President Hassan Rouhani
North Korea threatens more launches after fourth test in 12 days
The rising temperature on the peninsula threatens to derail putative negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington, with the North saying the combined drills are a 'flagrant violation' of the process
Iran says U.S. acting alone as allies 'ashamed'
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also confirms he turned down an offer to meet President Donald Trump in July despite the threat of US sanctions against him
Trump has 'no problem' with latest North Korean weapons test
North Korea carries out a third test in 8 days – two short-range projectiles from its east coast – in the early hours of Friday, says the South's military
Iran says sanctions show U.S. 'afraid' of top diplomat
The US Treasury says the sanctions will freeze any of Mohammad Javad Zarif’s assets in the United States or controlled by US entities, as well as squeeze his ability to function as a globe-trotting diplomat
U.S. urges Germany to 'help secure' Strait of Hormuz
'Members of the German government have been clear that freedom of navigation should be protected... Our question is, protected by whom?' says the US Embassy in Berlin
Britain rules out seized tanker swap with Iran
New British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab flatly rejects the idea of the two tankers being exchanged or simultaneously released in a bid to dial back the tensions
Swedish owner of tanker seized by Iran says crew 'safe'
Aside from a Filipino seafarer, the rest of the 23 detained crew of the oil tanker Stena Impero hail from India, Russia, and Latvia
Iran says its tanker held in Saudi Arabia released
The Iranian transport minister says the Happiness 1 tanker 'has been released following negotiations'
Manila asks Iran to free Filipino on seized British-flagged tanker
(UPDATED) The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs says one of the crew members of the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero is a Filipino citizen
Gulf tensions rise as U.S. shoots down Iranian drone
It is the first US military engagement with Iran following a series of increasingly serious incidents
Russia tells Iran 'not to give in to emotions' in nuclear standoff
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia will do everything to help preserve the Iran nuclear accord
China snubs U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports
China's statement comes a day before US President Donald Trump is to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan in an attempt to resolve an escalating trade war
Iran files complaint to U.N. over U.S. spy drone
'The complaint states that Iran reserves the right to defend its airspace and confront any violation,' says Iranian deputy foreign minister Gholamhossein Dehghani
Iran judges 'progress' made at nuclear meeting but 'still not enough'
(UPDATED) Iran is on the verge of exceeding one of the limits on stockpiles of nuclear material foreseen under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
Trump warns any conflict with Iran 'wouldn't last long'
'Well, I hope we don't but we're in a very strong position if something should happen. We're in a very strong position. It wouldn't last very long, I can tell you that,' says Donald Trump
Iran 'never seeks war' with U.S., says Rouhani
'Iran has no interest to increase tension in the region and it never seeks war with any country, including [the] US,' state news agency IRNA quotes President Hassan Rouhani as saying
Iran to abandon more nuclear deal commitments on July 7
'As of July 7, Iran will forcefully take the second step of reducing its commitments' to the nuclear deal, says Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council
U.S. hits Iran's supreme leader Khamenei with sanctions
(UPDATED) 'We will continue to increase pressure on Tehran,' Donald Trump says as he signs the order in the Oval Office. 'Never can Iran have a nuclear weapon.'
Trump says he called off Iran strikes expected to kill 150
Trump says the US was 'cocked & loaded to retaliate' on Thursday night, June 20, by hitting '3 different sites,' but that he scrapped the strikes just 10 minutes before they were carried out
Airlines halt Hormuz flights amid U.S.-Iran crisis
The suspensions come after the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States issued a Notice to Airmen 'prohibiting US-registered aircraft from operating over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman'
Macron sends senior diplomat to Iran to defuse U.S. tensions
The adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, holds 'high-level meetings' in Tehran, 'with the aim of contributing to the de-escalation of tensions in the region'
Iraq looking at options in case Gulf oil route cut – spokesman
Lawmakers have also called for an emergency session with Iraq's ministers of oil, trade, planning and transport to 'prepare to confront the possible dangers'
Iran sets 10-day countdown to surpass uranium stockpile limit
(UPDATED) The move 'will be reversed once other parties live up to their commitments,' Iran's atomic energy organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi says
Iran leader rejects Trump talks despite Japan PM's mission
(UPDATED) Iran 'has no trust in America and will not in any way repeat the bitter experience of the previous negotiations with America,' says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Japan PM meets Rouhani on mission to ease Iran-U.S. tensions
Japanese government officials say Shinzo Abe will not present Tehran with a list of demands, or deliver a message from Washington, but instead wants to play the role of neutral intermediary
AU suspends Sudan until civilian-led authority established
Calls for the African Union to take action have mounted after the crackdown on June 3 on protesters who had camped outside army headquarters in Khartoum
